I’ve been conflicted about limiting or editing the content of this blog, thinking from the beginning about “keeping politics/conflict/etc.” out of it, but I recognize that would be ultimately disingenuous. What jarred me out of the illusion that I could/should keep my opinions about some things to myself was this quote, from last Sunday’s AWAD:
Seven blunders of the world that lead to violence: wealth without work,pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce withoutmorality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice, politicswithout principle.-Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)
I found myself checking if any of the blunders could be applied to our current President (and many of the people in leadership positions around him), and I was dismayed to find myself able to name specific examples of almost all of them in his known public life (I leave it to you to research each of these; if I run across good links I will post them):
Wealth without work: Obvious; his inherited family fortune.
Pleasure without conscience: His adolescence, which extended into his 40s (coke, booze, etc.).
Knowledge without character: Oh, I don’t know…. Maybe, “Brownie, you’re doing a heckuva job.”?
Commerce without morality: The continued relationship with the Saudis, for one.
Science without humanity: His absolutist position on abortion, stem cell research, and other issues.
Workship without sacrifice: I don’t know about his personal spiritual life beyond what he parades in public, obvisouly, but my impression is that this applies in his relationship with the evangelical base.
Politics without principle: Pretty much all of the above play into this one, and they’re played out in his support of the ban on gay marriage, the ban on flag burning, and countless other idiotic things he stands for that distract from the incompetence and possible criminality of his administration.
So there it is. I hope this is the beginning of a long stretch of intelligent discussion. Really.
Comments
One response to “True to myself.”
Worship without sacrifice is bad? We better rebuild the Temple quick!