By Assistant Editor Lindsay Sauvageau

    When I was growing up, my sense of right and wrong was shaped by adages – “There are consequences for your actions”, “Let the punishment fit the crime”,  “Truth will prevail”, “Everything you do comes back to you”, “Crime doesn’t pay” and so on. These phrases were important. They taught us accountability. They taught us to think twice about our actions…
    And then we became adults.  
    And little white lies weren’t so bad and you could get away with things if you didn’t get caught and sometimes the consequences were worth the risks.
    Because sometimes there weren’t any consequences.
    And if there were, well so what.
    When we became adults we learned that sometimes “Actions speak louder than words” because sometimes, yes sometimes, all those consequences we’re always told about just don’t fit the crime.
    Not enough to stop us from committing them.
    For instance, we all know we shouldn’t drive a car without a license. But some people do. And we shouldn’t drive with an expired registration. But we do. And sometimes we get caught. What happens then? Well I personally know of people who have been allowed to drive away – on the proviso that they’ll never do it again or that they’ll fix the problem: go straight to the DMV and resolve that pesky registration issue. And I know of people who have had to deal with things of a little more serious nature – a towed car, a trip to jail, a fine or two.
    And, I personally know people who’ve driven home when their bail was paid.  
    How about cheating? How many people do you know that have cheated, maybe on a test or on a spouse, maybe by cutting corners at work or by overcharging someone knowingly? What’s happened to those people? Maybe their spouse left them, maybe they lost business, maybe they even lost their jobs… but has the punishment fit the crime? Have they learned any kind of lesson? My guess is, not. They have a new job, a new client, a new boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse.
    I just don’t think we live in a world where the punishments fit the crimes committed. And worse, when there are consequences, serious consequences, I just don’t think we care anymore.
    No one is learning any lessons. No punishment seems to be enough of a deterrent.
    Now I’m not saying that the world has gone to pot and everyone is unscrupulous and morally bankrupt. But that’s only because not everyone is driven to excess and selfish callousness. I would normally try to end an editorial by offering some sort of solution, some way of trying to change things, but I’m not sure things can be changed. Not overnight, not with accountability, not with conscience.
    Because where do you begin when no one cares?