Am I Allowed to Have Higher Expectations?

We have all seen so many of these kinds of stories that we typically just shake our heads and say, "Seriously. Does anyone have any integrity anymore?"  I remember when I was teaching this class on character and leadership back in 2001 and Kobe Bryant, a married man, was accused of raping a woman in a Denver hotel room. While we still don't know the particulars of that night, we do know that Kobe had sex with someone who was not his wife.  My students said to me, "If you can't expect that of Kobe Bryant, you can't expect that of me." Kobe lowered the bar of societal expectations. Since that day, I have seen scandal after scandal that cumulatively lowers the bar for the next generation.

The problem is that we get desensitized.  We start to think there is a new norm - the way we do when we watch Jersey Shore or The Real House Wives of Beverly Hills.  I'm not naive here.  I know the stats. Roughly 50% of husbands cheat and wives are not too far behind anymore in that category.  But, that still means that roughly 50% of spouses don't cheat.

Yes, tomorrow some athlete, celebrity or politician will get caught up in the next scandal and we will all shake our heads in unison.  There is always another story.  But, I must say, that I was a little surprised by the actions of a group of secret service agents, the ones who are charged with protecting the president of the United States.  I was left wondering, am I just crazy enough to think that we shouldn't raise our expectations? Shouldn't we all expect more from "the best of the best"? Shouldn't we expect more from society and its participants in general?  Don't words like character, integrity and good-judgment mean anything anymore. I don't know, but I can't help feeling a little deflated after reading a story like this. What say you? 


http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/columbia-obama-president-secret-service-prostitute-scandal-16187856
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDKgXrsXX7s&feature=relmfu

True Heroes: A Story of Courage & Bravery

Imagine that you are on spring break and going out for a late bite to eat.  Suddenly, a car races past you and crashes into a tree and bursts into flames. What do you do? Seriously? What would you do?

Well, Cody Decker and Luke Vaughn, two teenagers from DeWitt High School in Michigan, MI, found themselves in just this situation on April 4, 2012 in Florida.  Literally, without hesitation, Vaughn called 911 and Decker raced towards the car to provide immediate assistance. Despite running 1/4 of a mile, they were the only ones to arrive on the scene. They found a man and a woman trapped inside, screaming for their lives.  Decker broke the driver's side window and had to bend the door frame to get the couple out of the car safely. Together, the boys dragged the couple to safety.

Jessica Lopez, the daughter of the the woman in the crash said, "If it wasn't for them, we'd be attending two funerals right now." This is probably true. Others saw the crash and did nothing. These 17 year old boys responded. They responded with courage. They responded with bravery.  They responded with good judgement. They responded with immediate action, which is what the situation required. I am wondering, out loud, if you or I would have acted similarly.

Please watch 1 or 2 of these clips. Take a few minutes to honor these true heroes.

http://www.fox47news.com/news/topstories/146642445.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/07/michigan-teenagers-cody-d_n_1408605.html