A Profane World 11/1/16

Note: This article is a re-print of a 11/1/16 reply that RG made to Dan, in Dan’s comment on the “News Notes 10/8/16” article.

Dan,

Allow me to make another (updated) reply to your insightful comment.

Concerning the latest email controversy with Hillary Clinton, look at how everyone is lining up on whatever side they support. We can see supposedly totally honest writers, reporters, and professors are all rationalizing Hillary’s and Humma Abedin’s behavior. On the other side we see just as many professionals who have “spotless integrity” lining up against Hillary and rationalizing Donald Trump’s behavior.

Very rarely — very, very rarely — will we see one of these politicians, writers, or professors have truth as their first priority.  (Which is not necessarily bad, since the goal of politics is to get something done, rather than tell the truth.)

In fact, with all these endless arguments and attacks, James Comey (the FBI Directory) may be the one with the most integrity.

First of all, he made a commitment to Congress that he would notify them if he discovered any more relevant email. And he simply did what he promised he would do. How rare! How absolutely outrageous is Comey’s behavior for those who say everyone should put politics above truth.

Secondly, the closing of the investigation – with its conclusions – was based on a lie. Comey, as well as the Congressional investigators, were told by Abedin that she had no more devices with emails on them. And she only had one laptop with between 10,000 and 650,000 emails stored on it!

(It is interesting to wonder why Abedin didn’t delete those emails or store them on an external hard drive or destroy the whole computer, after she committed perjury.  It was like Monica Lewinski storing her Clinton stained dress.  Did Abedin want to keep all the data in case she wanted to write a book in the future? Her being unable to destroy the evidence that she lied is mystically similar to Richard Nixon’s inability to destroy his secret tapes during the Watergate investigation.  See Nixon is smiling.)

A profane world

We have to understand – that is, see reality clearly – that Hillary’s lies, Abedin’s lies, Trump’s lies, and Nixon’s lies are absolutely minor considering the major “sins” in politics. For instance, Hillary compromising confidential information (and committing a felony – oh, my God!) is absolutely minor compared to George Bush II invading Iraq and being responsible for over 100,000 innocent people being killed, and throwing the whole MidEast into turmoil.

It reminds one of the black con looking for unconscious racism and micro-aggression among white people, while ignoring 17 people being killed last week (10/30/16) in Chicago, almost all being black-on-black murders.

We must admit – us who are a little older and wiser – that we live in a profane world. Lies and deceptions go on all around us, all the time. Not only in politics, but also in business, and everyday advertising.

Transparency

(This is a problem with transparency. When all these emails and private conversations are open up for public viewing, it is impossible not to find an infinite amount of contradictions, lies, hypocrisy, illegal behavior, and a host of other “repulsive” sins.

Here is a thought experiment: What would happen to you if all your private conversations and all your secret behavior in the last 30 years (as has been in Trump’s case) were open for public viewing? That’s right, you would be strung up by the neck!

Accept reality

So let’s give politicians a little ethical slack. All right, Nixon broke into the Democratic headquarters and covered it up; Hillary and (probably) Abedin used private computers for confidential information and then covered it up; and Trump kissed a girl without her consent. We – the responsible voters – also killed around a million innocent civilians in Vietnam; we are currently destroying the earth’s environment; and we have saddled little kids with a $19 trillion debt (talk about child abuse!).

Conclusion

Let’s all take the log out of our own eyes, and they we can see the toothpick in our politicians’ eyes a little clearer.  Or at least stop being “repulsed” by such minor imperfections. We don’t want to end up being like Lawrence O’Donnell — Mr. Perfect, Mr. Morally Outraged, and Mr. Condemnation of the news commentators.