It’s been said that character is defined by what you do when you think no one is watching. What an illuminating concept that is.
Most of us have a public face and a private face. There are parts of ourselves we don’t want the world to see. Typically, we tend to hide the aspects that would not be viewed favorably by society. Greed, lust, jealousy, pettiness, fear and so on. We also tend to hide our weaknesses. No one needs to know that we can wolf down a gallon of ice cream in an hour, do they? 😉
I think most people are “good” at their core; decent, loving, compassionate and kind. However, even those we perceive to be good people are capable of unspeakable acts. How many times have you heard a convicted murderer’s family member or friend say, “I just can’t believe he would be capable of something like that. It’s so unlike him.” The killer projected one identity to the world, while secretly he was someone else entirely.
Okay, most of us are not murderers. Yet, even those of us who would be considered “good people” often think nothing of stealing, cheating on our spouses, or worse. What does...