I’m actually pretty glad that there was the recent tempest in a swimming pool a a result of Ryan Lochte’s antics while competing at the Olympics.
Consistent with the reputation of many athletes, he spent a night of – what used to be called – debauchery on the streets of Rio de Janiero. If that wasn’t bad enough, he punctuated the end of his night with some vandalism. For good measure, he then lied about it all. Robbed at gun point, blah, blah, blah.
I say I’m glad about it because it gave me a chance to have a conversation with my own children. Wealth, fame, power do not get you a pass on bad behavior. You reap what you sew; if not in the here, most certainly in the hereafter.
Integrity matters. All decisions have consequences. Good decisions have good consequences. Bad decisions have bad consequences. Mr. Lochte made a series of bad decisions and it’s cost him millions. And it’s cost him at least some level of humiliation.
I, like most parents I assume, want my children to live upright lives. I’m want them to rightly be proud of what they’ve done – and how they’ve done it. Wealth, fame, and power are nothing compared to these.
While I was waxing eloquent on this points. One of my children brought me back to reality and offered:
“Oh, Dad, I don’t have to worry about any of that stuff. None of those rules apply to me. I’m going to run for President as a Democrat.”
Anyone got a response to that? A little help please.