What happened to character?
I heard someone make this comment the other day and it doesn't quite make logical sense, "This guy has great character he just made a bad decision."
Isn't that what character is choosing right when given a choice between right and wrong? One of the definitions that Webster's gives states that character is certain features that set apart individuals like "the complex of mental and ethical traits."
We confuse resiliency amidst unfortunate circumstances and a person's ethics when we forgetting that our actions are a result of who we are at the deepest level. Too often we rationalize that we/they couldn't use self control or blame someone else for a slip up. In court it is labeled temporary insanity but I'm afraid it is becoming less and less temporary.
I think one has to question a person's character when…they do something illegal or lie to mislead someone or similar thoughts and actions. Such actions aren't the result of one bad decision, they are the result of walking down a path of a choice and ignoring the alarms going off in your conscience along the way. That leads to bad character not just bad decisions and you should stay away from such characters.