If it were a matter of life or death, could you kill someone? How would you react if your partner confessed to cheating? If you found out that your child had committed a crime, could you turn him/her in?
Why do we even bothering to ask these hypothetical questions? Are we in a debate over the ethics of society? Are we going through our own moral checklist? ("Sure in self defense"- check..." Adultery bad"- check.... "It would depend on the crime"-check) Or, are we simply trying to warn others of potential danger? ("Yes son, I'd turn you in in a split second, so just don't do it!")
We would like to think that we would know how we'd react. We often backup our answers with lessons from a spiritual upbringing. We believe in karma or "an eye for an eye." The books we read, places of worship we attend and the lessons taught to us by our parents and teachers all affect what choices we would make. Then, the debates begin, more what-ifs, and we begin to question ourselves.
Those annoying what-ifs. Those annoying variables that are rarely considered, but sometimes can have an impact on a situation. Kids are excellent at them, just do a "Man with Gun on Campus" drill at an elementary school. Usually around the "What if I have to fart and the gunman smells it" question, a teacher says, "Don't worry about the what-ifs. There are just some things you can't prepare for."
We can debate morality and hypothesize over the variables. We can borrow from the experiences of others and feel confident in what we would do or say. Prepare all we can, the truth is: We will never really know how we will respond to a given situation until we experience it.
Oh so very true. We can ask ourselves daily what we would do in that situation. You have to respond instantly...and sometimes, we can't control those moments in life, and that is scary. But we believe in what we will do as good, that matters most! :D
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