Everyone is watching (this is a good thing)

The caterer carefully set the final cupcake into a beautiful pyramid-like display. Then she looked down, noticed some frosting on her gloveless finger, licked the frosting off, and started arranging bagels with the same hand.

I watched the situation play out from a seat in the corner of the event space, just minutes before 200 guests poured in from the Synagogue to attend an elegant luncheon Bar Mitzvah reception.

She must have forgotten I was there.

I’m quite sure the client, not to mention their guests, would have been mortified to know how their food had been improperly handled.

We’re on the hook

You have a responsibility to the people who trust you, but you also have a responsibility to your tribe.

When a magician makes uncomfortable or suggestive remarks to an audience volunteer, we become less willing to volunteer during a magic show. That hurts all magicians.

When a teacher grades unfairly for students of a particular ethnicity, religion, or gender preference, parents become less trusting of all teachers.

When a parent opens the mail of their college-aged child without permission, that student become less trusting of all authority figures.

And of course when a caterer works without a glove, licks their fingers, and continues to arrange food with their bare hands, I become less trusting of all caterers.

Trust is our most precious commodity. Yes, we have less privacy today than perhaps ever before in human history. But perhaps it is also a blessing: Everyone is watching. Let’s be on our best behavior.