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  1. #1
    Moderator ikor's Avatar
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    Default Kids Who Break Things

    From Gabe...not his biggest fan but he does hit the mark once in a while...


    Kids Who Break Things and Kids Who Fix Things
    Richard Coplin - S.I. Instructor
    Occasionally, life gives us a small gift of wisdom. Sometimes it comes with a substantial price tag. Other times the debt for learning is small and acceptable. If we are astute we will take that gift of wisdom and apply it throughout our lives.

    I was lucky enough, and young enough when one of these pearls came my way. I was also in a place to recognize the profound implications it carried.

    The Wisdom:
    There are two types of kids in life.
    Kids who break things and kids who fix things.

    The Details:

    When we were children, my brother and I had a disagreement. He took it to the next level and ripped a rotary telephone out of the wall and threw it at me. I got off the "X". The telephone hit a standing lamp, knocked it over and shattered a milk glass reflector bowl.

    My response was that our parents would be very angry and since he threw the phone he should clean it up and own up to his loss of control.

    I was quickly informed that he would not clean it up and would simply lie as to who did it. I was told, "I will just tell mom and dad that you broke it and they will believe me because they always do."

    I cleaned it up and kept my mouth shut about what really happened and was punished on the word of my sibling.

    I am grateful to this day for the lesson learned on that afternoon.

    We are continually presented with choices in life. Do we do this or do we do that? The constant in the choices is or should be, "what is ethical and moral in this circumstance?" This may differ substantially from what is legal or lawful. While not always immediately apparent, the "right" choice is always the "right" choice. The right choice is not always popular or easy.

    As much as many in society wish to believe otherwise, moral relativism is a lie. Decisions based on moral relativism will almost always be the wrong ones and sooner or later reveal themselves as such. In other words, there will be a price to pay for cutting that moral/ethical corner.

    There is a difference between those who do the right thing because it is the right thing and those who don't do the wrong thing simply because they are afraid of the cost of being caught. That difference can be summed up as a strong moral compass or sense of morality or ethics. Some people have this. Some people, though they are aware of the existence of morals and ethics, simply live by a sad, egotistical code of moral relativism that tells them that whatever they do is all right as long as they don't get caught.

    Moral relativism engenders sociopathy and pathological narcissism. If there is no absolute "right" or "wrong", the concepts of good and evil are not relevant. This type of person is easily identified in the penal system, gangs and within our own political class. Whatever is good for them is "good" and whatever is bad for them is "bad". The implicit lack of empathy for others distinguishes them from morally squared away individuals.

    Life can be viewed as complex, with a myriad of shades of gray and little or no black or white. This is how much of our society chooses to live. The reality is, life is black or white. The differences are apparent if one accepts responsibility for the morals and ethics of any given situation.

    There are kids who fix things and there are kids who break things. Which are you?

    Certainly, given the nature of what we train to do, it could be argued that we must break some things in order to fix others but we are really concerned with the macrocosm rather than the microcosm. In other words, we acknowledge that killing is not something we normally choose to do but given the choice between stopping a threat to ourselves or loved ones by killing an aggressor (breaking someone) or standing by and letting evil reign supreme, we will obviously choose the former over the latter.

    It becomes an easy task to determine who we are by examining past behavior and present inclinations. Do we seize opportunities to benefit at the expense of others just because we can and presumably will get away with it? Or, do we treat others with same respect, kindness, decency and honor, which we expect from the?

    Daily, are we fixing things or are we breaking them? This week, did we do more to make our life and the lives of our family and friends better or worse? This month? This year?

    Improving our life or the lives of loved ones should be the ultimate goal of all of our actions. This goal must be framed within moral and ethical considerations. As Gabe often says, "G-D, family and tribe".

    Given what is coming out of our federal and state legislatures, we can only surmise that the majority of elected officials are kids who break things.

    The importance of being something better than that has never been more critical than now. Today, tomorrow, next week, at every opportunity we must be better than what passes as the status quo.

    Simply, are you a kid who breaks things or a kid who fixes things?
    Run Fast, Bite Hard!

  2. #2
    Moderator camouflage762's Avatar
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    Moral relativism engenders sociopathy and pathological narcissism. If there is no absolute "right" or "wrong", the concepts of good and evil are not relevant.
    Recent studies show that 1 out of every 3 liberals are just as dumb as the other 2

  3. #3
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    Ikor, what about a kids who takes things apart and cannot re-asemble it - does it count as 'break' ....

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    Moderator ikor's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by fhm3006 View Post
    Ikor, what about a kids who takes things apart and cannot re-asemble it - does it count as 'break' ....
    Nah...sounds like a normal kid...boy especially...to me
    Run Fast, Bite Hard!

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    Excellent, then i was normal and my son is extremely normal...


    Quote Originally Posted by ikor View Post
    Nah...sounds like a normal kid...boy especially...to me

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Kids Who Break Things

    Quote Originally Posted by fhm3006 View Post
    Ikor, what about a kids who takes things apart and cannot re-asemble it - does it count as 'break' ....
    Naa, it just means he is showing early signs of The Knack:


  7. #7

    Default Re: Kids Who Break Things

    Brilliant post ikor! Thanks!

  8. #8

    Default Re: Kids Who Break Things

    +1 Thanks ikor.

  9. #9

    Default Re: Kids Who Break Things

    Good read. Thanx.

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