The Number One Moral Rule

Quote of the day:
“Suddenly, it becomes a subversion of progress to assert the common-sense principle that communities exist for the health and enjoyment of those who live in them, not for the convenience of those who drive through them, fly over them, or exploit their real estate for profit.”
--Theodore Roszak

At the end of the 1997 film “In the Company of Men,” the Stacy Edwards character asks the Aaron Eckhart character why he has treated her with such emotional cruelty. He says, “Because I can.”

That moment may be the most chilling I have seen in any film. But there is a realness to it.

“Because I can” seems to be the ethic governing many of our actions these days. And its cousin sees a lot of use also: “Because I can get away with it.”

Why are we driving up the interstate at 95 miles an hour?

Why are we talking on the phone while driving up the interstate at 95 miles an hour?

Why are we taking payment in cash and not reporting it to the IRS?

Why do we tell someone we’ll be there and then not show up?

Why do we shop Ebay on our work computer?

Why do we order about three times more food than we need at a restaurant?

Why do we not tell the cashier when he gives us too much change?

Why do we tell a reporter something when we know it’s not true?

Because we can.

Is this becoming our moral measurement?