Do Good Guys Finish Last?

This afternoon a coworker revealed to me the Primary Truth About Life - good people always finish last. Always. According to this bastion of pessimism and cynicism, Anyone who tries to be a good person in this world is dealing themselves a losing hand. The world, he says, is designed to reward the selfish and the greedy, or as he so eloquently labels them, "assholes". These assholes (henceforth dubbed "a-holes" because I am lazy and eliminating two letters from a world seems the height of genius to me at the moment) can act however they want, take whatever they want, and end up paying no consequences for their deeds. Meanwhile those that are trying to "do the right thing" will invariably pay, however indirectly, for the a-holes' actions.

Let's take, for example, his stance on police. According to my coworker, the police are all in it for kicks and not for any good reasons. They harass people for petty misdemeanors and minor traffic violations and parking transgressions, while real criminals murder, steal, and maim the public at their leisure. The police set up seat belt initiatives and speed traps to line their coffers and amuse themselves at the expense of, for the most part, good people. Meanwhile, people are regularly being shot and robbed in the same small areas of the city, they themselves regularly break the same laws they harass others for, and nothing is done to persecute the real problem makers (please remember that I am summarizing my coworker and am not writing my own opinion here). In this example, the police are punishing the good people and letting the a-holes run free.

He goes on to cite various a-holes that have prospered while countless good folks get trampled. "Rich corporate pigs", meaning the heads of major companies are a favorite target, as they trampled and used countless people to get where they are. According to my coworker, good, honest people can't survive in the high level corporate climate. That goes for the government, too, according to him. Good people are overtaxed, overworked, and extremely underpaid so that corporate and government a-holes can live in their mansions and roll in their money like Scrooge McDuck.

I could give you more examples from my coworker. Many more. Unfortunately, I can't successfully reproduce his rant style and quality, so I'll just say that the essence of almost everything he rails about boils down to being a good guy gets you squat in this world. Only by being an a-hole will you see any significant gains. As he sees it, you're either the a-hole or the sucker. There is no in-between.

So, is this true? Do you believe that being a good person just makes you a target for a-holes and their fallout. By being good, do we not get rewarded as was promised when we were children? Is the state of the world so bleak that being good is a liability? I really hope not.

I'll be the first to admit that I have been roughed up by Life a bit by trying to do the right thing. There have been times when I do something I think is good and it's either taken as a given, nothing needing praise or reward, or is ignored in the face of some more monumental achievement. And let me tell you, nothing does less to attract the ladies than being the "good guy". It seems like a-holes have an allure, the "bad boy" image that good guys can't hope to match. Luckily, the a-holes often lose their charms after a bit and the good guys true attraction is revealed. But once again, being an a-hole, at least initially, seems to net rewards while being the good guy gets you nothing.

I choose to believe that being good is not as bad as my coworker would have me believe. I think that good is rewarded more steadily, more subtly than being an a-hole. I may not have lots of money or power over people, but I have a great life and a wife that I love. I am happy, and I got here by being the "good guy". Sure, it's gotten me into trouble, or maybe prevented me from getting ahead at times, but the long term benefits have far outweighed the negatives. And by being good, I think you touch other people in a more positive light, showing them the power of the "good guy" and maybe making the world a little better. It's not an easy road, but I think it's a more satisfying road. So I'll keep on truckin' down the good guy road. If I finish last, oh well. I believe I'll finish happiest.