“…I am not bound to win,
But I am bound to be true.
I am not bound to succeed,
But I am bound to live up to the light I have
I must stand with anybody that stands right,
Stand with him while he is right,
And part with him when he is wrong……..”
Abraham Lincoln
Taylor Smith relates that during one of his voyages, business was done on the ship between the soldiers and the natives of Aden.
One native ignorant of the value of English coins, sent back too much change to one of the soldiers who promptly returned it.
The native realising he was in error, but not knowing by how much, sent back more change. The soldier returned the surplus money.
“You’re a fool,” exclaimed an onlooker to him.
“Do you think so?” asked the soldier. “I do not intend selling my honour for the sake of a few coppers..!”
Some time ago a trustee of the Bio Medical Ethics Centre organised a seminar on ‘The Declining Standards of Ethics,” People who spoke included Justice S.Radhakrishna of the High Court and also Super Cop Julio Rebeiro.
Said the judge; “What can you expect from this generation, when parents instead of being models of basic ethics for their children, are involved in scams like leaked exam papers?” He lauded a suggestion made by Mr Rebeiro that ‘people should band themselves together to fight corruption in society.’
Dr Antao at the end of the seminar pleaded for a society with a human heart and ethical standards be applied from the womb to the tomb..!
I’m glad such an awareness programme was organised, because there is a desire among people to return to traditional values such as honour and honesty. Honour and honesty are learned behaviours.
Our children, our co-workers, our employees, learn from us. They learn by observation, not by conversation. Sometimes they can’t hear what we’re saying because what we are doing speaks louder.
Little people steal little things because they see big people steal big things with impunity. Little people tell little lies because they hear big shots tell big ones.
Why won’t an employee falsify a report when he sees his employer over charge a customer? We tell our children, “It’s not whether you win or lose but how you play the game.” Then they watch us cheating and lying as we play the game of life.
My prayer as I end this piece is:
Lord, help me put away deceit
And live a life’s that’s true
And may there be integrity
In all I say and do.
