Ethics in an Unethical World Now I know why Khalil Gibran never handled money and why he needed someone like Mary Haskell to manage his business for him. I must look normal to you, don’t I, when I tell you that I hold a 9 to 5 job and I even have a translation business? Beep!!!Wrong!! I am not, and I cannot be normal, because I have the characteristics of a fool: I have conscience and I actually use it. Every time I deal with other people’s rights, this ill-fated word pops before my eyes. It chases me everywhere. Isn’t this word taboo in our self-centered world? Anyone who is as dramatic as I am about people’s rights should not enter the world of the "sharp" and the "successful", should they? If they do, they fall victims to their own illusions of righteousness. Does a writer or a poet or an artist need more confusion in his or her mind? I do not think so. But then again, here I am standing alone in the cold world of exploitation, without a Mary Huskell to fight my battle or miraculously end my troubles. It is I who is standing in the middle of the situation, where I am at the receiving end on one side, and the giving end on the other. This world is amazing! People come running to you with the moon in one hand and the stars in another. They smile and promise them all to you, just to get their way with you. You give in and offer them the last drop of blood you have to honor your commitment. Then, with all naivety, you turn around and ask for the moon and the stars that were promised to you. After all, you have kept your part of the promise. Suddenly, you are in the middle of a vast mire with no one to help you out. Now, not only you have to forget about the moon and the stars, but you have to figure out a way to come out of this swamp. Is there an end to this story? I hope that there is.. I will stand still in the middle of this swamp for fear that the moving marsh under my feet might swallow me. I will wait with a prayer in my heart and a song on my lips with the hope that I will get the chance to rejoice justice and celebrate honesty. Wait for me there my friend and you shall be a witness. 10 March 2006