Envelopes Full of Cash

Envelopes full of cash, and other forms of corruption, deceit, and downright cheating is the topic of today's ramble. From politics, to sports, to the average Joe, it seems that there is, if not an epidemic, at least quite alot of shenanigans going on these days. So much so that we can easily become numb to it all as our tolerance levels get so high we almost forget to notice. Immoral behavior then starts to become the norm, the bar is shifted, and society is often worse for the wear.



Morality comes from Latin and roughly translates as manner, character, and proper behavior, which is a good place to start an examination of what should be versus what increasingly is. How we treat people, how we represent ourselves, and how we act define our morality. Morality speaks to our sense of right and wrong. There are certain universal accepted truths, think of the ten commandments, or at least the ones we can easily remember, such as thou shalt not kill. Most people would agree that killing another human is wrong, except under extreme circumstances such as self-defense, or during a justified war. But like with most things, there are areas of disagreement, some legitimate, such as when is war justified and what is the line between self-defense and preemption, two questions that get to the heart of the Iraq War. Some justifications however are indefensible to my way of thinking however. Just the other day I heard the story of a teen named Larry King, who was shot and killed by a high school classmate for the crime of, get ready for this one, being gay. As if this horrendous taking of life was not bad enough, a woman being interviewed all but excused the killer as just a kid who should be treated with kid gloves. Can't imagine that the fact the victim was gay had anything to do with her lenient attitude. Amazing how bigotry will allow people to turn a blind eye to human cruelty and immorality.



Another of the big ones as far as Moses' top ten list (straight from the home offices in Sinai) is thou shalt not commit adultery. Apparently our nation's politicians, governors especially, seemed to miss the memo on this one. From the adulterer-in-chief Bill Clinton, to former New York governor Elliot Spitzer, his replacement David Patterson, and now apparently the governor of Nevada are all known adulterers. Throw in prostitution and it gets even better, as in for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in state or federal government. We get numb to it so that by the time the next guy gets caught with his hand, or some other body part, in the cookie jar, will we be as outraged and indignant? The other night on the Colbert Report I watched an interview with a writer for the New Yorker who is making the argument, heard elsewhere also, that men are just unfaithful by nature and that we need to stop being so prudish. In a rare departure from his on show character, the real Stephen Colbert came out and summed up perfectly how I feel on the matter by asking if this wasn't just an excuse for someone to be an a-hole. Which of course is exactly what it is. One of the things that separates us from the other animals, both human and non-human, is our ability to use judgement based on morality, knowing what is right and what is wrong and having the discipline to act accordingly.



The world of sports and entertainment are often a mirror of society at large, and this is certainly the case on this topic. The latest has to do with the NBA and allegations of game fixing for the purposes of profit, both for individual referees, and if we believe the allegations of Tim Donaghy, for the benefit of specific teams and the league as a whole. Sports are supposed to be a bastion of fair play, sportsmanship, and meritocracy. Professional sports, while still entertaining, have become havens for cheating and poor behavior, witness all of the baseball brawls we see lately, a good number of which are among teammates no less. We have football coaches secretly video taping opponents signals, and now college baseball teams, my Alma mater in fact, faking fights before the game to try and distract the other team. And the scourge of professional sports, most notably baseball but likely prevalent in other sports as well, is doping. Not the 1970's style of doping, where players would actually smoke dope, or take other recreational drugs openly in clubhouses, or the 1930's style where players would get loaded on booze before games, but the modern style which includes needles in the backside and human growth hormones, the so-called steroids scandals. It has gotten to the point where we hardly even bat an eyelash when another ballplayer is exposed, Roger Clemens alone is alleged to have used steroids, had an affair with a teenage girl, and also used Viagra as an aid for his pitching. Talk about killing two birds with one stone. Don't think we'll be seeing anymore commercials with him and his wife anytime soon.



The list goes on, and on, and on. What is shocking one day is commonplace the next, until something newer and more shocking comes along. I don't have any answers or neat tidy conclusion, and no songs come to mind. The title by the way comes from what I heard when I turned on the radio the other day, listening to the BBC news on the way home from the gym, and the first thing I hear is the announcer in a British accent talking about envelopes full of cash. I laughed to myself, thinking that nothing good ever comes from that one. Turns out it was a story of corruption in the Israeli government. Even a nation based on the one of the world's great religions is not immune to bribery and immoral behavior. I suppose there is nothing new under the sun, this type of stuff has been going on since day one, and likely will continue. I'm not an overly moralistic or a preachy type, I'm certainly no saint, but I'm old school enough to appreciate right from wrong, and doing the right thing never goes out of style. Maybe that will catch on, and the new trend will be playing by the rules, staying faithful, and treating each other with respect and dignity. It's worth hoping for at least.