A recent post by The Skipper and another recent post by our very own Tuna kind of inspired me. I know the "kind of" seems rather like "damning with faint praise," but it goes beyond those two posts.
There is much in the world that troubles me these days.
The ever growing incivility in modern society.
The ever lessening impact of the Word of God in modern society.
The ever growing violence in certain parts of the world.
The ever growing incompetence in government at nearly every level.
Wouldn't it be a great thing, if everyone awoke in the morning, stretched, yawned and then, before considering the day ahead, said to themselves, "First, I will do no harm..."?
The Latin phrase Primum no nocere ("first, do no harm) is not actually a part of the Hippocratic Oath. Before starting this post, as part of my (ahem) due diligence I researched that oath, thinking that that's where the phrase came from.
Nope. No one seems to really know the exact origin of that phrase. Ganz egal...
While I have to admit that I'm not entirely comfortable with the "turn the other cheek" philosophy (from Matthew 5, Verse 39 - But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.) I will give someone a second chance, not always, which I suppose isn't right, but usually.
I also firmly believe in the old proverb (origin unknown) "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."
Now I fear we shall all be made fools of once again. Why?
Well, election season, regrettably, seems to have begun already.
It seems as if the same tired and trite promises are being offered to an ever more uncaring populace. Some not caring because they are uninformed, some not caring because they are tired of it all. Tired of the lies and the broken promises.
What does the political establishment offer in the way of candidates?
I do see some interesting prospects on the Republican side, though I'm sure that they will be weeded out by the time it comes to actually vote and we'll be left with the same tired choices put forth by those who move behind the scenes. The puppet masters who never step into the arena but hide in the shadows, deciding what is best for us.
The Democrats? They too have their puppet masters and they seem to be very good at making us all dance to their tune. Look at what they last offered us. And now?
Seriously, Hilary Clinton?
Just what we need another completely unqualified candidate who will garner votes simply because of gender. As the last garnered votes because of the color of his skin.
I care not for a candidate's gender, the color of their skin or the nation their forebears sprang from. I only care that he or she has the best interests of the United States and her true allies in mind.
The United States and her natural, true allies are the last, best hope of this tired world.
Beyond lies chaos, never ending war and a new Dark Age.
First, do no harm.
If that cannot be accomplished?
Then I hope we would have the will to crush our enemies, see them driven before us, and hear the lamentations of their women...
Otherwise, we will be crushed. There will be no one left to lament.
This, I fear.
The rotten politicians and criminal government are, imo, symptoms only. The real problem is that in the land of the free, nearly every American has abdicated his responsibility as a sovereign citizen. The first principle of our Republic is "all men are created equal, and endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights."
ReplyDeleteThe sovereign citizen lives and breathes this principle, treating all others as individual human beings and never as objects or things to be used and discarded. Or as Kant put it, as an end only and never as a means to an end. The sovereign citizen has no problem reconciling the second chance and "fool me twice." Which is not to say it's easy. It is in fact supremely hard to be a sovereign citizen.
As I see it, we are presently engaged in a great civil war, and the outcome will determine whether, to paraphrase the tall bearded one, a nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the first principle can long endure.
The new birth of freedom, if it comes, will have to come at the level of the individual, and those individuals MUST begin by living, breathing and teaching the first principle. I don't think it's going to happen.
Same here Shaun. Nicely put.
DeleteIt's really an awful feeling going to the polls with the idea that you're selecting the candidate who'll do the least amount of damage,
ReplyDeleteI tire of the whole "lesser of two evils" paradigm!
DeleteI was just commenting with my son, sitting in traffic last night, why can't the Muslims just leave us the F alone? Same thing with the Democrats. The Statists. The Telemarketers. Everyone who wants something or needs me to do what they want me to do. I don't come bother you. I don't want your money, your power, your status, or your God. Just leave me in peace to pursue my life.
ReplyDeleteI can pretty much promise the Islamists, if they don't take our property or our lives, that we'll pretty much leave them alone. We don't want or need their sand, their God, or their respect. but, like the Nazis and the Communists and all the other -ists and -isms of the last 239 years - we just want to be left alone. I don't want to send our young men and women to dry dusty or tropical places - until you idiots can't keep your hands to yourselves. What is wrong with you?
Anyway . . .
And that's a shack!
DeleteExactly. Most people aren't assholes, those that are cause 99% of the problems in this world.
Hey, just get off my lawn already!
Because you are a productive human being and the Democrats and the Statists need your money to give to the non-productive human beings so that the latter will vote for them.
DeleteSad, but true Ron...
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