Opportunity and Moral Fibre

Very recently, a senior leader of a national political party blamed another party which has been in power for the majority of time in this country for having corrupted the system so much, that his party members also have become corrupt. In most circles, persons with such high ‘external locus of control’ are looked at as losers. Being able to take responsibility for your actions is imperative for growth. I believe in holding my own destiny. I believe in doing what you know is right. I believe in having morals.

Moral fibre comes from within. It is then built by the family and society we live in. Some people don’t have corrupt impulses, some people control such impulses and some give way to the impulses. In the same situation of being homeless after a natural disaster, some would share the food they found with others so all are a little nourished, some may want more food than was their quota but hold themselves back bearing with their hunger and still others grab food meant for others.

Take two simple examples. While I had used private couriers to send documents, I had never sent gifts. The first time that I did, I did not know I had to attach a list of contents and sure enough some small toys I had put in – worth maybe Rs. 50 did not reach the addressee. Some tapes of classical music in the same package did. Clearly, there was someone at the courier service, waiting for the opportunity to meet a rookie like I, had no qualms about opening my package, removing what he wanted and sending forward what he did not want. An honest courier would have made me make the list, sign it and then have collected the package for delivery. On the other hand, when a neighbour’s kid threw out a ball, a construction worker working on an under-construction building picked it up, rang the bell and gave it back – saying, “my kid’s asleep. If he had seen it he would cry to return it since he does not have one. Could you please be careful while playing with the ball?” Whose child is likely to be taught right from wrong? Whose child is likely to grow up honest? Multiply the sums involved by a million and the issue remains still the same.

The true test of moral fibre is opportunity. Everybody can call themselves honest if they have never had the opportunity to steal. It is only when you are exposed to the opportunity to steal will your true values stand out. The fact that everybody who has the opportunity does not use it to benefit his partisan needs, is the only reason that the society still survives as a society. That the one who restrains himself is looked upto and the one who indulged himself is denigrated cannot be held against people.

Look all around you. Whom do you respect? You may at some level admire the skill and guts with which a corrupt person functions, but do you respect them? To be respected you need to be worthy of the respect. You need to be seen respecting those with morals. You need to have morals. You need to take yourself beyond avarice and above temptation, how ever hard that may be. You need to be able to believe in yourself to be able to provide yourself all that you want, through honest means. You need to respect yourself.

You also need to reject from your fold those you know to be corrupt. You need to stand for a society that takes action against the corrupt. You need to take action against the corrupt.