Did you know that it is morally acceptable to steal? Apparently there is a fine line between when it is okay to steal and when you should be thrown in jail for breaking the law. Sometimes the line becomes fuzzy because not every situation is black and white. So we can make separate rulings on a case by case basis. People believe that there are different levels of theft. Are the laws of society up for discussion or are they set in stone? Isn’t stealing, stealing?
When I was about five years old I went to the ninety nine cent store with my Aunty. As we walk into the store and turn down the next isle, I see an overwhelming amount of multicolored flowers lining a whole wall. I walk up close to the flowers to feel their velvet, and satin petals. I especially liked a certain purple flower because it had a sweet perfume-like scent. I happened to see one bud lying on the ground so I picked it up and tucked it into my pocket. Later, my mother found the crumpled flower in my pants when she was doing laundry. She asked where it came from and I told her that I found it at the store. I didn’t see the big deal in taking the flower. It’s only a flower right? My mother told me that it was a sin as well as against the law to steal no matter what the object was or what type of situation. She made it easy for me to see that stealing was not debatable. This concept is easily understandable because a five year old grasped the idea.
Later I went back to the laundry room to see if my flower was still there and I smelled the aroma of the once sweet flower. Now the scent made my stomach churn because I felt guilty about what I had done. I learned my lesson once and for all that there is a price to pay if I want to have something from the stores because it automatically doesn’t belong to me. I believe that the concept of the American dream is stretched a little bit too far into the idea of egocentrism where we are supposed to get anything and everything that we crave. There is a nice idea that hopes and dreams can take you anywhere but we can’t fall overboard and think selfishly to award worth where none is merited.
Children are growing up reading and watching cartoons like Robin Hood which exhibit the “good” kind of stealing. If as children we learn that the laws are there to for us to follow then we will not fall down a slippery spiral. Theft is breaking the law no matter which angle you perceive the situation. We will step into a messy glob of manure if we have a mindset that stealing is not universally bad. The TV shows, cartoons and “liberal” thinking should not lead us into the direction of lax reasoning. On the contrary, we should hold firm to the morals instilled in us from the bible and strive to raise the bar on the justice system because the law is there for our protection.