Doing the Right Thing

One day last week my daughter decided to try out a new feature offered by a restaurant in our neighborhood and she ordered our take out dinner on line. She was given a very precise time to pick up our meal and we went together to get the food. When we got there, we were dismayed to learn that the order had not gone through, even though she was under the impression that it had.

The hostess could not have been more accommodating; she was clearly embarrassed at the mess-up and she offered us a free beverage while we waited for our order. We declined her offer and sat outside at a cafe table waiting for our food. About ten minutes later, she brought the order out to us and I stood up to go inside and pay the cashier.

"You're so honest," she gushed. "I thought you had paid the cashier when you re-placed the order. You could have just left." I looked at her like she was from Mars. "Of course I am going to pay," I told her. "I don't think it has anything to do with honesty. I bought two meals and I am going to pay for them."

Her remark really took me aback and I though about it a lot when I listened to Barrack Oabama make his acceptance speech last week in Denver. What kind of world are we living in when a waitress commends you for paying for your meal? What kind of world are we living in when the press makes a huge deal out of the Jacksons' unconditional decision to do whatever it takes to save their horse? What kind of world are we inhabiting when doing the right thing is so unusual that it attracts attention?

It's a scary thought that doing what is right is not the norm. I don't think we can blame it on politics or policies; I think it has to do with being taught by our parents that you don't steal; you don't cheat and you don't lie. The apple never falls far from the tree and in Obama I see a man who clearly wants to set an example for his daughters the way his parents and grandparents did for him.

It is just astounding that he has to do it for the country as well.