Thought of the Day 04.26.10

I recently read the story of a boy in Indiana who found $1,400 dollars in a bunch of folders on the side of the highway which belonged to a nonprofit agency that helps disabled children. He told his grandmother, and the money was returned to them. The CEO of the organization said, “The first thing I thought was for a 7-year-old boy to be that honest was amazing.”

Unfortunately for our country, I believe his sentiment is a common one. I know I’ll seem curmudgeonly for saying so, but this boy didn’t do anything special. He simply did the right thing. The two options here were stealing and returning the money. So by avoiding theft, he merely did what was morally required. And it’s a mistake to describe the satisfaction of a moral minimum as amazing.

When an outfielder makes a diving catch, it’s impressive. But when he catches a routine fly ball, it’s just that: routine. The alternative would be to drop it, which is an error. Same thing in ethics. And the more we describe minimums as achievements, the more we encourage people to think that the minimums might, in fact, be optional.