Defendant Gregory Moore recently attended a pretrial court hearing in West Palm Beach. Moore is charged with a crime spree that took place in Broward County. His alleged criminal binge included one murder, one attempted murder and five carjackings.
Prosecutors played a recorded interview that was made after Moore’s arrest. On the tape, Moore indicated he was not to blame for the carnage. He told a police officer that “…somebody did Satan to me, put Satan in my brain.”
Unfortunately, there are some cases where an insane individual actually “hears voices” suggesting heinous acts and then feels compelled to act on them. Fortunately, these cases are quite rare. The justice system is yet to judge the competency of Mr. Moore.
We all deal with the dark and light side of life. Judaism calls it the conflict between the yetzer hara (evil inclination) and the yetzer tov (good inclination). Freud calls it the fight between the id (base desires) and the superego (conscience). Adam and Chava (Eve) called their temptation “the snake.”
Taking personal responsibility for our lapses can be difficult. There are always mitigating circumstances. There is always something or someone to hold responsible for our troubles. It is very hard to realize the finger we point at others should often be aimed in our own direction.
Free will is our greatest gift and most difficult challenge. Other than some very unique circumstances, like the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, every individual has the responsibility for his or her own actions. It is a daunting task. Gregory Moore’s situation might seem extreme, but the tendency to play the blame game is not.
The Jewish New Year is rapidly approaching and with it an amazing tradition that takes place annually. We all have the opportunity for another chance. We can atone for our sins. We can wipe the slate clean. The first step to attaining this goal is to admit our own accountability.
“The devil made me do it” may be a good punch line for a barroom joke. It is, however, a good-for-nothing excuse when it comes to finding out who is culpable for the misdeeds and errors in our own lives.
Just look in the mirror and see.