Thought of the Day 01.14.10

Right-now-Andrew wants to sleep in for another half an hour. Unfortunately, “A-little-bit-later-Andrew” will then be stressed out getting ready for work.

Right-now-Andrew would like to have a bigger serving of ice cream for desert. Unfortunately, A-little-bit-later-Andrew is the one who has to fit into the same jeans which were just barely large enough yesterday.

Right-now-Andrew would rather watch television than play a game with a three-year-old. Unfortunately, A-little-bit-later-Andrew will have to live with having told his son that he matters less than a TV drama.

Right-now-Andrew isn’t quite sure what to do with this email and would rather just leave it where it is. Unfortunately, A-little-bit-later-Andrew will have the anguish of an inbox with over 300 messages to process.

Now here’s the funny thing. Most ethical commentators would look at these examples and tell you that Right-now-Andrew should be more considerate of A-little-bit-later-Andrew’s needs. Generally, this is true. But it’s just as fair for A-little-bit-later-Andrew to be more mindful of Right-now-Andrew’s needs as well. After all, A-little-bit-later-Andrew only starts to really matter when he becomes Right-now-Andrew. And if Right-now-Andrew’s interests don’t ever matter, then A-little-bit-later-Andrew’s interests never can either.