White Hat Syndrome

Call it "white hat syndrome" if you want to but I've always wanted to be that person that others describe by saying "he's one of the good guys."

I never had that wild streak.  I had a girl break up with me one time because I wasn't wild and crazy enough. Well...maybe she said I wasn't "exciting" enough but I suppose she went for those rebels, the guys with an edge and a taste for beer and cigarettes.

Heck, I never even really held a cigarette to act like I was about to smoke it, much less lit it up.  Oh I might have kept a Red Man pouch hidden somewhere on my tractor but it didn't take me long to figure out what a disgusting habit that was.

These days, I want to be the one about whom parents say that they feel better with their child on the playing field because I'm on the sidelines.  Confident enough that if their athlete/child gets hurt that they're in the best hands possible because I'm there.

I can remember a football team I was around not too long ago where some of the guys were doing some things that they shouldn't have been doing.   This one kid--not the best athlete nor the smartest or richest or even best at much of anything--stood up and said stop.

How hard must that have been?   Peer pressure is huge when you are a teenager.  It's a lot easier to just fall in with the crowd.  I wish I had been that boy.  He did the right thing.

Our young folks are faced with choices that we almost can't comprehend.  I can remember being shocked the first time that I saw someone my own age with a beer.  We were 18.  Now parents are providing alcohol at their teenager's parties, rationalizing that it is better for them to drink at home than on the road.

By the way, did you ever wonder why there are so many beer cans on the sides of our roads?  Maybe I see them more because I travel those roads on the back of a bicycle.  A large part of those beer cans are from underage drinkers who want to dispose of the evidence.  They can't go home and put them in the trash can.  Think about it.

I read a story recently about a guy that was robbed at knifepoint.  After turning over his wallet, he offered his jacket as well.  "If you're going to be robbing people the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm."  And he added, "if you're willing to risk your freedom for a few dollars, then I guess you must really need the money."

I want to be that guy.  I'm not sure I could do the same thing.

I want to be the guy that makes you a better person just by association.  Who by virtue of always doing the right thing makes you want to be like him.

I want to be the guy that stands up for those that are discriminated against.  For those that are down on their luck.  For the guy who just can't catch a break.  I want to defend the person that is unable to defend themselves, who speaks when they can't speak, who goes where they are unable.

How often do we have the opportunity to do the right thing but turn away because it just isn't convenient?  I wish I never made a decision based on convenience but I have.  Too often.

The way I look at it, you can do the right thing or do the easy thing.  They seem too rarely the same.