(I am not quite sure if I am sending to the appropriate list serve. Please feel free to forward on if someone has a better list)

Thanks to Jake for allowing me to participate in the daily attitude e-mail. Jake had suggested following a theme of “what we are thankful for” with it being Thanksgiving week. I think this as a great suggestion…which I will follow with a bit of an editorial commentary on my part.

I typically shy away from writing editorial type content or engaging in those types of discussions. I save those thoughts for conversations over wine or runs (and only with selected friends). But today I feel compelled to write on a topic that is on everyone’s mind with the news circulating around us. Social media, blogs and Internet outlets are buzzing on who looked the other way at Penn State, Herman Cain’s alleged indiscretions, and all the other daily news feeds on unethical and immoral behavior. Even the PollyAnna’s like me who avoid talk radio and controversial conversation are scratching their heads wondering how good people (by all appearances…I won’t be the judge on those I haven’t met) make such poor choices.

Rather than belaboring the fact patterns as already reported in the news outlets; I will simply ask the question of why we as humans have such a hard time just doing the right thing. What happened to the simple rules we learned as children…tell the truth, own your mistakes, and always do the right thing? But instead…what a tangled web we weave. Yes, pride and ego will bring the greatest of men (and women) to their knees.

A man I completely respect for his passion for doing all that is right and his dedication to leading others in faith is Fr. Okhouya Kizito, a priest at my church. Kizito was raised in a poor community in Africa. His childhood experience included worries on running water and a school with a roof with no knowledge of growing up the American way with reality TV, video games, and social privilege. The innocence in his faith principles and avoidance of a commercialized existence, present a raw purity to a man with no false pretenses on differentiating between acceptable and unacceptable behavior. In a recent sermon, Fr. Kizito talked about this specific issue and he boiled it down the principle that we as humans all know the difference between right and wrong. It is that simple. Take out all the noise and excuses, and we can all apply this simple question to every choice we make in life. Is it the right thing to do? Life would be so much more fulfilling for all of us if we challenged ourselves to follow this simple principle each day and with each action.

And we are human. We do make mistakes and bad decisions. The key then is how we handle them, correct them, and learn from them. It really all just boils down to doing the right thing and it is our own individual free that guides how we handling our failings. Coach P made a bad choice and then when given time to reflect and correct, he choose not to. Already big problems turned into a colossally big problem with people’s lives irreparably hurt and humans damaged.

I always tell my sons that lying is bad. Little lies can turn into big problems. Just like compromising our decision making in what seems small at the time can turn into BIG problems that not only cause embarrassment, but impact lives of many people (drunk driving leading to injury, passing the buck on an wrongful act for someone else to handle…the list goes on and on). The significance to the choice at the time does not have a direct correlation to the size of the problem it creates. In the case of Joe P, I am sure there was a point that he knew he made a bad choice. It takes a big man (or woman) to realize this human failing after the fact. And it takes enormous character for that man or woman to correct their failing with all at stake. Think through your own life circumstances where you saw this play out big or small…a boss who recognizes a mess up that can cost a company a customer, but takes the responsibility and owns it with the client. How about a politician who realizes they made a bad vote in the past and now simply says, I made a mistake and I know better now? How refreshing would this be rather than in-fighting, covering up with excuses, play of words, and the very typically response of avoidance? Yes ego and pride are our greatest distracters in following the principle of applying right from wrong. When you put yourself first; differentiation between right and wrong no longer matters.

So how does all of this apply to the daily attitude today? I am of the belief that we are all people with significance in this world. Kim Kardasisomething means nothing, but the people who subscribe to this e-mail mean everything. We are the real players in the game of life. It starts with us…in our homes, at our work, in our communities. We need to do the right things and challenge each other when human failings happen (and they will happen). So today I will say I am very thankful for the many people in my life who always do their best to do the right things, for the right reasons, and hold me accountable to do the same.

Sandy Lane, CPA

Lutz & Company, PC | Certified Public Accountants & Consultants

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