Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi - or as he is most widely known, simply Gandhi - said many good and true things during his long life (and that life was shortened by an assassin's gun). Among my favorites of his many insights was the following list of human blunders Wealth without work.
Pleasure without conscience.
Knowledge without character.
Commerce without morality.
Science without humanity.
Worship without sacrifice.
Politics without principle.
His grandson Arun Gandhi, in a book he edited and wrote the Foreword for, World Without Violence, added another:
Rights without responsibilities.
I really like that one and am glad he added it.
If these blunders don't serve as a concise commentary on out times, I don't know what else would.
Just a while ago I was watching my local early morning news program. On their Facebook page they had a poll asking viewers if they thought 2012 would be a better year than 2011. Not surprisingly many answers were religious in nature and stated the general theme that if we as a people would return to God and place him first in our priorities, then all else would fall into place.
We are a religious people, and the word God rolls off the tongues of most of our politicians. It rolls off the tongues of most of the citizens. I dare say, however, that our national religion is largely one of words rather than deeds. That is worship without sacrifice. And it is empty.
As for Gandhi's other suggested blunders, they serve as a true diagnosis for what ails us as a nation.
What prescriptions are we being offered by our national leaders?
12 comments:
Gandhi was wrong, Doug. Those things are not what's wrong with our nation. It's gay marriage that's wrong with our nation. The Republicans tell me so.
A lot's wrong with the country and I think one of the causes of is the involvement of fundamentalists in politics. Fundamentalists either practice or condone at least several of the vices Gandhi lists.
They used not to be so involved in politics. They would sit things out. But then Reagan came along.
"What prescriptions are we being offered by our national leaders?"
Bigger government, moral reforms and less control over our own futures.
Sounds like a winning plan to me. ::sarcasm::
With regard to the current crop of GOP candidates, their prescriptions include fundamentalist rhetoric, attacks on LGBT rights, and dangerous proposals for "personhood" policies instead of actual solutions to what ailes the country. If they were prescribing sensible solutions to unemployment, national debt, and economic disparities instead, I'd have more respect for them.
We are the alcoholic who has not yet said, "I am an alcoholic."
We can not fix what ails us because so few will admit or can see what that is. We have stopped caring about others. We have reverted or stayed in our infant state of ME. When we were a new nation we NEEDED each other. Now we can survive just fine with a computer and a credit card. We have left our ideals of what quality of life means at the door step of reality. And in doing so, we have forgotten that we can effect reality, that we can make everyone's life better. Leaders who attempt to inspire us are assassinated, so aggrevious is their crime against ME. How dare they suggest it is ME who must make things better? ME who must take responsibility? Doug, LIFE without sacrifice is EMPTY. Our nation scoffs at being UNITED. Gay marriage in some states, not all---should offend enough people to right that insanity. Look at how foolish the GOP is showing right now. All my liberal Face book friends have much to say, but will they RUN FOR OFFICE? THAT is the drug the U.S. needs.
Paul,
I agree. About the fundamentalists, I mean! My parents were Democrats, philosophically at least, when I was growing up in the fundamentalist religion. Since we knew the world was ending in the very near future, getting all worked up about bringing the United States back to God didn't make much sense.
D'Ma,
I appreciate sarcasm. And how can one not be sarcastic and pessimistic when looking at the state of the nation?
@ Diane J. Standiford: Spot on! Have you ever had the pleasure of viewing the British documentary, "The Century of the Self", Diane? It deals precisely with what you are talking about. And it makes a fascinating case that the emphasis on "ME" came about by no accident, but had historical causes.
Ahab,
Three decades of that tonic hasn't helped.
Diane,
Powerful little rant, there. Bless you for it.
Paul -- Regarding THE CENTURY OF THE SELF, I haven't seen it either, but would I be correct in assuming that marketing and commercialism had something to do with "me" culture?
Ahab, you would indeed be correct.
A number of people, such as Edward Bernays, began working in the 1920s to change American culture. They wanted, for various reasons, to turn Americans into a nation of consumers. Their means of doing that was the "persuasion industry" (my term). That is, advertising, marketing, and above all, public relations. Part of the idea was that a nation of consumers was easier to control than a nation of citizens. "The Century of the Self" documents the effort.
No, thx.
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