Beggars and Choosers

I was riding the bus once, several years ago when we lived in the city. As often happened, a conversation started up between several people. One of the other buses earlier that day had been involved in a fender bender with a truck. Even though it was a mild tap, no one saw it coming and several were thrown from their seats. No one was actually hurt and the passengers were picked up by a second bus that completed the route.

One of the passengers said, “Man! I wish I had been on that bus! I’d have been yellin” my head off and grabbin’ my neck! I woulda’ never had to work again!” To which another passenger responded, “Girl you ain’t never worked anyway!” “Hell no, I ain’t never worked! I”d lose all my benefits!” Laughter broke out. I continued reading my Tom Clancy novel while musing to myself about how people are not only glad to cheat, lie, steal, and live dishonestly, but they are proud of the fact that they do it and get away with it.

Rather than asking themselves, How good can I be? What positive, honorable choices can I make today?  What can I do to contribute? What can I do to leave the world just a bit better than I found it? They wonder, “How bad can I be and still be ok? As long as someone else has done something worse, it doesn’t matter what I do today. They justify their bad behavior by blaming their parents, society, anyone who opposes them or expects them to live within limitations.

These kinds of people astonish me. They wreak havoc where ever they go. The leave destruction and refuse in their wake, and then wonder why squalor follows them.  They hate those that have more than them ignoring the fact that what other’s have was probably earned. They demand respect yet they treat every one with contempt and do nothing to deserve it. They expect to be taken care of, cared for, supported, yet they contribute absolutely nothing.

People who think like this do serve a purpose, however.  They remind me to appreciate the aches at the end of a long day. They remind me to live a grateful life; to live so that at the end of the day, I can look myself in the mirror without shame or remorse. They remind me that reaching my potential is not only a worthy goal but a formidable challenge. They remind me how important it is to be an informed voter. And they remind me, that in the end, I wish to leave the world just a bit better than I found it.