It’s a heart problem, even locally

I had the privilege, several nights ago, to observe the Council meeting of a neighboring borough when they adopted a property maintenance code. Intellectually, I know such codes are the busybody’s creed written into law. But I was appalled at the emotions that were shown that night.

The public comments — made by both residents and councilmen – made it obvious greed and pride were behind the ordinance. Greed was there in the oft-stated belief that the new code would drive up the values of homes in the borough. No longer would a neighbor’s procrastination in cutting his grass drag down the value of my property! This eliminates the necessity of buying up the neighborhood in order to keep the middle-class look that supports my property’s valuation.

Even worse was the pride and arrogance shown in the attitude toward renters/tenants shown by the ordinance’s supporters. The fact that half the homes in the borough were lived in by tenants, rather than the owner, was identified as a major part of the cause of the borough’s decline. Renters have ‘no skin in the game’ and therefore have no incentive to maintain a decent property. The ‘caliber’ of renters has changed from years past, hurting the locality, was another expressed opinion.

Where was all the good will toward your neighbor that’s such a celebrated aspect of small town life? One person raised the concern that some people may live to different standards than neighbors like due to monetary or physical constraints. What about those people? She answered her question herself, saying she trusted the community would help those as needed. Others acknowledged the issue, claimed it had been thought of by those proposing the law, but opined the law was not meant to be as ‘Gestapo-like’ as it sounded.

Ah yes. Asking the local busybody to sympathize with problems and constraints of the elderly widow next door has never proven to be a popular argument. Much better to pass a law and make her conform to my idea of the good life. Oh, and don’t forget to give alms to the benevolence fund on Sunday! (The widow may well need it!)

Post-Truth

I happened to watch the CBS program “Full Measure” on February 26, 2017. The program made the point that almost nothing on social media can be believed. It is manipulated and faked, including even the comments, ‘likes,’ etc. This is done by the major social media giants, by governments, by companies, by everyone. The claim was that much of the stuff was untrue, not just biased.

The program decried the situation, declaring that people “used to know the difference between the National Enquirer and the New York Times.”

There was no mention of the fact this is an example of evil being hoisted on its own petard. The NYTimes never raised a voice to defeat the philosophical voices proclaiming there is no such thing as truth, that truth was a construct of “old, white men.” These voices came first from the ivory towers of Ivy League schools, but practiced – with full support of the NYTimes — by governments, especially starting with FDR and LBJ. The few voices proclaiming the idea of “truth” were routinely ridiculed, marginalized by academia, by newspapers, by teachers and novelists of all sorts.

This has led to a situation where the Oxford Dictionary’s word of the year is “post-truth,” as in post-truth society. When the concept of truth is debunked and denied, how do you expect the practice of truth (of integrity) to survive? It’s been killed, along with God, by Nietzsche and his friends last century. Correction – longer ago than that. That was just the cultural version of an act that happened 20 centuries ago. Back then, a government official flippantly asked the question “What is truth?” then ordered the state execution of the embodiment of the answer. Today, the effects of that action by Pilate have finally worked themselves out in culture.

Unfortunately, since intellectuals destroyed the handle – truth – by which to interpret the current situation of untruths, there is no way left to identify what’s happening. Like a blind and deaf man in a burning house, they feel the heat, but cannot identify the fire. Is it any wonder that Webster’s dictionary picked the word “surreal” as its word of the year?

Meddling 1

Certain circumstances have led me to consider again the idea that we must be passionately dedicated to God- to truth – if we are to make a real difference in this world. Our passion for God – which translates to a passion for truth – must inform everything we do or say. It must become our ‘prime objective.’

This is nothing new for the Christian, at least in thought. Almost all would claim to agree with Jesus’ statement that we must love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. This ‘first commandment’ simply states what I said above. But many Christians allow for slippage between the saying and the doing!

Only a dedicated, consistent life, dedicated to living truth, will get us to our objective of pleasing God and of living the good life, as the Greeks called it.

We should evaluate all thoughts and actions from that ‘single issue’ point of view. Does that mean nothing else matters? Of course not, but lesser matters must conform to the major one. Does that mean fun is not allowed? Of course not, but it must be fun that, at least, does not denigrate our goal in life.

Some issues very obviously further, or conflict with, our prime objective. For others, it takes a long train of reasoning to determine if it furthers or conflicts with our supposed first love. Unfortunately, many people, in many areas of life, do not do that reasoning. They simply take their cue from the world around them, meaning that, in actual fact, their actions are often in conflict with their stated values.

Treacherous Inertia

It’s very easy to come to the conclusion that the Left has crossed the line from ‘loyal opposition’ to treasonous obstructionism.

The “Progressives” of the turn of the last century had the idea that the administrative structure of the government was “neutral,” that people manning the agencies and bureaus of the government would simply apply “scientific” reasoning to the orders from the President. As we’ve learned many years ago, that’s not true. The bureaucracy has long ago become the fourth branch of government. It’s also, unfortunately, the least amenable to the people and the most difficult to change.

Presidents, in the past, have complained that only decisions liked by the bureaucrats have a chance to be executed. This problem, historically, is even worse than normal in the agencies dealing with national security, if for no other reason than the secrecy under which they operate. But this is exacerbated by their clandestine methods and use of force that is so much a part of their modus operandi.

The bureaucracy and security agencies join with the professional politicians as a professional governmental class. After more than eighty years of their ranks being filled by those with a leftist persuasion, expecting them to suddenly stop their regressive activities, even with a direct order from the President, is more than optimistic. Instead, it appears they have decided to join the disloyal obstructionists, and destroy or thwart anything “tainted” by the White House.

I found it interesting that President Trump surrounded himself with people from the Armed Forces and Wall Street – two major loci of power in our society. However, I wonder how he plans to overcome the hostility and inertia of the “shadow government” that is so much a part of Washington? It is obvious they will not allow a peaceful diminution of their power or privilege without a fight.

The Left clearly sees this as an ideological fight – and they are not taking prisoners! It is a “no holds barred’ fight to the death. Now obviously, the (supposed) Right does not see it this way. Like all “good Conservatives,” [sarcasm intended!] they seem bent on looking for ways to placate the opposition. It’s time they decide which side – freedom or chaos – they are truly on, and start standing up, in an ideological way, for the right. The Left has broken the laws of God and man for decades now in their head-long rush to stamp out freedom; accountability in the form of justice would be a beautiful thing.