Hamartiology as a Branch of Political Science

I learned an interesting new word the other day: hamartiology - the branch of theology dealing with the study of sin. I found this to be interesting in light of my fascination with the Seven Deadly Sins, about which I've written in this space quite a few times, and which have particular relevance to the current regime in Washington, and it occurs to me that hamartiology could be as much at home in political science as in theology.

Let's take a hamartiological (sp?) look at the Seven Deadly Sins in today's American politics ...

Pride (the excessive belief in one's own abilities, leading to a sense of superiority over others and a disregard for God, pride is considered the root of all other sins.) Der Furor is evidently unaware that adjectives can exist in other than the superlative form when they apply to him. His preening, faux-heroic posturing - exemplified by his glowering visage in banners hanging from the Department of Justice building in Washington ...

his poses reminiscent of that embodied by fascist Italian leader Benito Mussolini ... 

and his name illegally plastered on monuments to greater presidents* and better men ...

would be comical in situations less fraught with potential menace. If excessive, embarrassingly overweening pride had a face, it would look like Der Furor.

Greed (a strong desire for material wealth, possessions, or status, often prioritizing material goods over genuine love for God or one's neighbors.) Der Furor has amassed an enormous fortune during the first year and a half of his second term. According to his most recent financial disclosure report, he has raked in at least $2.2 billion, a figure that includes his real estate assets and gigantic income from cryptocurrency investments, which are directly affected by policies he implements himself. That compares to an estimated minimum of $622 million his businesses hauled in for all of 2024, before he returned to the presidency. The level of greed, corruption, and conflicts of interest in this administration, proudly and shamelessly conducted in plain sight and shrugged off because "nobody cares," is beyond epic.

Gluttony (the overindulgence and overconsumption of food, drink, or material pleasure to the point of waste or excess.) While gluttony is generally associated with food and drink, the sin also applies to the excessive overconsumption (is that redundant?) of material resources. A before and after look at the Oval Office, which has been turned into a Walmart Versailles with tacky gilt bric-a-brac, tchotchkes, and geegaws, demonstrates this aspect of gluttony.

Sloth (physical laziness or a deeper spiritual apathy, characterized by giving up on doing what is good and neglecting one's spiritual or personal responsibilities.) The House of Representatives has accomplished virtually nothing in the 119th Congress**, and has repeatedly been sent home early by Speaker Mike Johnson to prevent having to take politically embarrassing votes which might anger Der Furor. For his part, Der Furor, in spite of loudly castigating former President Obama for his golf outings, has not only spent far more days on the links than Obama, but has racked up an enormous bill for the taxpayers for travel to his private clubs to do so. And let's not forget his increasing tendency to fall asleep during meetings*** ...

Lust (a disordered craving for or indulgence in sexual pleasure, prioritizing self-gratification without regard for the well-being or true intimacy of others.) Der Furor owes 5.8 million dollars in a settlement to E. Jean Carroll, who won judgements against him for sexual abuse that have been upheld all the way to the Supreme Court, plus another $83 million judgement for defamation that he is still fighting. There's a cautionary lesson here that is unlikely to be learned. Lust can also refer to any uncontrollable passion or longing ... such as the lust for power that keeps many individuals in Congress^† long past their best-by date. 

Envy (sadness or jealousy caused by another person's traits, status, abilities, or possessions, often leading to resentment.) I think a very good case can be made that Der Furor is driven by a furious envy (which has been dubbed "Obama Derangement Syndrome") of the stature and accomplishments of former President Obama.

Wrath (uncontrolled feelings of intense anger, hatred, or a vengeful desire for retaliation.) Read any of Der Furor's furiously angry and vindictive "Truth Social" posts demanding prosecution of his perceived enemies. I rest my case.

Hamartiology. A field of study uniquely - and sadly - applicable to the present "leadership" of our nation.

Have a good day. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

* Der Furor's name has since been removed from the Kennedy Center facade by court order, but tarps have been hung to hide the fact his name has been removed. Good grief ...

