> http://www.worldofquotes.com/author/Abraham-Lincoln/1/ > > Scroll down to around the 22nd phrase and read: > > "When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. And that's my religion." - Lincoln
So. why did this work for Lincoln, but not for Nero, Stalin, Bundy, and dozens of other people we could quickly name? Do you think these guys felt bad about what they did? Maybe they even felt good about it! Do you think there is any limit to the horrors that an unrestrained human mind can justify? History seems to say no. We all exercise self restraint on a nearly continuous basis, and we do this to a set of internal behavioral standards that are constantly being updated. Updates that raise our standards are generally the result of receiving and accepting instruction. Standards may also be modified (usually downward) by circumstances that affect us. A trivial example is: standing around the water cooler for 20 minutes during the 10 minute break. Do you go back to your desk after 10 minutes or do you hang out longer? If the guys get away with it week after week, circumstances may lead you to a reduction in personal standards. A sharp word from the boss will bump everyones standard back up, at least temporarily. We all know which fellow worker will be the one to push the envelope again a few days later. Is "reduction of behavioral standards" a suitable definition for the word "corruption"? Here's a quote. I don't recall who said it. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely." Nero and Stalin had it on a national level, Bundy had it on a personal level. How do we avoid corruption in our lives on any level? It is fairly easy to see corruption in others. How do we identify it in ourselves? Identification is surely the first step toward fixing it. What would the next step be? Jeff
