Be the 'Do'

I was in the turn lane heading over an overpass the other day and thought about how we exercise personal restraint. We're trained to believe in rules and face collisions if we ignore them. We're pretty good at them, I thought, as I crossed 3 lines of traffic patiently respecting my green arrow.

I've had a little collision (again) with the notion that America perceives itself by-and-large as a place of tolerance and understanding, and takes pride on taking the high road. I would have liked being part of what is a just and honorable country, that altruistically steps up anywhere there is need. 

This is an America not of that ilk. People are burning the Quron and sending hate mail to elderly people under the guise of political rhetoric. In poverty-stricken Louisiana our help after Katrina was modest at best and third world countries were left suffering from famine and genocide with no oil rich reserves to offer up in thanks.

Today's America is driven by the business of compassion, the 'what's-in-it-for-me' element.  (Lucky for us the Middle East has something to offer or there'd be no war.)

A man stepped down yesterday from a business he spent a lifetime to build. I knew him fairly well, a decent, caring and honorable chap currently in the midst of a contentious divorce full of ugly innuendo and accusations. Stories like this get us to wondering if this is a strategy by his wife's lawyer to get around a pre-nup, or if it's true, instead of asking ~ can any future exoneration undo the damage already caused to this man's life and career?

No.

A counselor at a school where I once worked was accused of inappropriate behavior with a student. He was put on leave and the whole matter was investigated, very public, very ugly, leaked interviews and a court case. Months after it began and under cross-examination in court, the girls who reported the incident admitted they concocted the story because they were mad at not being put in the same class. 

There is no question he was ruined by it.

The truth is there is no truth in the media. They report ... a bias, a suggestion of impropriety, with a likely little smirk. As sensationalism topples life after life with hushed whispers and wagging fingers I wonder where the rules are they live by? Not the ones stretched out of shape under the first amendment, but the underlying values of honesty, fairness, and impartiality? What is the media's carbon footprint on the lives of those judged before they have their day in court?

It was once said to young parents that criticizing a child one time takes twenty positive gestures to correct. How does the media make amends when they are wrong?

It would be so much easier to see them exercise personal restraint and journalistic integrity by honoring the rules of the road we all share, namely to become the 'Do' in Do Unto Others:

• Do be mindful of what is said and implied.
• Do remember lives hang in the balance.
• Do follow the rules of fairness and impartiality.
• Do respect the law and wait for the process to conclude before drawing conclusions.
• Do not chase windmills.  
• Do recognize and discount gossip. 
• Do know the difference between real life and a reality show.