A few words about morals

I am a psychotherapist and a writer, and when practicing both of these vocations, I constantly have to deal with theft.

I cannot count the number of times people have used my written material without asking my permission, which is a copyright violation in most circumstances. Sometimes they even omit my name, which is plagiarism. When confronted, they tend to become defensive and insulting. Even people who have not violated my copyright have insulted me when they learned that I do not want others to violate it.

Such a low value is placed on creativity and thought in this culture that many people do not consider stealing it to be immoral or against the law.

The culture also places a low value on services. My psychotherapy clients sign a detailed financial agreement with me which explains quite clearly that if they fail to show up for a session or cancel it late, they will be charged a fee, and that fee is due before their next session. Dozens of them say they fully understand the terms, but when they fail to show up for a session and I ask them for payment, they are often stunned that I would suggest such a thing, and often go out of their way to get out of paying the money.

Even worse, some of these people ask me to commit insurance fraud--to bill the insurance company for the session which did not take place. When I explain to them--duh--that that is against the law, violates my own moral standards, and could cost me my license, they are surprised or disgusted.

Readers may be thinking: "Ah, but these are troubled people." Yes, a few have personality disorders, but most are just regular folks who are responding to the great moral void that is our culture. We don't like insurance companies, so let's steal from them. The insurance company won't know the difference, and it will save me money. I didn't show up, so why are you charging me for it?

Being a victim of chronic attempted (and sometimes successful) theft is an unpleasant education.