Regardless of your tradition, many prophets and wisdom teachers have pointed out, to their peril, that just because you follow the rules you have not necessarily discharged your obligations to the spirit of the God or wisdom teacher. Moral rules tend to be built around preserving the strength and integrity of the larger community. Our current era seems to have adopted a transactional relationship to moral codes. You can break this rule in exchange for following these other three rules. Particularly in this election year forgiveness and repentance are on the bidding block. I am not talking about believers and non-believers here. We seem to have whole religious traditions deeply invested in the political business of a selling tolerance of tit-for-tat disregarding the next level of spirituality as soft business for soft minds.

A good decision in this project rests on the next level of any spirituality or formal living discipline. Borrowing a term from Hanna Arendt the Jewish philosopher and writer, the word ‘good’ in The Good Decision universe has Arendt’s ‘bannisters.’ Agonizing how to tell an parent with Alzheimers that they can no longer drive and the car in the driveway is not theirs can fall within the bannisters of good even if the facts of the matter had to be adjusted beyond recognition. Telling stone cold lies in self interest with little to no regrets falls completely outside the bannistered path and seems to me to be immoral. Coaching a person with a brain injury can sometimes require saying things that cause pain for the disabled person and their coach, but again that exchange can be inside the bannister. Cruel taunting and harsh nicknaming are outside the bannister of good. Children can be taught these distinctions, but if adults don’t work at this level what can we expect for our children, our future society and communities. 

It is hard to find a religious, spiritual or secular wisdom tradition that doesn’t place love, kindness, tolerance as the non-negotiable starting foundation. Rather than soft, this foundational set of considerations takes courage, time, hard work and risk, but whoever said it was to be otherwise. Because the human condition is deep and complex, good work is the work of the courageous and not for the fearful.