Doing The Right Thing Can Be Painful

If you've seen the movie "It's A Wonderful Life," and I sure hope you have, the central character, George Bailey, is confronted with a number of key situations in his life. He has to make a choice about how to deal with each of those situations. The choices are difficult for him, because if he chooses to do nothing, other people will be hurt in some way; however, if he chooses to take action, he risks some sort of peril or pain for himself. He frequently agonizes over his choices. In one scene, even as he and his wife are departing on their honeymoon, a crisis develops at his family owned "Building & Loan." As is almost always the case with us humans, his first thought is about his own happiness, and he wants to keep going and not have to deal with the crisis. In the end, however, he turns back and gets involved. Of course, throughout the story, George faces the tough choices, endures the pain, and chooses to do the right thing. He doesn't always know exactly what the "pain" will be, but he does know that his choices will not be without potential consequences for him or his family; however, deep inside of him, he has a moral sense that tells him that he has to make the choices that may not always seem to be in his immediate best interest. I don't want to spoil the movie for you, but it will be tough to keep a dry eye at the end, even for some of the most "battle hardened" folks. (Having said that, please don't jump to the end of movie. You really have to watch the entire film to get the true meaning of the ending, even though for awhile, you may wonder what all of the scenes are leading up to.)

Now, "It's A Wonderful Life" is Hollywood; it's a movie. The thing is, in real life, we also have many choices to make, and I have to believe there isn't one among us who hasn't shirked his or her moral duty, and chosen to do nothing, or even worse, chosen to do the wrong thing; it's that way with us humans, although hopefully our poor judgment hasn't inflicted too much pain on others. History shows us that, just like in "It's A Wonderful Life," taking a moral stand can be painful indeed. Mahatma Gandhi made a choice to try to lead India out of colonial domination and into self governance. The road was long and painful at times. Gandhi chose "peaceful non-cooperation" with the British rulers. He was imprisoned several times in his life, as were many of his followers, and still many other of his followers were injured or killed during India's trek toward freedom. Gandhi was assassinated by an Indian malcontent not long after India had gained independence. In our own country, Martin Luther King tried to use many of Gandhi's methods as part of the "Civil Rights Movement" of the 1960s, achieving much, if not everything during his lifetime. Like Gandhi, King spent time in jail, as did many of his followers, he was assassinated in 1968. Abraham Lincoln took a strong stand against slavery, which brought about the Civil War, the bloodiest war ever involving Americans; it being fought American against American. Lincoln was assassinated in 1865. Where do each of US stand on the issues confronting us today? Upon their deaths, each of the above mentioned leaders was mourned by many in their respective nations, and even beyond the borders of their nations. When each of us passes from life to the other side, even though we may not be nearly as well known as the leaders above, will the people who knew us in some way grieve, or will many stand up and cheer? Think about it.