People are People

My cousin (who may follow this blog, I have no idea) used to say to me, "People's people," as in people is people, or people are people. (Wow, the more I type that out, the more it looks like a funny word. I even second-guessed my spelling.)

His point was usually in the context of someone doing something that did not seem right, and so the very succinct sentence suggested that all people everywhere and at all points in history are prone to doing the wrong thing from time to time.

It's an interestingly profound statement. It's simple and straighforward and very sensible. Yet, don't we occasionally allow this notion to escape from our view?

From time to time, in various circumstances (home, church, school, work), we encounter people who we allow ourselves to imagine are somehow different from everyone else. Consider a person who has a clear reputation for being ethical, for making wise decisions. Maybe he's successful in business. Maybe he is never accused of any serious missteps with regard to lying, drunkenness, philandering, embezzlement, etc. It may seem as though he is so well put together that he is "above" being typical "people."

But eventually, with enough time and observation, your recognize the more subtle examples of deviant behaviour...anger, bitterness, deceitfulness which toes the line of lying, even subtle forms of slander and gossip, jealousy, insatiable appetite for money and power, etc.

And it turns out that people's people after all and no one can escape my cousin's statement.