"Majority righteousness"

Imagine a scenario like this...

He's driving down the road, on his usual course. It's not easy being law enforcement, and today is no exception...

Spotting a speeder, he decides this one at least needs a warning. Lights go on, and the car in front of him pulls off the road.

Walking up to the door, he asks for ID. The driver is irate. “Why are you pulling me over? Didn't you see the twenty other drivers who just passed me? They were all speeding! Everyone speeds! Why are you bothering me?”

Finishing up, he gets back in his car, just in time to hear a call that a shoplifter has been caught. He goes as fast as safety allows to the next scene...

Upon arriving, he decides to try and talk it through with the individual. But they are livid. “What's wrong with me taking something I want? I just watched five others walk out with stuff, and what they took was worth five times what I did!”

He just can't make sense of this day.

And neither can I.

My friends, do we easily follow the crowd? Does righteousness consist in how many people are doing it? If something was once wrong, does it become right, once the multitude decides it is right?

Solemn thoughts. Thoughts that scare me not a little...

I wonder if I am following the crowd. I wonder if I have “majority righteousness”.

I wonder if I need to re-examine my values, and base them off of the true, rather than the popular.

Ouch. I think so.