On Republicans
Zo of the Northern Sea replied,
‘From the standpoint of the Tao, what is noble? and what is mean?
These expressions are but the different extremes of the average level. Do not keep pertinaciously to your own ideas, which put you in such opposition to the Tao.
What are few? and what are many? These are denominations which we employ in thanking (donors) and dispensing gifts. Do not study to be uniform in doing so; – it only shows how different you are from the Tao.
Be severe and strict, like the ruler of a state who does not selfishly bestow his favors. Be scrupulous, yet gentle, like the tutelary spirit of the land, when sacrifice is offered to him who does not bestow his blessing selfishly. Be large-minded like space, whose four terminating points are illimitable, and form no particular enclosures.
Hold all things in your love, favoring and supporting none specially. This is called being without any local or partial regard; all things are equally regarded; there is no long or short among them.
–Zhuangzi, The Floods of Autumn, by Zhuang Zhou, trans. James Legge
Seated around a table, thirteen of us discussed events which were uppermost on our minds. There is more than one war raging, that of Ukraine in Europe and the other between Israel and Hamas. These distant places are related to the two American political parties, and events in Washington DC. From the tenor of the statements expressed everyone in our room felt strong emotional responses to the reports of these circumstances. Could any of us by any means, imagine ourselves present in Kiev, or in Gaza? Of course not.
One of our group appealed to everyone present around the table, to maintain an open mind, regarding individuals who hold office as Republicans, that some desire to discharge the duties of office in responsible service to the rest of us.
I have been unable to allow that advice to be over-written by all else that I’ve heard and read since…
2 thoughts on “On Republicans”
With regard to Republicans of any mindset or ilk, I will offer a few quotes that appear in William Shakespeare’s MacBeth.
“Fair is foul and foul is fair”
“Or have we eaten on the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner?”
“When our actions do not, our fears make us traitors”
“False face must hide what the false heart doth know”
“To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing”
Ah, Shakespeare, thy words do ring across the centuries, decrying men who will not speak of virtues, but of deeds undone. Vanity, greed, and fear hath gripped us thusly by the throat, for reason be gone and once again do madmen rule the realm.
Quod Erat Demonstrandum. “once again do madmen rule the realm.”
The Republican party has been infected with Christian Nationalism for quite some time now. A dangerous ideology that conflates Church and State, is uncomfortable with equality of all before the law, since patriarchy is the “best”, the divinely appointed means for “doing God’s will.” They actually have much in common with Hamas.