Editor,
The fictional character Gordon Gekko in the 1987 film “Wall Street” famously made this declaration when attempting to rally a group of average Americans to join him in his quest for easy money and ill-gotten gains. His audience of ordinary, hard working people had come to protest massive lay-offs at a local factory. Gordon Gekko was a masterful communicator and by the time the rally was over, these same ordinary Americans had decided to throw away their moral compass in favor of a scheme to “get rich quick” through a hostile take-over.
The same thing is happening in Laguna Beach. Neighbors are throwing away their moral compass in favor of a scheme to “get a free view” by hostile actions. The act of remodeling has become the battle cry of Laguna Beach. The war is fought at the Design Review hearings. The pervasive attitude has become “you have what I want, so give it to me for free. Everyone else makes these selfish demands at the Design Review hearings so it must be okay to bully my neighbor. Never mind that I chose the house I live in and I won’t offer anything in exchange.”
About 2,000 years ago another masterful communicator came up with a few simple rules to live by that have stood the test of time. Even back then, people were tempted to take something they didn’t merit. The 10th commandment says “thou shall not covet your neighbor’s house, your neighbor’s wife, …”
Resisting the temptation to covet is called good character. Succumbing to it is called the norm in Laguna Beach.
Rabbi Ephraim Shapiro, Laguna Beach
