today as i've written about bribery i've grown to appreciate how deeply imbedded in society is the notion of reciprocity, and how gravely bribery manipulates it. as we struggle to exist in close proximity to others, as we seek ways of avoiding conflict while we enhance our lot and that of our family and friends we rely on reciprocation. when people don't reciprocate we feel hurt, abused, bemused. and yet i reflect, how often i have failed to reciprocate - when i've been low, or tired, dog weary, or just plain negligent ... and today i feel deeply sorry for that.
i'm thinking, too, this is at the heart of our repudiation of bribery, our assessment of it as a deeply immoral act. while bribery has been around for time immemorial (there exists a list from Assyria of bribers that was created 3400 years ago) it still exists, it still flourished, it still damages and distorts equality and the scales of reciprocity.
how's that? because even deeper than this sense of reciprocity is our sense of self advancement, our own entitlement?
