RBWords - Volume 23 - Number 10: October 2010
Something to Think About
As I write this, the nation is preparing for mid-term elections. I cannot recall such elections causing so much concern as these. Enormous amounts of money are being spent on congressional and state-wide campaigns. One can only wonder how much MORE money is expected to be gained by those who invest these amounts in the elections! It would almost seem that anyone who wins is automatically compromised by the interests that contribute to the victory! Not only is the national interest at stake, but corporate and individual interests which may not be compatible with the good of the nation. A person elected to congress can expect to attain not only personal prestige but a fairly good pension even if not re-elected! The appearance of such movements as the “Tea Party” has added to a terribly polarized picture of the electorate. Fear, not optimism, is a dominant emotion, and history has demonstrated that a fearful electorate often compromises its own freedom for the sake of a charismatic figure who promises security. That the current economic crisis we are experiencing is the product of policies that go back to several earlier administrations means nothing if the incumbent has not been able to “fix” them! Scapegoating is the order of the day. I’m of the opinion that changing all the players is not going to create a better situation, and we may waste a good goat!
An old Louisiana saying illustrates some of the current concern: “When you’re up to your rear in alligators, it’s difficult to remember that the initial objective was to drain the swamp!” We may be in a position that we are simply replacing alligators with alligators and getting no closer to realizing our initial objective! Nevertheless I pray that the Holy Spirit will find a way to bring good from the results on November 2nd! It’s something to think about!
It Has Been Said
“For Christians, Hallowe’en is fulfilled in the gift of the birth of Jesus far more than in the death of Jesus. What a magnificent mystery of the Word Made Flesh! Christ, the power that created the universe, relinquished all power to come to us as one of us, mortal, human, walking the short road from the womb to the tomb. Often we stumble along, not knowing where we’re going, but understanding that the journey is worth it because Jesus took it for us, shared it with us. Because the immortal God became mortal, we all share in the immortality as well as the mortality. And how can we begin to understand our immortality until we accept our mortality.”
From PENGUINS AND GOLDEN CALVES by Madeleine L’Engle