Deadly Sins, Cardinal Virtues, and Congress

One of my favorite movies is the very dark thriller "Se7en" (or "Seven," to use the actual orthography*), in which detectives Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt chased a killer who was murdering people guilty of the seven deadly sins. It was the film that contained the wonderful line (concerning one of the murder victims): "He's experienced about as much pain and suffering as anyone I've encountered, give or take, and he still has Hell to look forward to."

Wow.

Anyhow, I've written about the Seven Deadly Sins a few times before, most recently in September of 2010, where I discussed the traditional Seven Deadly Sins (Wrath, Greed, Pride, Sloth, Envy, Lust, and Gluttony), the Vatican's updated list** thereof (Polluting, Genetic Engineering, Being Obscenely Rich, Drug Dealing, Abortion, Pedophilia, and Causing Social Injustice), and the list of traditionally positive traits which can become evil when abused (Truth, Beauty, Love, Loyalty, Tolerance, Self-Confidence, and Faith). Depressing stuff.

But there are also, I have learned, the Seven Cardinal Virtues***, which oppose the traditional Seven Deadly Sins. The paired list is:

Humility, which opposes Pride;

Generosity, which opposes Greed;

Chastity, which opposes Lust;

Meekness, which opposes Wrath;

Temperance, which opposes Gluttony;

Brotherly Love, which opposes Envy; and,

Diligence, which opposes Sloth.

It occurs to me that, while the Seven Deadly Sins are in frequent and obvious evidence in Congress, the Seven Cardinal Virtues certainly aren't ... particularly diligence (what have our elected reprehensives actually accomplished lately?), generosity (can you spell GOP?), and humility (Darrell Issa and Ted Cruz are exhibits A and B).

Sins and virtues. Would that we could expect our elected officials to minimize the first and emphasize the second. Unfortunately, I'm not holding my breath.

And neither should you.

Have a good day. Be virtuous. More thoughts later.

Bilbo

P.S. - My next post will be this week's Cartoon Saturday, which is already prepared and scheduled to be automatically posted on Saturday. Agnes and I will be traveling to Pittsburgh for a family reunion over the holiday weekend, and I don't expect to have time to write the usual post on Thursday. For pictures and stories about the weekend, check back on Monday or Tuesday. I'll be back.

B.

* No, Mike, "orthography" doesn't mean "the art of writing about weed and pest control."

** I wonder if Pope Francis will be addressing this list ... he seems like the pope in recent history most likely to do so.

*** Cardinal Virtues don't always seem to apply to cardinals, particularly in the Roman Curia.

Hoffer on Stupidity

I have written from time to time about one of my favorite authors - Eric Hoffer, the self-educated thinker known as The Longshoreman Philosopher. His major work was The True Believer, a critical analysis of the formation and dynamics of mass movements and religious and political fanaticism that is one of the most insightful - and shortest - books I've ever read. Another of his books is The Passionate State of Mind, a collection of aphorisms on a wide range of topics which leads me to today's subject: stupidity. In The Passionate State of Mind, Hoffer writes that,

"The hardest thing to cope with is not selfishness or vanity or deceitfulness, but sheer stupidity. One needs the talents of an animal trainer to deal with the stupid."

Hoffer wrote that in 1955. Heaven knows what he would have thought in 2012.

I've often wondered how Eric Hoffer, who in 1950 wrote so insightfully about the nature and characteristics of political and religious mass movements, would view the present-day rise of the Tea Party and the extreme right wing of the GOP*, the Occupy Movement, and extreme fundamentalist religion.


Chances are he'd have been analytical and philosophical about it. Tomorrow, we'll continue a discussion of Eric Hoffer's ideas with a look at his thoughts on the relationship between power and weakness ... which is a bit different than what you might think.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

* Eric Hoffer wrote more than half a century ago: "The uncompromising attitude is more indicative of an inner uncertainty than of deep conviction. The implacable stand is directed more against the doubt within than the assailant without." I don't think he foresaw today's political situation, but he would have understood it.

