RATIONALIZING

Angry Birds, Wrightsville Beach, NC

Years ago, I was familiar with a situation where a man embezzled from his company. I remember a conversation with the man before he was exposed which involved him vehemently bad mouthing the company. Many folks have issues with their employer and occasionally voice those problems. But this man impressed me with the angry passion of his rhetoric. I didn’t hear a lot of facts supporting his emotional outbursts, just a litany of complaints about how oppressing it was to him. I remember thinking to myself that the guy needed to quit his job if he was that dissatisfied. Reflecting on his behavior after his dismissal, it was finally apparent to me why this man was rationalizing his disdain for his employer. It was he that was involved in negative criminal behavior, not the company that was providing his family with a paycheck.

I’ve also listened to folks who don’t want to always follow their conscience and do the right thing. It’s been said that if people want to do something they’ll find a way. If not, they’ll find an excuse. And excuses are generally much easier to come up with compared to actions. Sometimes complaints and negative conversation camouflage those excuses. As the adage goes, actions speak louder than words. It’s also been my observation over the years that it’s very easy to find fault in any endeavor, but it takes some serious effort to find solutions.

An ol' country preacher once remarked that in his experience many of the folks that complained most about the expenses and fund raising at charitable organizations were usually the least generous. Perhaps that also goes along with the way we human beings rationalize our dubious behavior.