And the prophecy I make is this. To nine out of ten of you the choice which could lead to scoundrelism will come, when it does come, in no very dramatic colours. Obviously bad men, obviously threatening or bribing, will almost certainly not appear. Over a drink or a cup of coffee, disguised as a triviality and sandwiched between two jokes, from the lips of a man, or woman, whom you have recently been getting to know rather better and whom you hope to know better still--just at the moment when you are most anxious not to appear crude, or naive or a prig--the hint will come. It will be the hint of something which is not quite in accordance with the technical rules of fair play; something which the public, the ignorant, romantic public, would never understand. ... And then, if you are drawn in, next week it will be something a little further from the rules, and next year something further still, but all in the jolliest, friendliest spirit. It may end in a crash, a scandal, and penal servitude; it may end in millions, a peerage, and giving the prizes at your old school. But you will be a scoundrel.
This is a lesson that was lost on
Martha Stewart, Dennis Kozlowski, Andrew Fastow, and Bernard Ebbers. It is a lesson which would have served them well, and a lesson which can serve anybody in any walk of life well. Scoundrelism does not parade itself as such, for there is still a sense of shame and intolerance in our society for those who openly bend the rules to fit their wishes. I cannot count the times that I have been told--by people who had my utmost respect--that the rules only apply to "those lesser men" who are not in The Inner Ring. The temptation is subtle, as most effective temptation is, but once the line is crossed it is very difficult to shed one's scoundrel tendencies. Okay... gotta get back to work now!
