Doing the right thing

From an email from my friend Don, a guest commentary:

I saw two examples of doing the right thing today. One was buried on the back pages of SI.com and the other, I was told, was the NY governor resigning. One was shoved in my face, the other I stumbled on accidentally.

If they are both the right thing to do, why do I feel good about one and not the other? In one instance I am watching a seasoned politician say, "Look at me, look at me! I'm doing the right thing and resigning!" In the other I find no fanfare, no credit taking, yet I am by far more moved by the Indians than by Spitzer.

The answer is choice. The Indians are not a wealthy baseball team. They will probably be unable to sign their ace pitcher after the '08 season because of money. Yet they CHOSE to re-sign a seriously injured minor leaguer so that they could pay all his medical expenses and get him back to a normal life. The governor's choice came back in his Washington hotel room. NOT at his resignation press conference as his speech seemed to imply.

I learned something today, that is- when I don't feel right about somebody telling me they did the right thing -- look at the choices. Doing the right thing means doing it when nobody is watching. NOT when you have no other options.

You can read more from Don on his blog:

http://enchantmentanime.blogspot.com/