Doing the right thing

Should we always do the right thing?

As we go through life we may often find ourselves in situations where we have to decide between alternatives. We weigh up the pros and cons of the situation and reach a decision. It can be difficult. We don't want to offend or upset others and hope that, whatever they think, we have done the right thing. For some doing what they believe is the right thing can have disastrous consequences, particularly if the right thing, as they see it, involves releasing on the internet what the State considers to be sensitive and secret. Even for the rest of us there can be unforeseen outcomes when an exchange of views escalates to a confrontation that turns unexpectedly violent. But for most, if the other party is unforgiving, the worst that may happen is the unwelcome breakdown of a relationship or the loss of a friend.

Consider this example. It's a warm summer's day, only ten in the morning but already the temperature is in the twenties centigrade. You're uncomfortable and hot. Your deodorant is working overtime and there are beads of perspiration on your forehead. You wish you had put fewer and lighter clothes on. It gets worse and you notice that the palms of your hands are now sticky.

You start to consider the options available to you. In your heart you know how to resolve your problem, and if you were in the privacy of your own home you wouldn't think twice about it or hesitate. But you are in a public place and you have to consider the people around you.

How will they react if you do what you believe you must. Will they be shocked, offended, angry, resentful or derisive? Will they tell you off? Will they say you that you have overstepped the mark, that you are not at home?

It is now becoming unbearable and you decide you have to do what you believe is the right thing. You're prepared to debate it afterwards, if it comes to that. As you make your move your discomfort is exaggerated by a slight embarrassment. It may be an illusion but you feel that the babble of conversation has stopped and you feel dozens of eyes looking your way.

Then the conversation recovers and you feel a sense of relief as you realize that you made the right decision, and have done the right thing. Despite your discomfort it seems that they just see you as the guy who dared to open the window on the Arriva bus.