Do you believe in Karma?

I haven't quite made up my mind yet. I prefer to live by my own moral code, rather than one that dictates that we act ethically for promise of reward or fear of punishment. But then, there are things around me that make me think.

-An acquaintance relayed a story where his older brother helped a blind man cross the street. "I'm going to have such a good day!" he says, implying that some good will come of his actions. He ends up losing his wallet, containing about $300 in cash.

-Rachel Davis, 23, attempts to intervene when a man is being beaten up outside of a nightclub. She is shot and killed. The shooter happens to be the man she is attempting to aid.

-Sohan Gill, 77, is involved in a hit and run incident. It is estimated that fifteen vehicles pass him by before anyone helps him.

I agree, this world is a really crappy place. However, I see it as a serious sickness of society when people are unwilling to intervene when things happen around them. People don't want to get involved because it's not their business. Or, people don't want to get involved because they don't want to get blamed.

You break a person's ribs while performing CPR, you can get sued. You don't perform CPR because you think you'll break the person's ribs, you'll be charged under some sort of Good Samaritan law.

Me? I returned a wallet to someone on Monday night, having picked it up at the Scott Road Skytrain station. I went to the wrong house first (the address was partially rubbed off the driver's license, so I misread the "8" as a "3"), but eventually found it (I took a detour for nothing, when it was actually 5km from where I live). I arrive at the residence and the wallet owner isn't home, but her brother is. I hand it off and go along my way.

So, does the good deed go unpunished? Does the nice guy finish last? Let's see.

-Tuesday, 16:00: A class that no one really feels like attending is spontaneously cancelled. Good thing.
-16:02. There is a malfunction on the Skytrain, which means the trip takes longer. Bad thing.
-16:03. The second I get on the Skytrain, it actually starts moving. Good thing.
-16:04. I'm forced to disembark at Scott Road Station, wait about ten minutes for another Skytrain to arrive. Bad thing.

Eh, Karma's a sham. It's all about perception.

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