| Vintage Reading® Stories Heard Over the Back Fence
"The More Things Change . . . "
By Rita and Victor Buday
MARCH 2008 :: © 2008 Buday Books / Vintage Reading®
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It
is a testament to Human Nature that these comments were accepted
as "the state of affairs" over 100 years ago (and, as far back as we
humans stood erect on two feet) --
SIMPLE RULES FOR THOSE CONTEMPLATING STEALING
FROM AN 1866 NEW YORK CITY NEWSPAPER
-----
1. Proper regard for your own interests should prevent you from making small swindles & thefts . . . it is as unprofitable to commit small crimes as to make a small war.
2. Penniless thieves must be dealt with harshly. What is a
pauper's "intolerable threat to society" is merely an "error in
judgment" in a thief with the manners & appearance of a gentleman.
3. Banks, large corporations, & stock speculators are not
revengeful if you are of their class & clan. You may swindle
them roundly without forfeiting their sympathy or esteem. But if
you are a common thief who proposes to rifle their coffers in the common, vulgar way--expect no mercy.
4. Always keep the great fact in mind that in cases of
malfeasance and thievery, the penalty is inversely proportionate to the
crime; (i.e., stealing millions of dollars may bring a few years in the
Bastille with time off for good behavior; stealing hundreds or a few
thousands brings "throw the book & throw away the key!").
==
Today "doing business" is more sophisticated; today a
cynic might ask "What happens when an "ordinary" citizen with a
legitimate lawsuit tries to sue a large corporation for damages? :::
The reply: How many years will it be before the lawsuit goes to trial .
. . then, how many years the case is tied up for appeal? . . . followed
by still more years for a higher-Court appeal . . . then, how long to
argue before the Federal Appeals Court? (It may not have to be delayed
even further if the citizen went bankrupt paying legal fees . . . or
died.)
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EVERYONE CLAIMS TO HATE MUD-SLINGING . . .
FROM AN 1877 AMERICAN POLITICAL MAGAZINE
---
. . . while at the same time almost
everyone secretly delights in hearing & repeating political rumors and scandals, while many
narrow partisans are ever willing to believe the worst of the other
party. These blind prejudices are spread adrift by spoken words & the printed words of The Press.
There is Liberty Of The Press which is invaluable & hard-won. It is the Liberty to expose & the Liberty to express opinions. It
is not, & never has been, the Liberty of epithets, of groundless
accusation, or of inventing lies. Liberty Of The Press does not
permit a person's character to knowingly be destroyed--at will--by
anyone who can use The Press or other means.
The effect has been to invite unprincipled, loud-mouthed
demagogues into positions of political leadership. It is true
that sometimes facts justify accusations, but the unbridled slash-to-kill
dirt-throwing upon everyone in the political opposition drives many
reputable people out of politics, leaving the field to the
thick-skinned who are indifferent to ethics & public opinion so
long as they can continue to make things go their way.
Some honest politicians have managed to withstand calumnies cast upon them, but as surely as day follows night, politics as a service to all of the public has
been immensely demoralized by reckless denunciation, ulterior motives,
& abuse. It is notorious that a vicious portion of people
will promptly believe any scandal -- true or contrived -- that may be
set afloat. That is no reason why a person's feelings, integrity,
honesty, & sense of self-respect are to be outraged whenever it
pleases an irresponsible opponent to do so.
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