I have been wondering why the good guys get buried (sometimes literally) or transferred or discredited, while the yes men and connivers sail on, untouched, even praised.

The old order changeth, yielding place to new;
And God fulfils himself in many ways,
Lest one good custom should corrupt the world.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892) Idylls of the King: The Passing of Arthur

I’ve always thought of this quotation as being an answer: angry, maybe critical of God’s (or the boss's) self-fulfillment, self-realization, self-promotion. The author is saying, “Here was a good custom, a good man, our hope for the future. God "fulfils" himself by ending it, as if too much good custom would corrupt the world.” It is a truly mournful cry: Here was a good man, good custom; he did good deeds; why did he have to die untimely? The only answer can be that even good can corrupt the world? I don’t hear it as an answer; I hear it as a question again.

What do you think?