I’ve got a question for the guys out there, and ladies can think about it too, so hypothetically speaking….

Say you have a best friend, and by 'you', I mean 'Billy Bob,' and by 'best friend' I mean 'arch-nemesis.' Okay, Billy B., so you have this arch-nemesis who's always wet-blanketing everything you do. If you get an A on a test, he assumes it was easy anyways. If you get new pants, he terms them as so last week. Get a new girlfriend, she's a dog, so she's perfect for you (overlooking the fact that she's totally hot and he's been jocking her for months). So then you're getting fed up with him, but one day you're like, I'll take the high road. I'll just ignore this doof. So you're diligently sticking to this code of ethics, when one OTHER day you see your arch-nemesis crying in some hallway. You could either walk away, and be like, this guy is a total jerk, or again, you could take the high road and be a friend to him. Of course, there's the danger that he could just diss you for being a nice guy (Are you... pfffft... REACHING OUT to me?! Dweeb! What kind of guy helps a guy that's crying?! Hahahahahaha LOSER!), or, he could see the light because of your forgiveness and become your very best friend. (You my hero, dude, I am eternally grateful.) In another year or so there could be this situation where he'd remember your kindness and be motivated to save your life from some overly malignant gangstas (as if gangstas weren't overly malignant anyway). I mean, he actually takes the bullet for you. Whether you survive this encounter or not doesn't matter. All that counts is that this guy you once loathed more than moldy cheese has just decided to die for you and is currently writhing on the pavement as you possibly expire....

But of course, you don't know the outcome for sure, all you know is what COULD happen based on your speculations (which, interestingly enough, happened in only 2.16 seconds) before you make your decision. Which is?

So if you could wrap your head all around that, would your other friends be justified or not in getting ticked off at you? Especially if things went wrong and you came back to class with toilet water dripping from your nose as you try to disregard the utter humiliation you feel as a result of trying to be the good guy? (Wait, there’s the hot girl. Be cool. She may not even notice the toilet paper dragging from underneath your sopping shoes.)

Hmmm....

And so, I ask you: what if you helped this guy? I mean, you could totally discount the whole toilet thing (he could just beat you up) but I suppose my REAL question is, “How far would you go to do the right thing?” Would you risk your dignity, sopping shoes and ALL?

I await your musings, till then…

~Cheers!