Important principles may, and must, be inflexible. — Abraham Lincoln (from his final public address here)
I just finish reading an interesting post by James Bowden (see here). Bowden explains why he believes the attempt to remove Jeff Frederick from the chairmanship of the Republican Party of Virginia is a “cooked crisis.” He sternly attacks the elected leaders of the of the Republican Party for their unwillingness to adhere to well established principles. Because of the truth it contains, Bowden’s post is a disappointing read. The state of the Republican Party in Virginia is not something which should fill us with pride.
There limits to ethical compromise. There is a point at which moderation fails to be moderate. If life teaches anything, then it is that everything comes at a cost. We can only optimize our choices. We cannot make a choice that gives us everything we want. To make the best choices, we must each figure out what is important and relevant to the ultimate purpose of our lives. To make our lives meaningful, we must honor the principles to which we dedicate our lives. So it is that on some matters we cannot compromise. Unfortunately, the people we have elected to public office have demonstrated the capacity to readily compromise the principles upon which our nation was founded. Moreover, they will do so even if it means violating their oath of office.
It is said “politics is the art of compromise.” Yet if it costs you your soul, what is a compromise worth? Only the cynic would say it does not matter.
Word History: A cynic may be pardoned for thinking that this is a dog’s life. The Greek word kunikos, from which cynic comes, was originally an adjective meaning “doglike,” from kuōn, “dog.” The word was probably applied to the Cynic philosophers because of the nickname kuōn given to Diogenes of Sinope, the prototypical Cynic. He is reported to have been seen barking in public, urinating on the leg of a table, and masturbating on the street. The first use of the word recorded in English, in a work published from 1547 to 1564, is in the plural for members of this philosophical sect. In 1596 we find the first instance of cynic meaning “faultfinder,” a sense that was to develop into our modern sense. The meaning “faultfinder” came naturally from the behavior of countless Cynics who in their pursuit of virtue pointed out the flaws in others. Such faultfinding could lead quite naturally to the belief associated with cynics of today that selfishness determines human behavior.
If you believe only selfishness motivates human actions and that only what materially benefits you is important, then you are the modern cynic. Sadly, you are too apt to win elections. Too many of us today vote for our pocketbook. When we do so, we are all too likely to vote for a candidate willing to bend principle to win an election.
In fairness to Diogenes, I should mention that the original cynics thought the dog more noble than a man.
There are four reasons why the Cynics are so named. First because of the indifference of their way of life, for they make a cult of indifference and, like dogs, eat and make love in public, go barefoot, and sleep in tubs and at crossroads. The second reason is that the dog is a shameless animal, and they make a cult of shamelessness, not as being beneath modesty, but as superior to it. The third reason is that the dog is a good guard, and they guard the tenets of their philosophy. The fourth reason is that the dog is a discriminating animal which can distinguish between its friends and enemies. So do they recognize as friends those who are suited to philosophy, and receive them kindly, while those unfitted they drive away, like dogs, by barking at them. (from here)
There is a place for fault-finding. We must look for the faults in the choices we seek. Those that depart from our principles we must reject. When our leaders offer us choices that depart from the principles we honor, we must bark at them. We must choose leaders most suited to our philosophy.
Note: Here I promised to do a series of posts based upon Civilization and Its Enemies: The Next Stage of History by Lee Harris. Unfortunately, I have been distracted from my regular blogging by the attempt to remove Jeff Frederick from the chairmanship of the Republican Party of Virginia. However, I have made use of material from the book. I first discovered origin of the word “cynic” in Harris’ book. His description of Diogenes’ philosophy and its relevance to today is most interesting.
CT: Good people and strong Conservatives who want Jeff out will disagree with my assessment. They really think they are doing the right thing with the lynching party.
The most important part of my piece is the last two lines – because that is what I think is at work.
I want to get back to my Futures Tutorials too. And read a ton more, write, work more on novel II.
Ironically funny, because I am tired of writing criticism. I’m an optimistic, Enlightenment, joyful Christian. But, geez louise when our government – all three branches at the federal level – spend so much time trashing the Constitution while they damage – if not destroy – the Nation, I feel compelled to speak up.
It’s going to be a huge fight to promote Constitutional Republicans. But, it needs to be done by us all.
James – That is what is scary about these days and times. People think they are doing the right thing. They depart from the principles they say they hold dear, and they still say they are doing the right thing.
To amuse myself when I exercise, I listen to books on an MP3 player. Lately, I have been listening to Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. What Alice experienced seems less unreal than what Barack Hussein Obama would have us believe is good government.
LOL! You are such fun this morning, Mr. Tom.
Isn’t Alice great? In some ways, Wonderland (I want to re-read Looking Glass) is the ultimate piece of cynicism. Every character is indeed mad, but every character has some resemblance to real people. Carrol was before his time with the hookah smoking caterpillar, incidentally. Yes, people smoked opium in his time, but I think he foresaw the hippie movement.
In any event….where was I going with this?
Oh yes. Cynics.
Please clarify this:
“If you believe only selfishness motivates human actions and that only what materially benefits you is important, then you are the modern cynic.”
Does this mean if you believe others believe selfishness motivates human actions that you jump on the bandwagon and believe it too? What is the use of “you” in the second part of that statement?
I like to call myself a cynic, so it’s interesting I am calling myself a dog who fornicates in the streets.
I guess I’m not a true cynic, though, because I often cannot identify my “enemies.” You have to do an AWFUL lot (and obvious things) to be my “enemy” and even then, I wouldn’t wish death or destruction on you.
Of course, that’s rather one-sided of me since my enemies probably wish something similar on ME. Hopefully, they won’t get their wish.
kgotthardt – I don’t imagine many of us can accurately assess either our moral character or abilities. It is hard to be that objective. Most of us tend to be too proud, and a few of us have inferiority complexes. Since judging ourselves serves little purpose anyway, it is probably best that we just focus on doing the best we can.
Unfortunately, even though we have difficulty judging ourselves, that does not stop us from trying to judge others and guessing at their motives. Typically, we project our own motives onto others. If our own intentions are less than honorable, our tendency is to be cynical. Hence, I make this statement about cynics.
I doubt you are a modern cynic. While most of us can be cynical at time, I suspect what we would call a thorough-going cynic is relatively rare. At least, I hope so.
I hope so, too! But that’s not what I meant when I asked you to clarify that statement. You wrote, “If you believe only selfishness motivates human actions and that only what materially benefits you is important, then you are the modern cynic.”
So you are saying that cynics believe:
1. That selfishness motivates human actions
2. Since selfishness motivates human actions, it’s okay to believe what materially benefits you is important.
Am I ready that right? I’m getting wrapped up in syntax is all.
Also, while it is difficult to judge ourselves, it seems we need to do it through self-reflection if we are to improve. We can’t necessarily go by anyone else’s assessment either because everyone is biased. I guess that’s where we would ask whatever god we believe in to shed some light on the situation.
Incidentally, if you have time to stop over at my blog, I would appreciate your take on the discussion that went on earlier (called “Alleluia”). The discussion is a bit inane (if something can be only a bit inane and not completely inane), but your feedback is always interesting.