Maxims for Life

4/25/2011

I hope all had a blessed Easter Sunday.  For once, I did virtually no work this Sunday.  Of course, I feel guilt about it but feel guilt when I work on Sunday also.

Aside from, but related to scripture, two maxims exist that bear themselves out in our lives every day.  I remind the cadets of these frequently (and did again on the Lanier Quad this morning).

The first is anonymous and simply says, "Bad things happen to people who do bad things."  In reality, my personal experience has been that, "Badder things happen to people who do bad things."  I am convinced that natural consequences in life actually exceed our bad deeds.  Thus, cheating (e.g., inthe classroom or on tax form 1040), lying or deceiving (e.g., alibis), or bearing false witness (e.g., blaming others for one's own failures), cause us more grief than we can even imagine.

The second maxim is from Dr. Bruce Heilman, WWII veteran, U.S. Marine, and former President of the University of Richmond.  Dr. Heilman wrote that, "There is no right way to do the wrong thing" (I know I have written this before, but it deserves repetition).  This maxim, I believe, relates to our deceitful ways.  Immaturity and lack of understanding manifests itself in our cadets in so many ways and is frequently observed in their alibis and testimony.  I am determined to cause them to understand that deceit is a hideous form of lying because of its intent.

On a large plaque in the middle of Rockefeller Center are these words from John D. Rockefeller's personal credo: "I believe in the sacredness of a promise, that a man's word should be as good as his bond, that character not wealth or power or position is of supreme worth.