09-24-2014, 08:59 PM
Jared listened to Ekene, making sure to look as he spoke. The question about punishment made him nervous because, honestly, Jared didn't know the answer. There could be many reasons why they decide to withhold punishment. More than that though, morality was a gray area - it wasn't black and white; he wasn't sure Ekene would understand all of that.
Jared thought on his own life - back in SWAT when he had to take out a man holding hostages. Taking another's life was not okay, but he had shot the man to save others. Jared wondered at the decision often. Had he been morally correct? He thought of the milliseconds after he had been given the order to shoot that had seemed to stretch for hours and he contemplated whether or not to obey. He had hesitated briefly before firing. It was not an easy choice. Jared thought of his gunbelt on the table behind him - making sure not to look that direction. He was making big strides with Ekene and didn't want to scare him.
"The day it's easy to fire that thing at another human being is the day I need to throw it as far away as I can and run as fast as I can in the other direction."
Jared thought.
"All of our choices have consequences, Ekene. Sometimes those consequences are good, sometimes bad, sometimes easy to see, and sometimes harder to see. Your choices brought you here, as did mine. As far as punishment is concerned, I really don't know, Ekene."
He put a reassuring hand on the kids shoulder. "It's all about the choices we make, and when we make the bad choices, we have to live with those consequences. It's then we have to try to make things right again. That doesn't mean a do-over - there are no do-overs, but there are other ways we can make things right."
Jared sighed, this was getting harder. He had to approach some more serious subjects with Ekene. He wasn't a God-fearing man, but Jared began to send some mental prayers to the guy upstairs. "You said, Ekene, that you're supposed to be strong. Strong men feel fear - only stupid people don't. The difference is that the strong man doesn't allow that fear to control him or his actions. The fear doesn't control him - he controls it."
Jared paused and gave Ekene's shoulder a reassuring squeeze, gathering himself while he did. "I hope you trust me, Ekene. I want to help you. I don't know all of what you may have done, but I know what you did to Legionnaire Carpenter. You know who Legionnaire Carpenter is, right?"
Jared paused a moment. "It makes you scared of him. You want to hide from him. Remember though that we don't want that fear to control us. You don't know how he'll react around you and you can't reverse what you did. That's a lot to think about. You can still make things right though. You can talk to him - apologize - try to make things right between you and him. The hard thing is, he might not accept it. It's a risk and risks are always scary."
Jared removed his hand. If Ekene wanted to leave, Jared wouldn't stop him. He was teaching him about choices and Ekene had to make his own. "You have a choice to make, Ekene. You can leave it be, or you can try to make it right. It's your choice, I can't make it for you. I'll help you make that choice if you want. If you decide to leave it be, I won't pressure you. If you decide that you want to talk to Legionnaire Carpenter, I'll support you. I'll even help you with it - I'll stand by your side if you want, but the choice has to be yours."
Jared sighed. "It's a lot to think about and it's not easy. Choices are pretty complicated things when you think about it."
Jared gave him a reassuring smile. "The thing is, you don't always have to make them alone. I'll help you while I can Ekene. You just have to ask."
Edited by Jared Vanders, Sep 24 2014, 09:08 PM.
Jared thought on his own life - back in SWAT when he had to take out a man holding hostages. Taking another's life was not okay, but he had shot the man to save others. Jared wondered at the decision often. Had he been morally correct? He thought of the milliseconds after he had been given the order to shoot that had seemed to stretch for hours and he contemplated whether or not to obey. He had hesitated briefly before firing. It was not an easy choice. Jared thought of his gunbelt on the table behind him - making sure not to look that direction. He was making big strides with Ekene and didn't want to scare him.
"The day it's easy to fire that thing at another human being is the day I need to throw it as far away as I can and run as fast as I can in the other direction."
Jared thought.
"All of our choices have consequences, Ekene. Sometimes those consequences are good, sometimes bad, sometimes easy to see, and sometimes harder to see. Your choices brought you here, as did mine. As far as punishment is concerned, I really don't know, Ekene."
He put a reassuring hand on the kids shoulder. "It's all about the choices we make, and when we make the bad choices, we have to live with those consequences. It's then we have to try to make things right again. That doesn't mean a do-over - there are no do-overs, but there are other ways we can make things right."
Jared sighed, this was getting harder. He had to approach some more serious subjects with Ekene. He wasn't a God-fearing man, but Jared began to send some mental prayers to the guy upstairs. "You said, Ekene, that you're supposed to be strong. Strong men feel fear - only stupid people don't. The difference is that the strong man doesn't allow that fear to control him or his actions. The fear doesn't control him - he controls it."
Jared paused and gave Ekene's shoulder a reassuring squeeze, gathering himself while he did. "I hope you trust me, Ekene. I want to help you. I don't know all of what you may have done, but I know what you did to Legionnaire Carpenter. You know who Legionnaire Carpenter is, right?"
Jared paused a moment. "It makes you scared of him. You want to hide from him. Remember though that we don't want that fear to control us. You don't know how he'll react around you and you can't reverse what you did. That's a lot to think about. You can still make things right though. You can talk to him - apologize - try to make things right between you and him. The hard thing is, he might not accept it. It's a risk and risks are always scary."
Jared removed his hand. If Ekene wanted to leave, Jared wouldn't stop him. He was teaching him about choices and Ekene had to make his own. "You have a choice to make, Ekene. You can leave it be, or you can try to make it right. It's your choice, I can't make it for you. I'll help you make that choice if you want. If you decide to leave it be, I won't pressure you. If you decide that you want to talk to Legionnaire Carpenter, I'll support you. I'll even help you with it - I'll stand by your side if you want, but the choice has to be yours."
Jared sighed. "It's a lot to think about and it's not easy. Choices are pretty complicated things when you think about it."
Jared gave him a reassuring smile. "The thing is, you don't always have to make them alone. I'll help you while I can Ekene. You just have to ask."
Edited by Jared Vanders, Sep 24 2014, 09:08 PM.