A dose of honesty

It's not that hard to be honest. Is it? The majority of people are honest, aren't they? Lately, I'm not so sure. A couple years ago, we found a rash of charges on our credit card for things we didn't purchase (most notably, a payment to a doctor in India), and were forced to question when and where our card number got stolen. Noel had her debit card number stolen by a coworker at the GAP, and the girl continued to work with her as though nothing had happened while using the stolen number. Several of you, my blogger friends, have written about things that have been stolen from your cars, your homes, and even off your porches. It seems like our society in general has become decidedly less honest than in years past. Remember the two clips of President Clinton played back to back: "I did not have sexual relations with that woman." "I did indeed have an inappropriate physical relationship with Miss Lewinsky." Dishonesty reaches the highest office in America.

What ever happened to the days of doing the right thing simply because it's the right thing? I remember, as a kid, losing my wallet at a toy store in Las Vegas. It was a big deal, because I had over $20 inside! We were all pleasantly surprised when it turned up at the customer service desk, with nothing stolen. My faith in mankind was restored.

Today, though, the newspaper is filled with stories of dishonesty. The big story in sports right now comes from accusations of trainers, telling of steriod use by Major League Baseball players. Of course, the players deny that they ever took anything knowingly, although they would be hard pressed to find many who are willing to believe that they are telling the truth. Wouldn't they all be better off just to come out and admit that they did something wrong and to ask for forgiveness, instead of denying something that they are, clearly, guilty of?

These are the things that have been weighing in my mind lately, as my faith in society has dwindled. Then I lost our camera. I had it at Damon's school on Friday as I joined his class in the Dare to Read walk, but when I got home, I couldn't find it. Hoping I had only misplaced it, I searched the stroller, the van, and every possible place I could've put it here at home. Nothing. I came to the conclusion that it must have fallen out of the stroller at the school, and all I could do was hope that someone found it and brought it in to the office. My hopes weren't very high, as my attitude had turned cynical as of late, as I called the office this morning. Maybe it's the Christmas spirit in the air, maybe there are one or two honest people left in the world, or maybe I have underestimated mankind.

The camera was there! I don't have to face any more "if you lost the camera, we won't be able to afford one for a long time" guilt trips. I can stop telling Damon that sometimes our prayers aren't answered, and tell him that (YAY!) sometimes they are. Merry Christmas to me. Our week is off to a great start. Honestly.