I Know Something You Don't Know

Secrets, we all have them. Sometimes people share their with us, make us confidants. Sometimes we discover someone else's. The question I have today is how and where do we draw the line at what we hold and what we reveal.

I am struggling with this one a lot, I won't lie. many people entrust me with their secrets. I don't go telling people what is not mine to tell. Personal affairs are personal. I certainly wouldn't want someone sharing my personal business with anyone else. There isn't much gray area there for me. If you fight with your significant other and tell me the details, I will not go spreading the word in the street. There are some things that have a pretty clear definition.

What I am interested in looking closer at are the gray areas of secrets. What if I know something about a person that someone is involved with that may be harmful to them? Do I presume that both parties have enacted full disclosure? How do I even begin to approach that without looking like a busy-body? If I have concern, I want to make sure those I care about are protected. So do I risk interfering on their behalf? Does that make me seem concerned in their eyes or like I do not trust them to make their own decisions? (Yeah, that's a lot of questions)

There is a bigger problem out there that I am questioning as well. Legality. This is where most of my questions are. How much am I responsible for as far as knowledge? Say, for instance, that I know someone is committing fraud (purely hypothetical of course) am I to be held for aiding and abetting if I do not contact the authorities? Say I know someone's whereabouts, am I supposed to report that? How much is mine to be diligent about to protect society? If I turn a blind eye, doesn't that make me just as bad as the offender?

Some of these questions came up recently when my ex husband's vehicle got broken into. He called me for advice on how to handle the situation. That showed a mark of maturity for him, as he has been impulsive in the past. He gave me a lot of information that he had heard about who did it and what others were threatening to do. I believe in justice, but not vigilante style. I am pleased to say that he did the right thing and called the authorities the following morning with all he had been told. Getting ripped off is bad, but going to jail for vengeance is even worse. He might not have his radio back, but at least he isn't sitting in a jail cell for thinking he was above the rules.

That is the issue that most who do these kind of things have - thinking they are above the law, or that they are just bending the rules to suit their needs. Then we end up being responsible for holding their secrets. At the end of the day, I am not willing to risk my own hide to save someone else's. Your secret is safe with me, as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else.