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| The law is just a thin floor covering the cesspool ... |
The law is just a thin floor covering a cesspool of human wrong.
Down at the bottom is all the selfishness and anger of mankind. The law is just a hair's breadth above the waste and filth. A misstep and you're in the goo.
Obeying the law is perhaps a good beginning place, but it's just the first tiny step, and only a short distance away from being disgusting.
The law won't make us great or noble or even nice; it's just to keep us from doing harm.
Far away, at the other end of the spectrum are those wonderful heights of courage and nobility that we imagine for ourselves; all are wildly far above the law, and nothing connects them to the pit and the slime. Greatness of character and purpose, generosity and compassion, all are so far above the law that to live in one world is to be completely separated from the other. We hope for the best in ourselves and others, don't we. Indeed we do.
So, of what use is the law to someone who hopes to be truly, magnificently good? Rules can perhaps serve as a reminder of the simplest things, like:
'Share, be nice, don't hurt anybody.' Good stuff we learned at home and maybe in kindergarten.
'Play fair, don't cheat, be a good loser or a gracious winner.' Elementary school level, but great nonetheless.
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| Farther up and further in? Where might that lead? |
So then, in our business and life affairs, such foundation principles are visible, ... or not.
And our chance at true greatness follows, farther up and further in, ... or not.
For those of us who live by 'the rule of law', remember that law is just one microstep above the fecal matter.
Imagine where that that puts the Wall Street mentality? How about the political party process? Or the lobbyists? Or the pursuit of wealth ... Time to unlearn some things? Where is your life invested, by the way? Great joy is only found on the good road.