Right and Wrong

Different Points of View

The report of the Boston massacre in 1770 is an example of different views of the same event depending on which side of the street you were on, both figuratively and literally. This event, among others, led to the American revolution in 1776. If you were a British loyalist you saw things in favor of the red coats and if you were not you saw this as abuse of British authority. Five colonists were killed and several others wounded by the eight British soldiers who came to the aid of a sentry being harassed by the Americans. An order to shoot was never given, the soldiers did so after being attacked by the crowd throwing rocks and other objects.

The current news stories of police brutalizing and killing unarmed African Americans comes to mind especially when you consider the typical police justifications for too many of these crimes against the citizens they are supposed to protect. Human nature dictates we take sides unfortunately, often ignoring the facts. This is compounded by the fact people see things differently even when they don't have an axe to grind. Today's technology makes hiding the facts more difficult but even with videos of the event, folks still come to the wrong conclusion. Harkin back to the Rodney King III video of police brutality and that four policemen were originally acquitted in a court of law. 

"Three were acquitted of all charges. The jury acquitted the fourth of assault with a deadly weapon, but failed to reach a verdict on the use of excessive force. The jury deadlocked at 8–4 in favor of acquittal at the state level. The acquittals also led to the federal government's obtaining grand jury indictments for violations of King's civil rights. The trial of the four in a federal district court ended on April 16, 1993, with two of the officers being found guilty and subsequently imprisoned. The other two were acquitted again." - Wikipedia

From a black person's perspective, things look pretty bleak after hundreds of years of slavery, lynching and being treated poorly by society as well as the authorities.

The interesting results of the 1770 incident in Boston are, the defendants were represented by a future President of the United States, John Adams, and all but two soldiers were acquitted and the two were found guilty of manslaughter.

Right and Wrong

The difference between right and wrong isn't as black or white as it used to be. Too many loopholes and dishonest people have blurred the two ― never mind the gray areas. Unfortunately, many people think "rules were made to be broken". Nobody does wrong and admits it. If you ask the prisoner why they are in prison, they will tell you they didn't do it, whatever it is. Human nature forces us to justify our actions and believe we are right.

We inherently trust that people will do the right things. We hope we can walk down the sidewalk minding our own business and not be run over by a passing motorist. We believe we can get on an airplane and arrive safely at our destination without a depressed pilot flying into the side of a mountain with us onboard. It does not occur to us that as law abiding citizens we will be pulled over by the police for a broken tail light and shot in the back five times making a feeble getaway fleeing on foot.

I have great news! There is a difference between right and wrong. Not just a difference in what you believe or I believe. Those beliefs are not what makes something right or wrong. Right is right and wrong is wrong, it's that simple but somehow we humans don't believe it.

If Moses had to receive the ten commandments to teach the Hebrews what was right or wrong it is evident we humans have been getting it incorrect for thousands of years. While he was carving the stone tablets the tribes of Israel were celebrating their freedom from slavery by practicing idolatry, and worse. Someone's higher power had human nature pegged pretty well.

We have inherited a boatload of fixes to remedy this "human nature" problem, from rules, laws, authority, police, religion, boundaries,  gates, fences, obstacles, litigation, legislation, etc.,

I have no illusions that I will have much impact on the problem, after realizing the conundrum, I decided to concentrate on myself. What rules am I breaking? What laws of nature am I not obeying? How can I set a better example? We can improve things a little bit if everybody does the same.

Disrespect

Have you noticed the absence of common courtesy and good manners; caring about others; or treating people the way we'd like to be treated? It's gone missing in our "civilized" society. The stresses of "getting ahead," or "keeping up with the Jones," maintaining our way of life, keeping our jobs, paying the bills, and taking on too much responsibility has wound us up like a tight spring. In focusing all our attention on getting from point A to point B, we have discarded common sense and courtesy when it comes to rules, laws and right and wrong. Taking time to smell the coffee might actually alter the way the world works, or so the naive idealists may believe.

Today, without attaching a winning lottery ticket, getting human beings to change their behavior is a daunting task. I have become a better defensive driver, betting the other motorists will take chances with my life. African Americans expect to be profiled (especially if they are driving an expensive car) and they do not trust people in law enforcement or the judicial system. Their previous bad experiences have taught them to prepare for the worst. Isn't that an awful thing to say about this country?