** Other than pass the appalling "One Big Beautiful Bill Act." 

*** As an old guy myself, I can sympathize with being tired a lot during the day. But then, I'm not the President of the United States with awesome responsibilities.

† Exhibit A is probably Mitch McConnell.

A Topic I Hate to Address on Christmas Eve

In years past, I've had my more-or-less traditional Christmas Eve post that I used to reflect on the beauty and craziness - of the day before the holiday. This year, for many reasons, I'm finding it hard to get into the Christmas mood, and I need to vent a bit to help center myself to enjoy tomorrow's festivities. Sorry to be a downer. Read on if you wish, or come back tomorrow if you don't.

I've written several times in this space about the Seven Deadly Sins - the most awful of vices according to Christian tradition. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with them, they are:

Pride - irrational self-confidence or the contemptuous rejection of the feelings or importance of others. It is considered the worst of the deadly sins, and the original source of the others.

Greed - an intense desire to possess more than what one needs;

Wrath - uncontrolled feelings of anger, rage, or hatred, or an intense desire for revenge;

Gluttony - excessive consumption, whether of food or resources;

Sloth - indifference or laziness toward one's responsibilities;

Lust - although usually thought of in sexual terms, it can also refer to an overwhelming desire for power or money; and, 

Envy - resentfully coveting the traits or possessions of another person.

I think about them often nowadays in the context of the miserable human being who rules our nation. If ever there were a proud poster child for the Seven Deadly Sins, it would be Der Furor. Consider this ...

Pride - there has seldom been a more noisily self-aggrandizing, self-promoting individual than Der Furor. He misses no opportunity to trumpet his own successes, real or imagined, and is famous for his repeated declarations that "nobody knows more about (insert topic) than I do."* He has also unilaterally added his name to the US Institute of Peace, the Kennedy Center in Washington, and a fantasized fleet of "Trump-Class" battleships for the Navy.

Greed - the degree to which Der Furor has monetized the presidency for the benefit of himself and his family is staggering, and the degree to which his enablers ignore or make excuses for it are truly mind-boggling. House Speaker Mike Johnson is on record as saying investigations of Der Furor's alleged corruption are unnecessary, as "[he] does everything out in the open. He’s not trying to hide anything. There's no shell companies or fake LLCs or fake family businesses. He’s putting it out there, so everybody can evaluate for themselves.” I guess there's no crime if you do it in the open for everyone to see. 

Wrath - seldom in our history has a president so openly sought revenge against those who have investigated and prosecuted him for his crimes. Never has the Department of Justice been so blatantly and openly weaponized against the perceived enemies of a sitting president. Never has a president so angrily insulted and demeaned immigrants from other nations, his political opponents, and even his own supporters who have criticized him. 

Gluttony - consider the over-the-top glitz of Mar-a-Lago and the transformation of the White House and the dignified Oval Office into a gilded advertisement for power and wealth.

Sloth - some of Der Furor's best naps seem to take place during official meetings, sometimes even while his acolytes are gushing effusive praise of his stamina, intelligence, health, executive capabilities, and ability to prevent hurricanes from striking the United States.

Lust - remember the Access Hollywood tape? The visit to the dressing rooms for the Miss USA competition to leer at young naked women? His conviction on charges of sexual abuse? The endless attempts to cover up whatever the "Epstein Files" may reveal? I rest my case.

Envy - Der Furor coveted a military parade after seeing a Bastille Day parade in Paris. He wants a memorial arch for Washington bigger than the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. He has demolished the historic East Wing of the White House in order to build a ballroom large enough to impress foreign visitors.

I'm truly sorry for the tone of this post, but I had to flush the disappointment from my system in order to be able to achieve some measure of the Christmas spirit I miss so much. This was a topic I should never have to write about at Christmas, but here we are.

Have a good day, and try your best to get into the Christmas spirit that brightened your life once a year as a child. I'm trying.

More thoughts - in a happier vein - tomorrow.

Bilbo

* This list dates to 2019. A current list would probably be twice as long. At least.
 

