Earlier this month, (yes, it was a particularly beautiful day in Southwest Florida) I was in the flow of traffic, driving across the Caloosahatchee River bridge. Soon, however, I was lurched from my routine when a state policeman motioned me (along with about ten other cars) to the side of the road. A helicopter flying overhead had clocked me at 68 MPH (it's a 55 MPH zone on the bridge). It didn't matter that I was in the flow of traffic. I was given a ticket for speeding.
 
Of course, my first instinct was to ask myself, "How can I get out of this?" I believe in that television commercial "You deserve a break today." Of course I do. That's what we Americans have come to believe! If I am poor, I deserve welfare. If I am rich, I deserve a tax break. If I am a worker, I deserve fringe benefits. If I am CEO of a corporation and run it into the ground, I deserve a bailout. I am my own special interest. So who can I blame for my speeding ticket? Who is responsible? Who should have to pay for that helicopter messing up my day?
 
Perhaps Carl Menninger was right when he wrote that the truest test of mental health is the ability to accept the consequences for our actions.