Of Bikes, Enron & the Law

Has anybody ever told you to do something wrong or criminal? If you, stuck to your morals then, that probably showed the strength of your character. There was a period in my life when I tried to follow the book of ethics to the letter. Even if I walked in 'blank' to the examination hall, I promised myself that I would never cheat (a.k.a copy). I thought I could carry this easily over on to the real world once I graduate, earn, stand on my own legs, pay my bills etc. But its easier said than done. Its been tough. For e.g I had promised myself that I would never ever bribe or accept bribes. But the day came when a cop caught me for parking in a 'no-parking' zone. To top that charge, I didn't have insurance, emission certificate & I hadn't even paid the Karnataka road tax. He threatened me with an hefty fine of around 1200 Rs. I buckled & I eventually paid around 700 Rs in bribe. Due in part to my own laziness & negligence I have ended up paying up further bribes till about a month ago, when I got all my papers in order. I am sure, very few people will have the moral strength to say that I have done wrong & I will pay for it, no matter what the cost. To the rest of us, the only solution, before we transcend to that zone, is to probably try our best to stick to the right side of the morality/law at all times so that an opportunity never arises, for our morals or ethics to be tested. If you still haven't understood whats the relation between the comic strip & whats been written, its this- "If you cannot maintain your morals & ethics in small things how will you maintain them in bigger issues". I am sure that Bernard Ebbers or Kenneth Lay, the erstwhile CEO's of Worldcom & Enron respectively didn't turn crooks overnight. I am sure it all started perhaps in some small ways as stealing their schoolmates lunch boxes.