The Eighth Circle and Beyond

 

If you've read Dante's Divine Comedy, and specifically the first volume, Inferno, you know that Dante imagined Hell as an inverted cone divided into nine circles to which sinners were assigned for punishment. The circles grew smaller in diameter as one neared the lowest depths of Hell, and at each descending level the punishments of the damned souls grew worse according to the severity of their sins. At the ninth - lowest - level, Satan was imprisoned in ice for all eternity.

But it's the eighth circle I want to talk about today, because I think it's the circle that is uniquely suited for the present day.

Unlike the other circles of Hell, the eighth was divided into a number of subcircles for a particularly loathsome group of condemned sinners, lumped together under the general sin of fraud; it housed those condemned for sins like:

Flattery;

Political Corruption;

Hypocrisy;

Theft;

Fraudulent Rhetoric;

Divisiveness;

Falsification;

Pimping and Seducing; and,

Sorcery and False Prophecy.

All of these exist in our present-day political culture as they did in Dante's time; indeed, given the advances in banking, computer science, communications technology, and broader horizons of white-collar graft, they're probably even more widespread at every level of politics:

Flattery - have you listened to Der Furor's appointees constantly praising his genius? It's fawning obsequiousness at its most sickening.

 

Political Corruption - Senator Bob Menendez and Justice Clarence Thomas ... need I say more?

 

Hypocrisy - the correct spelling of this word is "M-i-t-c-h-M-c-C-o-n-n-e-l-l."

 

Theft - do we know what President Musk's techno-kiddies did when they took control of sensitive Treasury Department computer systems?

 

Fraudulent Rhetoric - all politicians lie, although their fraudulent rhetoric is usually focused on shading of the truth for advantage, rather than the blatant out-and-out falsehoods that are daily occurrences with Der Furor and his appointees. See "Falsification" below.

 

Divisiveness - the noisy and shameful fight over DEI encapsulates it perfectly.

 

Falsification - in his first administration alone, Der Furor was estimated to have told more than 30,000 falsehoods. During his campaign, the interregnum, and his first few weeks as president, he continues to have only the most tenuous of relationships with the truth. Because he gets away with it and dismisses any attempt to check his claims as "fake news," his acolytes have no trouble doing the same. Pinocchio would be proud.

 

Pimping and Seducing - particularly widespread during election years, when credulous voters are seduced with grand promises immediately forgotten or downplayed one the desired office has been attained.

 

Sorcery and False Prophecy - these are, of course, the bedrock upon which most conservative economic theories rest. False prophecy is particularly useful to bolster claims about the fantastic economic benefits of tariffs, and how quickly the prices of homes, gas, and groceries will come down in a rosily-painted future.

One last category of sin punished in the eighth circle is Simony (the abuse of power within the Church). While Dante was focusing on things like the venal sale of Church offices and blessings, one might also consider simony today to include the sexual abuse of children by priests and - beyond the Catholic Church - clerics and adherents of religions who incite violence against those who observe faiths or sects other than their own. The equivalent of simony in modern government would probably include things like nepotism, favoritism, and sexual misconduct.

A 1998 article in the satirical newspaper The Onion announced the expansion of Hell to squeeze in a new tenth circle - Corpadverticus, The Circle of Total Bastards - between levels eight and nine. The new circle was said to have become necessary because many new arrivals possessed souls far more evil than the original nine circles were equipped to handle, such as demographers, advertising executives, tobacco lobbyists, and corporate lawyers. A spokesdemon quoted in the article as representing Satan said these new arrivals represented "a wave of spiritual decay and horror the likes of which Hell has never before seen.” Of course, Der Furor and Elon Musk hadn't arrived on the scene yet.

The Eighth Circle definitely isn't big enough.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

The Supreme Court and the Seven Deadly Sins

I have long been fascinated by the Christian* tradition of the Seven Deadly Sins, and I've written several posts about them and their manifestation in the modern world. In case you're not familiar with the Seven Deadly Sins, they are

Pride - pride is considered the original and the worst of the seven deadly sins. It leads to irrational self-confidence, impulsiveness, and an unwillingness to seek or heed good advice. Vainglory (unjustified boasting**) is considered a form of pride.