The Ones Who'll Help You Move the Body

I wrote this past Monday about Agnes's ongoing project for her digital scrapbooking and journaling course in which she had to develop a two-page spread about herself based on the supposed characteristics of her Zodiac sign. Well, the drama continued yesterday evening as she called me into her nest to look at an online, two-page list of adjectives that could be used an individual, and asked me to pick out the ones that applied to her.

Not being stupid, I (to paraphrase the great W. C. Fields) rejected those words that might, if misunderstood, end up eliciting the attention of the coroner, and offered a careful selection which included the word friendly.

This led to a discussion of the concept of friendship which - to Agnes - is a word not to be taken lightly. And, on reflection, I have to agree that she's right.

There's an old saying that an acquaintance will help you move, but a friend will help you move a body. This is a crude, yet accurate statement of a difference we don't often think about much in the Facebook era, where we collect "friends" as if they were Hummel figurines, beer cans, or decorative paperweights. You may recall this cartoon from two weeks ago on Cartoon Saturday ...

It makes a statement that Agnes reminded me of as we talked about the implications of the word friend. If she were introducing someone from her office to me, for instance, she'd use the term co-worker, where I might have loosely described the individual as a friend from the office. The difference is ... or, at least, should be ... profound.

If I think of a friend as someone I can share my innermost thoughts and secrets with, someone I can turn to for help at any time and know that he'll drop everything to come to my aid, someone I'm completely comfortable with in any setting, I can only think of one person out of the many hundreds I might loosely describe as friends. I have 119 friends on Facebook (the average number is actually 120, according to the Facebook blog), but I would probably describe only one of them as a true friend according to the definition earlier in this paragraph (yes, he's the one friend I mentioned above).

There are a great many people I consider friends in a looser fashion ... people I care about and whose company I enjoy. Most of my dancing acquaintances and many of my co-workers fall into this category. But real, honest-to-goodness, help-me-hide-the-body friends ... just one.

The concept of true friendship was summed up in one of my favorite poems - The Thousandth Man, by Rudyard Kipling ...

One man in a thousand, Solomon says.
Will stick more close than a brother.
And it's worth while seeking him half your days
If you find him before the other.

Nine hundred and ninety-nine depend
On what the world sees in you,
But the Thousandth Man will stand your friend
With the whole round world agin you.

'Tis neither promise nor prayer nor show
Will settle the finding for 'ee.
Nine hundred and ninety-nine of 'em go
By your looks, or your acts, or your glory.

But if he finds you and you find him,
The rest of the world don't matter;
For the Thousandth Man will sink or swim
With you in any water.

You can use his purse with no more talk
Than he uses yours for his spendings,
And laugh and meet in your daily walk
As though there had been no lendings.

Nine hundred and ninety-nine of 'em call
For silver and gold in their dealings;
But the Thousandth Man he's worth 'em all
Because you can show him your feelings.

His wrong's your wrong, and his right's your right,
In season or out of season.
Stand up and back it in all men's sight
With that for your only reason!

Nine hundred and ninety-nine can't bide
The shame or mocking or laughter,
But the Thousandth Man will stand by your side
To the gallows-foot - and after!

Just so that I'm not misunderstood, let me emphasize that I care about all my friends, of whatever degree. But there's only one ... and I think you know who you are ... that I would ask to help me hide a body.

And the thought that I have even one friend that close is a very comforting thought.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

Ultimate Truths of the Universe

I think I set a new record yesterday for number of comments received on a single post. But since I can't write about armpits every day, I guess I should look for something else with which to entertain you today. How about this abridged list of the Ultimate Truths of the Universe (with my commentary, of course)?

1. Indecision is the key to flexibility.

2. You can't tell which way the train went by looking at the track (And even if you're on the right track, the train will run over you if you don't keep moving).

