Good Teachings
Golden Rules
17/10/08 07:24
When I was about 7, my father took me with him when he went to his lawyer's house. All along one wall, from floor to ceiling, were identical looking pale blue books. I asked what they were. The lawyer answered that these books contained descriptions of all the things that were against the law in USA.
I was shocked, flabbergasted! I didn't know there were that many things, let along that many forbidden things. After we left, I asked my father, "Are there really so many things that are against the law in our country?" My father thought a minute and then replied, "Yes, there are that many laws, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you shouldn't do those things."
Surprised, I said, "But I thought that was what laws mean." My father replied, "It's important that people follow these rules in general or society would fall apart. We couldn't live so close together in cities if people freely killed and stole from each other. However, if in your specific case, you feel and think that you do have the right to do something against the law, what it first means is that you should cool off and think it through carefully. If, after careful consideration, you still think that you have the right to do something like that, then it means that you should do it such a way that no one can find out who did it."
--Dr. Robert Frost
I was shocked, flabbergasted! I didn't know there were that many things, let along that many forbidden things. After we left, I asked my father, "Are there really so many things that are against the law in our country?" My father thought a minute and then replied, "Yes, there are that many laws, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you shouldn't do those things."
Surprised, I said, "But I thought that was what laws mean." My father replied, "It's important that people follow these rules in general or society would fall apart. We couldn't live so close together in cities if people freely killed and stole from each other. However, if in your specific case, you feel and think that you do have the right to do something against the law, what it first means is that you should cool off and think it through carefully. If, after careful consideration, you still think that you have the right to do something like that, then it means that you should do it such a way that no one can find out who did it."
--Dr. Robert Frost