Greed - an inordinate desire to acquire or possess more than one needs, especially wealth.

Wrath - uncontrolled feelings of rage or hatred, or a desire for vengeance for perceived wrongs.

Envy - sad or resentful covetousness towards the traits or possessions of someone else.

Lust - while we think of lust in the sense of intense sexual desire, it actually means an fierce desire for anything, such as money, power, or social position.

Gluttony - usually thought of in terms of gross overeating, it is the overindulgence or overconsumption of anything to the point of waste.

Sloth - indolence, laziness, or the habitual avoidance of exertion. Unlike the other six deadly sins, sloth is a sin of omission (the failure to perform ones responsibilities) rather than commission (of some act that is wrong or immoral).

It occurs to me that most of the conservative members of the Supreme Court reflect one or more of the Seven Deadly Sins:

Greed, Wrath, and Envy mark Justice Clarence Thomas. His eager acceptance of gifts and services from wealthy friends and patrons, regardless of the perception of ethical compromise, are clear examples of greed, while his disdainful refusal to even consider them to be a problem, and his accusation that those who point out such problems are motivated by racism rather than concern for justice shows wrath. He is also guilty of envy, which drives him to seek from questionably ethical sources the better things of life he believes his meager salary as a Supreme Court justice denies him.

Greed, Wrath, and Pride mark Justice Samuel Alito. Like Justice Thomas, Justice Alito happily accepts questionable gifts (greed), bristles at any criticism of his behavior (wrath), and clearly believes he's above criticism, anyhow (pride).

Sloth and Pride mark Chief Justice John Roberts. His foot-dragging reluctance to lead the court to a clear stand on politically difficult decisions (sloth) undercuts his role as the Chief Justice, while and his tone-deaf defense of a court that has a clear crisis of public confidence (pride) reflects a reluctance to deal with the obvious.

Lust and Gluttony seem to work well for Justice Brett Kavanaugh, although he's tried to keep his head down after the exposure of his college era drinking and sexual issues during his confirmation hearings. "I like beer" is not the sort of historic quote one expects to hear in that environment.

Sloth applies to Justice Neil Gorsuch insofar as his emphasis on "textualism" and "originalism" reflects a reluctance to deal with the intellectual and moral difficulty of interpreting a 250-year-old Constitution to account for political and social conditions its drafters never imagined.

I'm not sure yet which (if any) of the deadly sins Amy Coney Barrett represents ... so far, she's a bit of an unknown quantity, generally very conservative, but with sudden flashes of independence and a willingness to work with the liberal justices. If I update this post in the future, perhaps I'll have more of an idea. 

While I'm dumping on the conservative wing of the court, are the three liberal justices guilty of any of the Seven Deadly Sins? Not to the same extent as Thomas, Alito, Roberts, Kavanaugh, and Gorsuch, although I think that anyone who reaches a seat on the Supreme Court is at the very least probably guilty from time to time of the sin of pride.

And in less than a week, the Court must contend with a new president who embodies all seven of the deadly sins. This is not likely to turn out well.

Have a good day, and try to avoid the Seven Deadly Sins.

Believe me, I know it's hard.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

* Actual Christian, not Republican Christian.

** And who is the poster child for vainglory?

Der Furor as Poster Child for The Seven Deadly Sins

One of my favorite movies is the brilliant "Se7en," which followed the attempts of detectives Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt to catch a sadistic murderer whose victims represent the embodiment of the Seven Deadly Sins. It occurs to me, as it has frequently, that the Seven Deadly Sins are a convenient way to frame Der Furor's behavior and fitness (or lack thereof) for a return to the presidency. I wrote about this back in March of 2018, and now seems like a good time to revisit the issue ..

