Can one bad apple really ruin the entire barrel?
In apples, absolutely. When one apple rots, the juice and microbes run onto the apples around it and start rot in them until the whole barrel is affected and inedible. In people, free will has an effect, and one person can refuse to follow the behavior and standards of another, however, they will still be tainted in the minds of others by the association. Just as an example, my child has a new playmate in the neighborhood. That child’s parents and my husband and I have a friend in common. The friend is a convicted felon, and we’ve been involved with him mainly through having worked with him, and trying on various occasions to help him get his life on a better track. Until I knew what the parent’s of Little Bit’s new friend felt about him, and what their association was with him, I wasn’t comfortable with allowing her down there without me. They were tainted by the association. As it turned out, they felt the same way about me, which is fair. So when I went down there to talk to them, t
