I have always tried to follow the rules… to stay within the lines, to do what is “right,” to believe that order and justice were one and the same. I trusted that the system, however flawed, would reward good faith; that integrity still counted for something. From my youth, I was taught to be like Jesus: to love without condition, to forgive those who wrong you, to serve others quietly. It was more than religion… to me, it was my identity. Righteousness was its own reward. Turning the other ch...

I have always tried to follow the rules… to stay within the lines, to do what is “right,” to believe that order and justice were one and the same. I trusted that the system, however flawed, would reward good faith; that integrity still counted for something. From my youth, I was taught to be like Jesus: to love without condition, to forgive those who wrong you, to serve others quietly. It was more than religion… to me, it was my identity. Righteousness was its own reward. Turning the other ch...