Envy is defined as a resentful covetousness towards the traits, possessions, or achievements of someone else. Consider that Der Furor repeatedly promised but never delivered an “infrastructure week,” to the point it became a running joke. He tried relentlessly to undermine President Biden’s infrastructure bill, and when Biden actually delivered it, he and his GOP sycophants were quick to take credit for its benefits after doing their best to tank it.

Greed is the inordinate desire to acquire or possess more than one needs, especially material wealth. Der Furor's homes are heavily decorated with gold. ‘Nuff said.

While we tend to think of Gluttony in terms of overeating, it traditionally refers to obsessive overindulgence and materialism. It's like greed on steroids. 

I think a strong case could be made for Der Furor as the poster child for Lust: “I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything ... Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything.” Need I say more?

Pride: Der Furor is a man who puts his name on everything you can imagine, from buildings to golf courses to vodka. And, of course, he’s the guy who always lets us know that “Nobody knows more about (insert topic) than me.”

Sloth has been defined as absence of interest in things of importance, a disinclination to exertion, and a wanton neglect of one’s responsibilities. When running for the presidency, Der Furor claimed he wouldn’t have time to play golf, because he’d be working every day for America, yet he spent a huge amount of time on the links. One also notes that Der Furor was observed falling asleep during his criminal trial in Manhattan yesterday. 

Wrath is the exercise of uncontrolled feelings of rage or hatred, often manifesting itself in a desire for vengeance. We all know that Der Furor was famous for leading chants of "lock her up!" about Hillary Clinton, but his recent record of angrily hateful rhetoric and need for revenge on his foes goes far beyond any "normal" political hyperbole. 

And, of course, there was the famous Golden Idol, which probably combines pride, greed, and gluttony ...

If you're one of those deluded folks who believes Der Furor was sent by God to save America, you may want to question why the deity would select so woefully unsuitable a messenger.

Have a good day. More thoughts coming. 

Bilbo

The Seven Deadly Sins, March, 2018

You may recall that I've written many times in this space on the subject of the so-called Seven Deadly Sins - Pride, Greed, Gluttony, Sloth, Lust, Envy, and Wrath. I think the topic is fascinating, and it's the hook for one of my favorite movies, Se7en.

I last wrote about the Seven Deadly Sins late last year, and in reading the news, I thought now might be a good time to take another look at how our national leaders reflect them:

Pride – Perhaps it’s normal to enjoy seeing your name in giant letters on everything you own ...

Greed - Forbes Magazine estimates Donald Trump's net worth as $3.1 billion. That's quite a bit of money, particularly for someone like me living on modest investments, Social Security, and a military pension. But don't you dare imply that Mr Trump is not a billionaire: in 2009, he sued a writer who claimed he was only a millionaire, not a billionaire. I'd say that qualifies as greed.

Gluttony - We tend to think of gluttony in terms of gross overeating, but it's more than just an overfocus on food ... it's an inordinate desire to consume more - of anything - than that which one requires. It's the state of always wanting more, of never being content with what one has. Go back and check that Forbes Magazine estimate I linked above.

Sloth – As of March 3rd, Donald Trump has played golf at least 79 times during 94 visits (at public expense) to his own golf resorts. Now, the job of president is not an easy one, and I would never begrudge the incumbent some down time to relax from the pressures of the office ... but we need to remember that this is the man who repeatedly berated former president Obama for golfing during his presidency, and who famously said during the campaign that "... I'm going to be working for you, I'm not going to have time to go golfing, believe me. Believe me. Believe me, folks." Here's a reminder.

Lust – Stormy Daniels. “Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything.” ‘Nuff said.

Envy - God forbid you should have to live in a world marked by the accomplishments of a better man ... get rid of everything your predecessor did so that your own meager record won't have to suffer by comparison. Here's a partial list of the things undone (as of December 15th last year).

Wrath - "Lock Her Up!" "Build the wall!" 'Nuff said.

The Seven Deadly Sins are still with us and are being well-fed by He Who Shall Not Be Named.

Have a good day. I will not be envious or wrathful if you do.

