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[/caption]Carol Forsloff - A reporter stopped at a Portland McDonalds and asked for a small, chocolate-flavored coffee and when it became apparent the brew was not prepared and the customer inquired, the clerk said “we have been working on it” and then visibly began the coffee preparation several minutes later, reflecting once again a kind of murder that takes place in politics and life.
There is no such thing as a little murder, an elderly woman said many years ago to a girl who lied about being late from school, a lesson we might all take with us as we maneuver through our lives. It is a lesson that underlines how breaking small rules can cause big hurts. For when we break a little rule, such as being honest with others and ourselves, we can set up a pattern that becomes self-reinforcing. At its worst it leads to killing without conscience in the same way someone lies.
That small lie about a cup of coffee might seem trivial to some. After all in a world where there are tragic events and critical news, why would this be significant enough to even talk about it. But those lies can murder institutions, our businesses, our politics and getting done those things we need to do. A little lie about a cup of coffee can multiply and reminds us that if we lie about the trivial, would we not lie about more important and complex matters.
What a wise woman declared about lies and murder, reminds us of certain well-regarded rules of behavior that in the religion of many men have equal status, giving good direction for the way we live right now.
False witness is the eighth commandment, the rule about lies that is underlined in some simple rules, the kind that have been replicated and reinforced by teachers and followers of many faiths for many centuries. Whether one believes in God or not, the rule itself is good. False witness underlines the gossip in politics, the lies that people tell to gain advantage in some contest in the world. False witness are the lies when we do wrong, the issues we can’t face in admitting our mistakes. The eighth commandment suggests we need to honor ourselves by admitting when we lie and recognizing those lies can hurt and even kill.
You shall not kill reminds us of the sacredness of life, about which many people would agree. It is, however, given no more weight in what we do or don’t do among those ten great rules, than lying to our neighbors and our friends.
New York’s Congressman , Andy Weiner, lied about sexual solicitations of young women on Twitter, an issue that makes us wonder how that relates with his governance and reason. His scandal reflects the issues that pervade the politics of many countries in the world today. It’s difficult to tell the truth that one has sent explicit, private pictures in a public place, but the lie to hide the wrong can multiply the errors that were made. Citizens become disillusioned more and more with modern politics. That disillusionment can influence if and for whom they vote, and in great numbers can impact the future of us all.
The issues become much greater when the lies are part of adulterous affairs, as in the case of Senator David Vitter of Louisiana years ago, whose public disclosure of his name on call girl list created quite a furor. He first denied he had frequented prostitutes, but then, his wife beside him, admitted he had wronged her and had embarrassed his constituents as well. Like Weiner, however, those consitutuents held fast, allowing Vitter to serve out his full term, then re-elected him again last year. Deborah Palfrey, the madam of the call girl ring, killed herself before facing continuing exposure and potential prison time. Vitter, however, remains a Republican Senator today, with only minor mention of adultery and lies.
What lying in a public place reminds us is the risk of killing government and faith in one another when we misrepresent issues even in our personal lives. But the other lesson is on how we should behave and think about each other and what happens when we revel in the sins that others do.
We must acknowledge wrong doing in our leaders and surely should consider whether their faults might interfere with their ability to govern wisely as opposed to pointing fingers at the sins. For in our daily lives how many folks commit those “little murders, “ shrug them off, and then begin again. Then It is the moat we find in eyes of others while the beams continue growing in our own, while we look at the faults and sins of others with a righteous indignation that implies that we are better than the ones whom we indict.
The little murder lesson reminds us how we can all do better when we look within ourselves growth and honesty and get past simply judging sins of other men.