3. There is absolutely no substitute for a genuine lack of preparation.

4. Happiness is merely the remission of pain (This is related to the classic admonition that "the beatings will continue until morale improves")

5. Nostalgia isn't what it used to be (The "good old days" weren't necessarily good...just old).

6. Sometimes too much to drink is not enough (Bilbo's Corollary: any problem is easier to face if you've stockpiled enough gin, tonic water, and fresh limes).

7. The facts, although interesting, are irrelevant (This is intended to be a factual statement, Senator Kyl).

8. The careful application of terror is also a form of communication (A truth not lost on al Qaeda, Hamas, and the dumbass who added discussion of "death panels for granny" to arguments about health care reform).

9. Someone who thinks logically is a nice contrast to the real world (And has no future in politics).

10. Things are more like they are today than they ever were before.

11. Anything worth fighting for is worth fighting dirty for (The first rule of modern politics).

12. Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler (Otherwise, Republicans and Democrats won't be able to understand it).

13. Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate.

14. I have seen the truth, and it makes no sense (This is actually a memorable quote from G.K. Chesterton that you may recognize as my personal motto).

15. Suicide is the most sincere form of self-criticism (Unfortunately, you can only use it once, and you're not likely to benefit from the insights).

16. If you think there is good in everybody, you haven't met everybody.

17. All things being equal, fat people use more soap.

18. If you can smile when things go wrong, you've figured out who to blame.

19. One seventh of your life is spent on Monday (Mike can tell you how much of it is spent on Friday the 13th).

20. Every time you make ends meet, some ass clown moves the ends.

21. Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious (And nobody gets out of it alive).

22. The more you run over a dead cat, the flatter it gets.

23. There is always one more imbecile than you counted on (This is related to the classic observation that foolproof plans never allow for the ingenuity of fools).

24. You may think this is as bad as it can get, but don't count on it (The 2012 presidential race is coming).

25. Never wrestle a pig. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.

Have I missed anything? Add your personal ultimate truths to the comments.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

A Great Philosophical Question Answered!

One of the most intriguing philosophical questions of all time, an issue which has occupied the thoughts of of philosophers from Aristotle to Comicus to Marx, has been answered.

But before we get to that, let's say a few words about Comicus.

Comicus was the stand-up philosopher played by Mel Brooks in his movie, History of the World, Part 1. This film contains one of my all-time favorite exchanges, between Comicus and a clerk at the unemployment office played by Beatrice Arthur:

Unemployment Office Clerk: "Occupation?"

Comicus: "Stand-up philosopher."

Clerk: "What?"

Comicus: "Stand-up philosopher. I coalesce the vapors of human experience into a viable and meaningful comprehension."

Clerk: "Oh, a bullshit artist."

Comicus: "Grumble..."

Clerk: "Did you bullshit last week?"

Comicus: "No."

Clerk: "Did you try to bullshit last week?"

Comicus: "Yes!"

That Comicus, he's my kind of guy.

Anyhow, back to Great Questions of the Universe: we now know the answer to the classic conundrum - "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" You can read the full, amazing story here.

According to a scientific paper titled, "Structural Control of Crystal Nuclei by an Eggshell Protein," the answer is (drum roll, please) - the chicken.

The official answer has to do with eggshell proteins and dinosaurs and the use of a supercomputer in Edinburgh, Scotland, all of which seems quite a bit of trouble and expense to go through to answer such an arcane philosophical question, but hey, if you're going to be a bullshit artist, you might as well be able to do it with the entire gravitas of the scientific community behind you.

In the last analysis, though, it doesn't really matter which came first as long as both are available at your local Piggly Wiggly when you're assembling the ingredients for your favorite recipe.

I wonder if that supercomputer can crunch a few more numbers and answer a really important question...like, for instance, whether or not there's any good way to differentiate between Republican Stand-Up Philosophy and Democratic Stand-Up Philosophy. It's hard for most of us to tell the difference.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow, when Cartoon Saturday rides to your rescue from the insanity of the week.

Bilbo