More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

The Seven Deadly Sins, November 2017

You may recall, those of you who have been reading this blog for a while, that I've written five times* on the subject of the so-called Seven Deadly Sins: Pride, Greed, Gluttony, Sloth, Lust, Envy, and Wrath.

It's been almost two years since I last wrote on the topic, and recent events have caused me to take a fresh look at the Seven Deadly Sins in the news:

Pride - Donald Trump tweeted last Friday (November 24th): “Time Magazine called to say that I was PROBABLY going to be named ‘Man (Person) of the Year,’ like last year, but I would have to agree to an interview and a major photo shoot. I said probably is no good and took a pass. Thanks anyway!” By the way, Time Magazine disagrees with the tweet.

Greed - If you love what your cable company has done to your television viewing, just wait until the FCC kills net neutrality. In this administration, what matters is whether a decision is good for business, and screw the consumer. Take a look at the winners and losers in GOP tax reform, too, and see who really benefits.

Gluttony - We usually think of gluttony in terms of overeating, but in its original sense it refers to the overconsumption of any resource ... like tax breaks for the wealthy and for businesses that really don't need them.

Sloth - according to this article on the GolfNewsNetwork.com, "Since taking office on Jan. 20, 2017 [as of November 25, 2017], Mr. Trump has reportedly been on the grounds of his golf courses or played golf elsewhere 81 times since becoming President." This is the man who said during the campaign that "If I win ... because I'm going to be working for you, I'm not going to have time to go golfing, believe me. Believe me. Believe me, folks." Just sayin'.

Lust - Here's a good summary from the New York Times on November 21: After Weinstein: The Fallout for 34 Men Accused of Sexual Misconduct, From Lewd Texts to Rape. Lust is having a winning season.

Envy - We seem to have a national leader so jealous of the accomplishments of his predecessor that his only policy agenda appears to be deliberately undoing everything President Obama did.

Wrath - One day after the father of one of the UCLA basketball players who were detained in China belittled Donald Trump’s role in their release, Trump tweeted that he “should have left them in jail.” Perhaps petulance ought to be a deadly sin, as a subset of wrath. For straight wrath, how about "Lock Her Up!"

For an interesting look at The Seven Deadly Sins of American Politics, check out this series of articles on Ozy.com.

Have a good day. I will not be envious or wrathful if you do.

More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

* Sins, Great, Small, and New (March 11, 2008); Deadly Sins (September 20, 2010); Deadly Sins, Cardinal Virtues, and Congress (July 2, 2013); Deadly Sins Around Us (December 18, 2013); and Presidential Campaigns and the Seven Deadly Sins (February 2, 2016).

Presidential Campaigns and the Seven Deadly Sins

You may recall, Dear Readers, that there are said to be Seven Deadly Sins: Pride, Greed, Gluttony, Sloth, Lust, Envy, and Wrath. I’ve written about them before, and I thought about them the other day when I read this article by Michael Gerson in the Washington Post: Donald Trump's Dangerous Politics of Pride.  On reading the article, it dawned on me that the Seven Deadly Sins are alive and well, and deeply rooted in the politics of the presidential campaign ...

Pride: Pride has been defined as excessive belief in one's own abilities, it is often considered the deadliest of the Deadly Sins, and the one from which all the others arise (it was pride that led Lucifer to challenge God for supremacy in heaven, after all), and there’s no better modern-day exemple of overwhelming pride, arrogance, and self-aggrandizement than Donald Trump. I don't know if in his heart he believes everything he says, but if he does he's even more dangerous than I thought.

Greed: Greed is the obsessive desire for material wealth or gain. It's easy and often accurate to accuse the "1%" of greed, but many members of our political class* are equally greedy – perhaps not for money directly, but for power ... which can provide the opportunity to make money by manipulating the law for personal gain, and to force one’s personal philosophies of governance and social and religious morality on others.

