Everywhere — social media, every avenue of news reporting, talk show opening monologues, etc — United Airlines’ recent removal of and then re-boarding of a passenger has been the topic of the week.

I won’t unnecessarily rehash the situation, nor will I share my (for what little it’s worth) opinion. Rather, I thought I’d share a few reminders that can be gleaned from the incident.

1. Just because something can be done, doesn’t mean it should be done.

2. Privacy no longer exists. If your actions and speech are not already framed by your faith or belief system, let them at least be guided by the fact that everything you do and say can at any time be filmed by someone with a smart phone.

3. Preparing physically and mentally to likely stressful situations can avert problems and bad behavior.

For example, I know that I get frustrated when drivers on the interstate don’t follow the “stay in the right lane unless passing” law and that my frustration causes me to behave in ways I shouldn’t.  I’ve found that my trips to the city go much smoother if, recognizing this, I prepare myself. For example, if I have any control over my schedule, I travel when I know the roads will be less congested. I pray before my trip, when I see drivers ahead of me not following the rule, and when I get to the city, where the volume of traffic means even more people are not following the law.

A dear friend who realized that even one glass of wine makes her forget her “rule” not to gossip told me she absolutely refuses to have wine when out for lunch or dinner with her girlfriends.

4. It’s better (and usually much easier) to control actions or swallow words in the moment than to have to apologize and make amends later.

It will be interesting to see how the situation involving United plays out. No matter what happens, damage will be done; damage that will not be easily corrected.

What other “lessons” can be taken from this situation? Share them via a comment.