This would be a good time to make ethics courses mandatory in high schools and colleges. It shouldn’t be so damn hard for Americans to do the right thing. Instead, we fall prey to selfishness and lawsuits rather than doing the right thing–like wearing masks during a pandemic–that would place us within what John Dewey called the Great Community.
The biggest cad, of course, is Donald Trump, who lost both the popular and Electoral College vote. True to his amoral soul, he’s suing rather than conceding. The only outcome of this will be blood in American streets–from both supporters he enrages and Biden voters infuriated by blatant attempts to steal the election. If Trump loves America he would say, “The will of the people has spoken. I want to thank my millions of supporters, but now I ask you to help president-elect Joe Biden for the good of the country.” That’s what George H. W. Bush did in 1992, Al Gore in 2000, and Hillary Clinton in 2016, though each could have fanned anger flames well past Inauguration Day. Two sentences, but don’t hold your breath waiting for Mephistopheles Trump to utter them.
Mark Meadows–currently recovering from COVID, whose seriousness Trump denies–could do a moral thing. He could advise Trump to concede. When Trump refuses, Meadows could resign and go public with his reason for doing so. If he doesn’t, he should prepare for the same purgatory into which predecessor chiefs of staff: Reince Priebus, John Kelly, and Mick Mulvaney were cast. Will Meadows actually tell Trump to step down? Probably not, though he has little to lose and his soul to gain by doing so.
You’d think that three marriages–the current rumored to shaky–rising numbers of rape and sexual assault accusations, serial lying, and blasphemous statements would cause religious people to recoil. Not for millions of evangelical Christians. Shame, shame, shame!!! They make mockery of the very tenets they purport to hold sacred. Media should stop calling them “Christians” and use more Biblically appropriate terminology: Sadducees and Pharisees. Repeat until those who walk their talk bring down modern-day Marjoes like Rodney Howard-Browne, Ralph Drollinger, Jerry Falwell, Jr., Franklin Graham, and Roy Moore. The list could go on, but what they share in common is growing rich by bilking followers. What sort of “Christian” bums money to accumulate worldly goods? Might be time to read that part in the New Testament about Jesus chasing money changers from the Temple.
A big raspberry to the Boston Red Sox for rehiring Joey Cora the moment his suspension was up. Many of you know I am a Yankees fan, but I’ve never hated the Red Sox until now. I never took part in perennial Red Sox suck/Yankees suck battles for the simple reason that it was seldom true. If you’re really a baseball fan, how can you hate players like Yaz, Tiant, Nomar, Rice, Pedroia, Martinez, or Sale? But Joey Cora? Yeah, I can hate him. All he did was steal a World Series from two more worthy teams: the Yankees and the Dodgers. Cora and A. J. Hinch should be banned for life for destroying the integrity of the game. That’s the de facto punishment MLB meted out to lesser transgressors such as Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Joe Jackson, Pete Rose, and Sammy Sosa. Willie Mays has been blackballed for doing promos for casinos. Imagine that! We all know that nobody gambles on sports, right? So, to hell with the Red Sox and Joey Cora. I’d hate on the Tigers too–they hired Hinch–but they do suck, so that seems pointless.
It’s also time for Massachusetts to walk the talk when venerating sports stars. The Bay State likes to flaunt its Deep Blue credentials, yet consistently worships sports stars who are redder than Santa Claus: Bill Belichick, Tom Brady, Bobby Orr, Curt Schilling…. Schilling in particular is a disgrace who lives down to his surname. I’ve no problem with sports figures holding whatever beliefs they wish–this should be true for all–but there is a huge disconnect between sports and values in Massachusetts. You can root for the home team without fawning over jerks.
The same point extends to music. I’ve never owned music from Jerry Lee Lewis, a pedophile, and never will. Put down your money where your values lie. There are lots of conservative musicians and that’s fine, but draw the line at idiots like 50 Cent, Trace Adkins, Toby Keith, Ted Nugent, Kid Rock, and Kayne West. Plus, be the first to sign up for an ethics course if you buy hip-hop that celebrates misogyny, guns, or thuggery.
Rob Weir
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