Gluttony: Gluttony is usually associated with grossly overeating, but in the larger sense it represents an inordinate desire to consume more than that which one requires. When someone who wants us to vote for him for president advocates invading another country and taking their oil to pay the costs of war, I think one could argue that it's an example of gluttony. One might also argue that the desire to own unlimited numbers of guns, far beyond the needs of personal defense and regardless of the concerns and safety of others, is an example of gluttony as well.

Sloth: Sloth is the deliberate avoidance of physical or spiritual labor, and in this sense the US Congress - for wasting time on frivolous political games to the detriment of the nation - is clearly guilty on many counts. But in a larger sense, the US electorate is equally guilty, both for its intellectual laziness in accepting ludicrous political promises** without thinking them through, and for blindly returning the same useless individuals to office term after term.

Lust: Lust is usually associated with uncontrolled sexual desire, but it can refer to any uncontrollable passion or longing ... such as the lust for power*** that keeps many individuals in Congress for extended periods of time. The passionate attachment to a particular doctrine, whether social, political, or religious, might also be considered lustful.

Envy: Envy is the desire for that which belongs to someone else. It’s bad enough by itself, but it’s an insidious evil that can lead to other Deadly Sins … for instance, when envy turns to anger that someone owns something we want, it merges with the sin of Wrath.

Wrath: Wrath represents uncontrollable feelings of anger and hate toward another person ... and if there's a defining Deadly Sin of American politics today, it's wrath. I wrote about this last month, focusing on the role of angry and intemperate language in politics. American voters in general, and the Republican electorate in particular, are clearly guilty of the Deadly Sin of wrath, which blinds us to reality and prevents us from seeking common cause with others.

The Seven Deadly Sins are clearly alive and well in today's America, and perhaps we would do well to consider balancing them out with the so-called Seven Cardinal Virtues that oppose them:

Pride is balanced by Humility – not a trait often observed in the political class, and utterly foreign to persons like Donald Trump and Ted Cruz … but worth exercising by those who desire power;

Greed is balanced by Generosity – not high on the list of characteristics of, say, mortgage bankers and hard-core conservatives^†, but worthwhile nevertheless;

Gluttony is balanced by Temperance – the knowledge that enough is enough, whether one speaks of food, drink, guns, power, or anything else;

Sloth is balanced by Diligence – a recognition that work must be done, and that while doing the right thing may be difficult, it is nevertheless the right thing to do;

Lust is traditionally balanced by Chastity, but Chastity applies to lust in its sexual sense, and not to its full meaning of an unrestrained or uncontrollable desire. In this regard, the balance to Lust may be better expressed as Temperance in its sense of balancing of simple desire against excessive craving^††;

Envy is balanced by Kindness – the replacement of resentment with patient satisfaction. Not always easy by any means, and particularly not in a time of me-first instant gratification; and finally,

Wrath is balanced by Patience – a trait not especially common nowadays for anyone, much less those who demand action and are infuriated when it is not delivered on their terms or according to their liking.

When you make up your mind on a candidate to support, consider how well his or her behavior reflects the Deadly Sins and the Cardinal Virtues. There’s no ideal – or even close to ideal - candidate running, but we can inform our decisions better so that we intelligently pick the least bad option.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

* Many of them are members of the 1% as well … running for office is not cheap.

** Like building a wall on the border with Mexico, and making the Mexicans pay for it.

***We also talked about power in the context of Greed, remember?

^† Remember George W. Bush and his "compassionate conservatism?" Nobody else does, either.

^†† As with Gluttony.

Deadly Sins Around Us

What could be a better topic of discussion for the happy, upbeat Christmas season than The Seven Deadly Sins?

You may recall that I have written about the Seven Deadly Sins several times, notably here (in conjunction with seven somewhat more nontraditional deadly sins), here (in combination with the updated Deadly Sins announced by the Catholic Church), and here (as paired with the Seven Cardinal Virtues). Yesterday I saw a new take on the topic in a Yahoo News item that steered me to this post on Memolition: Maps of Seven Deadly Sins in America.

