Saturday Scruples
link from Amy Kropp

1. You're driving alone on a highway at night when a desperate looking person tries to flag you down. Do you stop?No. Prudence dictates caution. But I would stop as soon as possible and call the local constabulary etc. (Sorry, no cell phone.) I wouldn’t just keep on driving and put the person out of my mind. Likewise, if you knew what my car looks like, you would have to think that the person was truly in distress or criminally insane to risk flagging me down.
2. You're summoned for jury duty in what promises to be a tedious trial. Do you pretend to have views which will disqualify you? No. That would not be honest. I do have some views that might disqualify me in many cases. But I wouldn’t worry either way. It might be educational. And it is a service we are sometimes called upon to perform as citizens. If tedium is the worst consequence of public service, that’s a good thing. And if I’ve avoided jury duty after 30 years as a registered voter, I would have to accept that my number is up.
3. You smoke. Your teenager wants to smoke because you do. Do you quit? I’ve never smoked. Two of my ‘children’ in their early twenties do smoke. I’ve wondered at times if too much anti-smoking education has set children up with a device for bothering their parents while achieving a certain amount of individuation. If I thought that my smoking would give it all some ‘anti-glamour’ I would start tomorrow. (Hopefully, not for long......)