There are moments in life when each of us is presented with
choices to make. Sometimes these choices are easy, and sometimes they are
difficult. I have always dedicated my life to trying to make the right choices
as I see them. You see, I have patterned my life on a set of moral values and ethics
that my upbringing and experiences have imparted in me, and for me the world is
a very black and white place or at least most of the time it is. But as I get
older, it seems to me that there are far more areas of differing shades of grey
than I once believed. So how do we deal with those choices: the choices where no action is one hundred
percent morally or ethically right and yet the choice still needs to be made?
What then?
The answer is sometimes there is no right answer. Sometimes
there really are no win situations. To
some, this might seem like a pessimistic approach, but I disagree. I believe
that if we acknowledge that fact, we can move on to facing whatever obstacle or
challenge awaits us as a result of our choice. The key here is simply that you
have to make the choice that you can live with. At the end of the day, whatever
moral code or guiding principles that you subscribe to has to be satisfied.
Otherwise, you will destroy yourself. There is a scene from one of my favorite TV
shows that illustrates my point. The
hero is lying badly injured and perhaps dying in a hospital bed after
undergoing immense hardship in order to save a major city from sure
destruction. To do so, he has had to break many laws and do things that most of
us would find, at the very least, unethical. However, there is still a threat
out there that could potentially threaten the lives of the city’s inhabitants.
The hero’s partner knows that she can stop the threat, but she will similarly
have to disregard some of the same laws and rules that the hero has in order to
do so. As he lays there she approaches him and asks his advice.
“ Hero: I can’t tell you what to do. I’ve been wrestling with
this all my life. When I see fifteen people held hostage on a bus, everything
else goes out the window, and I’ll do whatever it takes to save them and I mean
whatever it takes. You know, maybe I thought, if I save them, I can save
myself.”
Partner: “Do you
regret anything that you did today?”
Hero: “No. But then again, I don’t work for the FBI.”
Partner:” I don’t understand.”
Hero: “You took an oath. You made a promise to uphold the
law. You cross that line, it always starts off with a small step. Before you
know it, you’re running as fast as you can in the wrong direction just to
justify why you started in the first place. These laws were written by much
smarter men than me. And in the end, I know that these laws have to be more
important than the fifteen people on the bus, I know that’s right. In my mind,
I know that’s right. But I just don’t think my heart could ever have lived with
that. I guess the only advice I can give you is try to make choices that you can
live with.”
So folks, that’s my advice to you.
Life can be difficult and eventually, we will all be faced with what seems to be an impossible situation. When no choice seems right, make the choice that is you can live with and have faith. We all have been granted the knowledge of right and wrong. We all have been
given our agency to make whatever choices we choose. But in the end, we all have to live with
ourselves and God. Make sure that no matter what, when you look in the mirror,
you can look yourself in the eye with self-respect, and dignity, and that on
that final day, you will be able to say “I did the best that I could.”
