Thanks to the rabid media craving for the sensational, and those few people who are willing to rat out others, we have seen so many of the mighty fall from grace. This group of infamous people include movie and sport stars, politicians, preachers, and one or two people who have formed some sort of alternative religion. At first glance, it appears that these people do not have anything in common. But they do.
All of them at one time or another in their lives just did not think but believed that, because of who they are/were, they could get away with whatever it was that they wanted to get away with. Those people are/were not special or different from the people that they believed to be their lesser. This is one of the illusions that made them think that the social norms and laws of a civil society did not apply to them. What those people failed to realize was that, because of their so-called elevated social status, they became an easier target of opportunity. In other words, they were more visible than the average Joe. So, when those people put their fingers into the philandering cookie jar, somebody took notice. This stuff is not like the time when you took a dollar from your mommy's purse - shame on you! It is not like the time when you told your friends one whopper of a lie to get out of doing something with them - oh, how could you! This is the big time, big boy league of betrayal and deception.
All of us need to understand that if we break the law in any manner, we will have to pay the price, in one way or another. If we do something really stupid, like sending naked pictures of ourselves to a person we are trying to coerce for sex, sooner or later we will be on the evening news. In today's fast paced informational age, you should not expect less, especially if you are an elected official. In cases like this, the shame, public embarrassment, and continual ridicule may be far worse than a prison sentence. And if you are married and have kids, how do you explain it? You cannot, unless you are talking to a couple of bags of dirt, which is what you thought about your family when you initially posted the pix. If we are elected officials, and have illegally taken just $100.00, we have betrayed our electorate and are no better than Bernie Madoff; we deserve to be Bernie's cellmates. If we stand in front of a religious denomination of any stripe and preach some sort of righteousness and commit abominations, we deserve a jail cell. And, if we intentionally break the trust of those who respect us, we are damned. Trust is something that in most cases, is lost forever. The people who committed these things believed that they would never be caught, that they would never be found out. But they were. This stuff should serve as a lessen for all of us. We are accountable for everything that we do.
Always, we must be vigilant with our words and deeds, constantly beating away the temptations of a fast buck or fleeting fame. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually leads to trouble. Yes, it is easier said than done but never the less, we should remind ourselves before we sleep and upon waking in the morning about this vigilance. Remember, we are human, make mistakes, and are far from perfect. Knowing that our words and deeds are a major part in molding our future gives us an upper hand in plotting a successful course for our lives. In other words, when we place orlog into the Well, whether good or evil, it cannot be recalled. Think before you act.
Copyright @2013/2017 Terry Unger
