No Right Answers? It is almost 3:00 PM and I just finished reading the previous post "So What Did I Start to Write?" As I was reading it I realized I might get a bunch of comments about what do I mean by writing "there are no right answers in life." That sounds like a possible cop-out and certainly might be taken by some as justification for my criminal actions. NOT SO.

For example, let us take the premise that you should not kill another human being. Easy to state for some. But then you get drafted into the military and you are taught to shoot at the enemy and kill them. Then let us carry it one step further and say you are now over in Iraq. Who is the enemy?

Another example: going over the speed limit. First response, everyone does it. Ten miles over is okay, but eleven, is that the no-no? Your child is having an asthma attack in the middle of the night and you are driving to the hospital. Can you exceed the speed limit or pass through red lights? What happens if you end up in an accident as a result of passing a red light? Who is to blame?

How much is too much when you take home some office supplies for personal use. I remember when I started working at my first corporate job trying to track down some supplies that were not in our usual supply cabinet. When I went to the person responsible, he said he knew about the shortage because it happened every September. The implication being everyone was taking stuff home for their kid’s school supplies.

How about the two hundred or so death penalty cases that have been overturned because DNA evidence proved someone else committed the crime? We thought we had the right answer on those cases, did we not?

On a more simplistic level, take the decision a parent makes to put in extra time at work. Is it the right thing to do? Hopefully the time pays off in the future in an increase in benefits, but what about the loss the child feels at mom or dad not being around?

Maybe sometimes it can be a good thing that the parent is not home, who knows. Some adults trace their success and self reliance to having to fend for themselves at an early age, while others might cite the same circumstance as reason for their inability to deal with life's everyday pressures.

Because of the war in Iraq, the president says we are safer today, but we can not roll back the clock and relive the last six years, can we?

Please do not take the leap that my use of this phrase is meant to exculpate me in any way for my actions that lead to my incarceration.  ¶ 7:33 PM