Cyber Theft

Today is Cyber Monday. Just in case you didn’t already know. A rather apt name, don’t you think? (At least in the sense of fictional cyborgs, like the Borg of Star Trek fame.) Millions of American consumers robotically spending their money when they are supposed to be working. A day to forget about that which is ethical, because everyone else is. Wouldn’t want to miss out on that big sale over something as mundane as ethics, would you?

Isn’t all of this basically a form of theft? After all, if you are at work, are you supposed to be shopping and spending your money? I thought work was the place to earn your money. If you are not working, aren’t you stealing from those who employ you?

Yet, all of this seems to be sanctioned somehow. It’s as if one of the most religious nations on earth has decided it is OK to replace “Thou shalt not steal” with “God says it’s OK to steal on Cyber Monday.”

Since the religious are a majority in the United States, and the atheists are a minority, the behavior of many on Cyber Monday seems to disprove the religious claim of moral superiority. (You know, the argument that believing in God is the source of all morality, therefore atheists are incapable of being moral. What happens to that argument when the believers behave immorally?)

Forgive me Father for I have sinned. Now let’s get back to shopping!