“The Fine Print”, by Michael Schrader

WHAT YOU DO TO ONE, YOU DO TO MANY

(Written 16 December 1998. Published in the Neighborhood Journal. Posted 02 September 2009.)

It has been just over a year now since my life was turned upside down. It was just over a year ago that I was escorted by a policeman out of my own office. It was just over a year ago that a young lady whose opinion of herself was much higher than others' opinions of her decided to get even by publicly destroying a man's reputation. Of course, you all know that I am that man.

Over the past year, I have heard a lot of "if onlys". You know, "If only you had done this", "if only you had done that". The only problem with all of the "if onlys" is that they would have required me to deny myself, to deny Christ, to deny God. The Gospels do not say to look the other way in order to protect ourselves. If you truly believe in the Word, you must accept the fact that to truly follow the footsteps of Jesus, to seek the truth, to work for social justice, is a very difficult and treacherous path. He never said it would be easy to follow him. I have accepted the trials, tribulations, and heartaches of the past year as necessary "crosses to bear" to stay on that path.

A source of both happiness and sadness for me on my odyssey through the wilderness is my family. They have carried me when I could walk no farther; they have comforted me when I have felt remorse. My family is a gift from God, and every waking moment of every waking day I am thankful for them. Yet, I feel sad that they are in the wilderness with me. After all, they were not even involved in the situation, but yet they must suffer, too. Why should that be? Why should children have to pay the price for some political vendetta? They do not know, or even care, what politics is, but yet they must suffer.

You see, we are not islands. Not one single solitary person is an island unto him or herself. We all have parents; we all have family. What happens to us happens to them as well.

A little over a year ago, some folks decided that they wanted me "gone." Instead of being Christians and allowing me to live with dignity, my name was dragged through the mud. What the draggers do not realize is how deep the damage has been. My life has been ruined; I will never again be able to do what I love best because of the damage to my name. And it makes me sad.

What makes me even sadder, however, is what has happened to my family. Mrs. Schrader has spent the better part of the past year hearing from people that she does not know about the "pervert up in Cabot who was fired for sexual harassment" and explaining that that "pervert" is her husband, and no he is not, thank you very much. Needless to say, it has gotten old.

How do you explain to your children that they won't be getting any Christmas presents because their father cannot find gainful employment because some young lady who they do not know in a place that they have never been to said some bad things about their father? Please tell me, I would like to know.

Yes, its amazing how profound of an impact one little "game" can have, isn't it? You see, every thing we do sets off a chain reaction that we cannot control, because we are all interdependent. One little thing can blow up to be one big thing. Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, you do to me, as somehow, some way, I am connected to the least of my brothers. So we need to think long and hard before we do anything mean and nasty to anyone.

Me? I may have lost my life, I may have lost my "fortune", but I still have my faith, and that's something that they cannot take away.

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