The Convenience of Being Corrupt
Doing the right thing is rarely easy. Everyone, at one point in their lives, has had to put personal interests ahead of what's morally right when it comes to making decisions. No one is born corrupt, neither in Mexico nor anywhere else. Rather, we slowly immerse ourselves into such behaviors, cutting corners once in a while, thinking nothing of its consequences.
It's easy to assume that nothing will come of bribing that pesky cop in the middle of Morones instead of receiving a conventional speeding ticket. It's easy to assume that hiding your underage drinking or smoking tendencies from your parents won't mean anything in the long run; they'll find out eventually. They might or might not care, but that’s beside the point. It's easy to assume that nothing will come of sneaking in some notes into a summative assessment; after all, we're now hardwired to be chasing a set of arbitrary numbers to get into our dream universities, keep our scholarships, or any other justification we may come up with.
Although lines are often blurred between what's right and what's wrong, there is still a basic set of rules that responsible citizens follow. That is the law. Some of us, however, believe their personal comfort is more important than these rules we set to properly function as a community, and decide to create our own adaptations of the law. Actions like these are relatively common both in ASFM and in our community - people often complain about corrupt politicians, but we’re no better than them, by the looks of it.
People say that they know how to differentiate right from wrong. Regardless, saying and doing are completely different things, and when making the morally wrong decision will ultimately work out in your favor, it's certainly not easy to go the other way.
There's nothing wrong with occasionally doing an immoral action. Doing the wrong thing is often immediately more convenient than doing what's not frowned upon. Sometimes there is no right action to take. People could find out in the end, but that’s beside the point: the ends justify the means, and doing it once or twice does not define you as a person.
When taking unethical actions becomes a pattern, however, that's when the issues begin. When some of us are given an inch of convenience, at times, we decide to take the whole yard, as we feel comfortable doing even more severe things. This could start with small bribes or petty theft but could evolve into bigger things including money laundering and grand larceny. Ultimately, that is what leads people to be corrupt and halt Mexico's progress into a brighter future.
By engaging in such acts, we unfortunately become part of the problem. It’s not ideal to be associated with corrupt behavior, but at the end of the day, it’s human nature to do what is most convenient. Doing the right thing, however, should ideally always come first.