American Psycho

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall. Speak what you think now in hard words, and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said to-day. — 'Ah, so you shall be sure to be misunderstood.' — Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood."

Ralph W. Emerson, Essay II Self-Reliance (1841)


We all have some ideas that seem inconsistent. (At least I hope we do.) For example, I think every able-bodied adult should work in order to support him or her -self. But I also think we should provide a safety net for people when they cannot - or do not - support themselves because that is better than people living and dying in the streets. (Remember being right vs. doing the right thing?)

This is arguably an inconsistency, but I would argue that to try to be consistent in this regard would be "foolish."

Not all consistency is bad, according to Emerson, just "foolish consistency." Here's an example of a "foolish consistency," IMO. Remember Judge Roy Moore, running for Governor in Alabama? He "accuses" his opponent of believing in evolution, insinuating that that is a wrong or bad thing. In so doing, he is exploiting the "foolish consistency" of creationism and Christianity. It is foolish to think that one who believes in evolution cannot be a Christian, yet that is what Roy Moore is suggesting. And it worked, to a degree, because his opponent is running a response ad claiming to "believe every word of the Bible."

See where "foolish consistency" gets us?

But if "foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds," then absurd, ridiculous inconsistency is the rabid vampire of decent society. It wreaks havoc wherever it is unleashed.

The absurdity that caused my mind to trot down this rocky road is the intellectual, logical, and rational disconnect that is boiling over in America right now.

The national news is dominated by two story lines right now: One, the Tea Party. Two, the Deep Horizon Oil Disaster.

The Tea Party purports to be upset about high taxes (even though they've actually gone down) and a federal government that is too big, and too much in their lives.

If you stay with the news until after the commercial break, you will hear many of these same, southern Americans complaining that the federal government is not doing enough to stop the oil from bubbling out of the mile-deep hole in the ground 50 miles in the Gulf of Mexico. Now, I want to remind you which states are located on the gulf coast: Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, and Texas. Thinks there are some Tea Baggers there? You betcha!

So which is it, Tea People? Do you want lower taxes and less government, or do you want Uncle Sam to bail you out again? The government didn't cause the accident or the spill. A private corporation did that. Can't the free market fix this for you? No? Then you, my friends, need to abandon your faux-movement-cult and get real. Stop acting like you don't need the federal government when in fact, you depend on it for your very survival. It is a "foolish inconsistency," and it is sucking the life-blood out of America.

(What does it say about me that I am linking to my own prior blogs? Narcissistic? Brilliant? Obsessed?)