This interesting post used various types of statistics to develop a set of maps which purport to show how widespread the Seven Deadly Sins are in various parts of America. For instance, the distribution of Greed, calculated by comparing average incomes with the number of people living below the poverty line, looks like this. Oddly enough, greed seems to be prevalent on the eastern seaboard (including New York and the Nation's Capital, go figure), Southern Florida and California  ...

Another example is the distribution map for Wrath, calculated by comparing the total number of violent crimes (murder, assault and rape) reported to the FBI per capita in each state. Red indicates higher rates of violent crimes per capita, while blue indicates lower rates ... in general, the most violent states tend to be in the deep South, and the most mellow in the Midwest and North ...

Finally, this map shows the distribution of Gluttony, calculated on the basis of number of fast-food restaurants per capita. Tidewater Virginia looks like a heart attack waiting to happen ...

I know you're waiting for Lust, but you can check it out on your own, Mike.

My conclusion: go North. It's colder, but less traditionally sinful. Maybe.

Have a good day. Go, and sin no more. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

Ass Clown of the Year Update

With one day of voting complete, here are the current results in our Ass Clown of the Year competition:

The Democratic Party and the GOP are tied for first place with 25 votes each.

Edward Snowdon is in second place with 16 votes.

Casey James Fury, The Tea Party, and Congress as a Whole are tied in third place with one vote each.

Don't forget to cast your votes ... remember, Chicago Rules apply, and the balloting closes at 11:59 PM on December 31^st! Stand up and be counted!

The Five Most Sinful Cities in America

Spoiler Alert - they're not the ones you expect.

I ran across this article on the five most sinful cities in America yesterday, and was well and truly amazed to find none of them to be cities I might have expected. The ranking was done by the property-listing website Movoto.com on the basis of the prevalence and effects of the Seven Deadly Sins (greed, gluttony, sloth, envy, wrath, lust, and pride) in 95 major American cities, using these measures:

Wrath - based on the FBI's annual report on each U.S. city's violent-crime rate -- the number of murders, robberies, aggravated assaults, rapes and non-negligent manslaughter cases reported each year per 1,000 residents;

Envy - calculated from each community's FBI property-crime rate, which counts how many burglaries, larcenies and car thefts occur each year per 1,000 residents;

Gluttony - based on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) latest estimates of each city's obesity rate;

Greed - based on Philanthropy.com's figures of how much the average person in each city gives to charity in a given year. The lower the percentage of disposable income donated, the higher the assumed greed;

Lust - based on each community's Lust level by determining the number of strip clubs per capita as advertised on Yelp.com;

Pride - estimated by calculating how many plastic surgeons each city has per capita, again based on Yelp.com listings; and,

Sloth - based on CDC estimates of each city's inactivity rate, the percent of a community's population that's not physically active.

Using these yardsticks, the five most sinful cities in America were assessed as:

5. Milwaukee, Wisconsin;

4. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (my home town, AARRGGHH!! The Steel City placed sixth among communities studied in terms of Pride, with one cosmetic surgeon practicing there for every 3,170 residents, and ninth for Sloth, with the CDC estimating that 28.4% of Pittsburghers are inactive. We also ranked 14^th for Greed, 20^th for Lust, 26^th for Wrath and 27^th for Gluttony. We did, however, score low on Envy, ranking just 66^th among the 95 cities that were assessed);

3. Minneapolis, Minnesota;

2. Orlando, Florida (the fact that my brother lives nearby has nothing to do with it. Really.);

And in first place,

1. St Louis, Missouri (sorry about that, Mike).

You can read the detailed reasons each city received the ranking it did by reading the original article.

To my friend Pepper* who lives in Las Vegas, I'm really sorry about the loss of your town's title of "Sin City." Better luck next year.

And what about Disneyland-on-the-Potomac? One might have thought that Capitol Hill and the K Street corridor would by themselves represent a critical mass of deadly sins.

Shows how much I know.

Have a good day. Try not to be sinful.

More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

* Happy birthday, by the way, Beautiful Lady!