Thou Shalt Not Steal

To define what it means ’to steal’; we first have to define what it means ’to own’. So, what is ‘ownership’?

At the most basic level, ownership is not a financial term. To own is to control. If you own something, you can make all of the decisions about it, yourself. You can do whatever you wish with something you own. You can use it, give it away, and destroy it, whatever. Totally up to you. If you need permission to do something with it, you don’t own it… at least not fully.

Suppose you ‘own’ a house. And suppose you bought the house with a home loan. And, finally, suppose that you rent out the house to tenants. Financially, you own the house. You are the homeowner. However, your ownership rights have been voluntarily limited, as detailed in your mortgage loan agreement with the bank and your lease agreement with the renters.

For example, you own the house, but you cannot use the house as your home. You have agreed to give all of the normal residential usage rights (control) to your renters for the duration of their lease. Also, you own the house, but you cannot tear it down and turn your property into a wildlife sanctuary. You have agreed to give up some rights (control), relative to the physical building, to the bank for the duration of the mortgage loan.

The important point, here, is that control is not all-or-nothing. And therefore, ownership is not all-or-nothing. Some portion of your ownership can be given or traded away. And some portion of your ownership can be taken away. (And we have thereby arrived at the meaning of ‘stealing’.) If someone takes away some or all of your control over your possession, against your will, they are stealing from you.

Even if, rather than physically taking, they simply prevent you from exercising your full control over your possession through threats or force, they are still stealing from you. Even if they are not taking your possession, they are taking away your ownership (control). Now, suppose your life belongs to you. If you own your life, you must control your life. Anyone who prevents you from exercising full control over your own life is stealing (taking) your life. At a minimum, they are stealing your freedom. In the extreme, this can escalate to slavery or murder.

Update to everyone about my week…

Last week went by really smooth until the last day of the month February...I caught some 5th graders stealing snacks from the snack bar. They thought they were quick and sneaky. Each bag of snack with a milk/ juice bag is given to students during nutrition time. They are counted in the morning and are placed in the snack bar. I can't imagine if our site coordinator passes out the snack to the kids and comes out short. Some kids who are in the program don't have enough food to eat; therefore, they depend on the us to give them the proper nutrition. I don't know what these 5th graders were thinking. So, after I was putting the snack back where they were, I questioned them. (I hate it when people who can't tell the truth even when they are caught in the act.) I stood there amazed and frustrated while listening to them about their brilliant lied that they came up in order to cover their mistake even though there was a large amount of evidence against them. (If you make a mistake, then you should own up it.) There are hidden cameras placed in certain rooms that PLs and teachers use. Thank goodness these students aren't mine. To shorten details up, all of them ended up in Mrs. G's office with misbehavior forms and phone calls home.

Please watch the short film…

I found an old clip from R.L Stine! I loved his books and movies in the past. I thought the clip had a similar meaning to be my blog this late afternoon.