Karma and Compound Interest, Part I

By Robert Ringer

When asked what he believed to be the greatest discovery of the 20th century, Albert Einstein is said to have answered, “Compound interest.” And wealthy people — you know, the ones who clip debt-instrument coupons as a pastime — would undoubtedly agree with him.

Compound interest, however, can accrue on things other than money. When I was a very young man, I observed that I almost always ended up paying considerably more for a “wrong” action than what I had hoped to gain from it. When the payment came due, it was like an invisible balloon note that carried onerous, compounded interest. (Sound familiar?)

I thought about this when Reader Maria Anastasia recently sent me an e-mail that read, in part:

“In a future edition of the book [Action!], you may want to insert something regarding the fact that many cultures (and some open-minded people) believe in karma and reincarnation. I am not sure if it exists or not, but it sure seems to explain the differences and seeming injustices in this world. Or, simply put, reaping what you sow — both in this lifetime and potentially in future lifetimes. … An excellent example is Jack Tatum — the football player who maimed so many other players.”

Ms. Anastasia went on to say that she wonders if former Oakland Raiders defensive back Jack Tatum, now severely diabetic (and having lost his left leg and five toes on his right foot as a result), is reaping what he sowed. In his playing days, Tatum’s nickname was “The Assassin,” and he let it be known that when he took the field, his goal was to maim his opponents.

On August 12, 1978, in a preseason game, he took that goal to its extreme with a brutal hit on Darryl Stingley of the New England Patriots. Stingley had been vulnerable while reaching for a high pass over the middle from quarterback Steve Grogan.

At the moment of impact, Stingley’s life was forever changed. He spent his remaining years as a quadriplegic. (He recently passed away at age fifty-five.)

Hard as it is to believe, Jack Tatum never once tried to contact Stingley to apologize — or even to see how he was doing. When asked by a reporter about the incident, he simply said, “I was just trying to do my job. It’s unfortunate, but it happens.”

Do Tatum’s horrific health problems comprise compounded interest that has come due on his karma debt?

And what about the now-disgraced Mike Nifong, the rogue prosecutor who tried to railroad three Duke lacrosse players into life sentences for a crime they didn’t commit? Nifong has lost everything — his prestigious district attorney title (that he was willing to commit criminal acts to retain), his license to practice law, the respect of friends, family, and the public, and, most assuredly, respect for himself.

Do Nifong’s enormous losses comprise compounded interest that has come due on his karma debt?

As a final example, I can’t help thinking of the late Johnny Cochran, who died of a brain tumor in 2005. Every non-comatose adult can vividly remember Cochran’s transformation of the O.J. Simpson trial into the Mark Fuhrman trial. And his ludicrous attempt at Muhammed Ali-like poetry that cinched the deal for his murderous client: “If it [the glove] doesn’t fit, you must acquit.”

For years, Cochran, with a straight face, insisted in his frequent television appearances that O.J. was innocent. This, even after the infamous Bruno Magli shoe pictures were published. It was, of course, a bold-faced lie. Cochran had a razor-sharp mind and was certainly no Pollyanna. He knew that O.J. was guilty as sin.

Was Cochran’s gruesome death compounded interest that came due on his karma debt?

I could make a pretty long list here — as I’m sure you could — but you get the idea: “Everything that goes around comes around.” It’s a nice, tight philosophical view of life that is very comforting — that is, until we come up against two scenarios that don’t fit the karma mold, scenarios I’ll be discussing in Part II of this article.

Next – Karma and Compound Interest, Part II