As a child I believed the commandment “Thou shall not steal”, meant taking someone else’s property without the owner’s consent. I believed stealing was a mortal sin.
Later, I learned religious scholars interpreted the commandment to mean “Thou shall not steal a person”, and that kidnapping and/or enslavement was the mortal sin. The act of taking someone else’s property without the owner’s consent was simply a crime against man and not a violation of God’s law.
Over time, religious scholars, lawyers, and political leaders subdivided the act of stealing into theft, burglary, and robbery. These categories were further subdivided into “how was the act committed?” and “what was the value of the item(s) stolen?”. Looting, robbing, and shoplifting have become so common place as to make stealing a justifiable act.
Politicians and prosecutors willing steal the rights and freedoms of those who stand in their way. They are comfortable turning a blind eye to those who steal from stores and corporations. Would they turn the same blind eye to me, if I were to steal their Rolex watch or their kid’s lunch money?
Everyone I know believes in right & wrong, good deeds & bad actions. We know in our hearts that stealing is wrong. I remember the “first time” I purposely, took something that didn’t belong to me. I remember the act brought on a rush of adrenaline, which was later followed by a pang deep in my soul? That pang was a loss of an innocence I will never get back.
For some people that “first time” is the beginning of a long downhill slide, others find it as motivation to make the world a better place, but most of us bury that pang under the mountain of justifications prepared for us by past religious scholars, lawyers, and leaders.
I would say “that’s a shame”, but “shame” is another word that has lost its meaning. “My bad”, just doesn’t cut it.