“I guess they think it’s OK,” Mark said, “or else they think it’s just a little thing that doesn’t really matter. But it does matter, and not just in terms of dollars and cents. The way I see it, there’s no such thing as relative integrity. Either you’re honest or you’re not. It’s as simple as that. If you’re honest — really honest — it doesn’t occur to you to take something that doesn’t belong to you.”

But aren’t there degrees of dishonesty that have become sort of acceptable in our society? You know — like little white lies? Or snitching a grape from the grocery store’s produce department while shopping? Or fudging a little on a tax return? Or making personal copies on the copy machine at work? Or pirating music online?