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It can be life or death

Sometimes doing the right thing comes with a cost.

It is hard to always know when to do the right thing.  We all make mistakes, and afterwards, reflect on how we could have reacted better.  Then, there are other times when we do the right thing just because it is part of who we are and for no other reason.  I think that the way we react is a direct result of our own strengths and weaknesses.

Each lesson we learn in life takes us to the place we stand, so does our upbringing, our moral compass and our honour.  In fact, sometimes doing the right thing comes with a cost.  It is a cost we have to accept because we were backed in a corner whether by the situation or by a person.  It’s what we do when we are backed there that can sometimes make the difference between life and death, class and no class, humility and arrogance or cruelty and kindness.

There are people who walk by an assault without batting an eye and there are those that don’t.  President Barack Obama had an enormous decision recently.  He decided whether someone lived or died and then, he decided how best to dispose of the body.  I hope I never ever have to make such a decision.  It would be impossible to come out of unscathed.  People would hate you for murdering another even though the blood was not washed directly off of your hands.  In the case of Osama bin Laden, I don’t think there were too many people who rejoiced wholeheartedly in his death.  Many felt a sense of closure, some felt relief and others just felt kind of numb that a horrible chapter in United States history hand ended.

We all know that the story has not ended, but just a chapter.  I am sure that those families who lost a loved one in the Twin Towers, in a field in Pennsylvania, at the Pentagon or afterwards in the aftermath felt a bit of justice.  The whole event has been tragic.  There are no winners.

I was thinking about the Penticton couple who got stuck and lost in Nevada.  They made some very wrong decisions that almost cost them both their lives.  In fact, the husband is still missing, but Rita Chretien also made some very right decisions.  She lasted forty-nine days on water and snacks.  Seven weeks is a long time to be missing.

A couple of years ago myself and some others observed a very bad situation.  Some chose to stay out of it.  Some quickly left choosing not to get involved and some stayed.  One friend of mine went right into the middle of the situation.  She shifted into the position of protector.  Two other women spoke up and tried to make the situation better.  I had to say something/do something they said.  I don’t know why some chose one route and some chose another, but I know where I stand.  Right is sometimes a no-brainer.  If you have ever watched that show What would you do? and thought “I would do this” you are probably a doer, someone who feels obligated to make a stand now and again.  Life is full of choices.  Some change our lives forever while other choices are more universal.  Doers change things, big things.  They don’t run away from controversy.  Running away solves nothing.  I would do, would you?