“now it came to pass when he drew closer to the camp and saw the calf and the dances, that moses’ anger was kindled, and he flung the tablets from his hands, shattering them at the foot of the mountain.”
exodus 32:19
we are, at times, in disbelief of what we see in this world. for some of us, just like moses, we would like to take a set of tablets and smash them out of frustration. rather that doing so, it is better to bring some positivity to these events. thus, the “smashing tablets” award is established to mark world events that violate ten commandments’ principles in an outstanding manner. the award’s criteria includes irony, the multitude of violations, and its “stranger than fiction” quality.
in honor of fathers’s day, a father-son incident is nominated.
the facts are as follows: a father reported his prized jewelry was stolen. eventually, his son arrested for the theft. the property was valued at approximately $300,000.00.
as alleged, his son caught two violations for the price of one.
the details are as follows: the father, vince wilfork, is a very successful individual with a great reputation. he is a football standout with championships in both college and the national football league. he is a football great. as part of winning championships, he also received rings. these rings, a symbol of his great team accomplishment, were some of the items allegedly stolen.
mr. wilfork is much more than a football player. he used his talent off of the field. he was “recognized for his off-field philanthropy in 2010 when he was presented the team’s prestigious community service award. wilfork, who lost his father to diabetes, raised hundreds and thousands of dollars for diabetes-related causes and was also a strong supporter of charities that promote education and health for children. ” espn
currently, however, his son’s alleged theft has brought negative attention to mr. wilfork’s storied legacy. his son’s alleged bad act has brought his father dishonor.
analysis: the father-son relationship may have been complicated prior to the theft. mr. wilfork was no longer married to his son’s mother. it is unclear whether this impacted the father-son relationship. mr. wilfork’s success may have been a problem. it is not uncommon that children from highly successful parents have troubled lives which can involve drug addiction and crime.
what can be done?
from both a public relations and moral viewpoint, both father and son need to address their relationship. the narrative needs to be changed.
father and son need to decide whether they want to have a relationship and whether they want to make it a positive one. from the facts, it appears that from the father’s perspective there are trust and anger issues which need to be addressed moving forward. thus, the son, if he wants to improve the relationship with his father, he needs to work to earn his father’s trust. the son also needs to seek his father’s forgiveness.
mr. wilfork, if his son makes these moves, needs to be wise and address his son’s contrition. thus, over time, with true effort and contrition, it may be possible that these two can repair their relationship. if so, perhaps news articles will be written about their great efforts to make amends. thus, this bad event can be turned into a positive.
be well!!
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