B. U. G. S.

Since it is traditional for an old Southern man to refer to a girl as “Sugar,” the title is appropriate.

We will now leave the Women’s Libbers to their conniption in the next room and procede to the SUBSTANCE of what Sheri said.

To make it easy for me, let’s say that what I have done so far for Sheri and Anonymous is addressthe FORM of what they said. I wanted to make a critical point that I am not out to cow Sheri or to make Anonymous recant.

These are critical points if this blog is to do its job.

Nobody in our sociey seems to have noticed that “leadership” today really means just cowing people or winning teh argument. That is the animal level. That’s what animals do to get tehir status inthe herd or pack, they cow and they back down opposition.

Bob’s Blog practices discrimination. It is for humans only.

So now to substance.

Shari says,

“Most people I know are white and they don’t know anything about a “manichean worship of sterility.” They just beleive in being nice. They don’t know that there is even a threat. They just don’t know that nice isn’t the same thing as good, which is stronger stuff,much stronger. But then I don’t travel in big shot political circles. Shari ”
Comment by lemon

“Nice is not the same thing as good, which is stronger stuff, much stronger stuff.”

That is a book in one sentence. And to me, brevity is soul of wit. Brevity is what I work hard to try to achieve. When someone achieves it, I want to frame it and put it on the wall. As a writer, that is my idea of a work of art.

I keep empahsizing that what we are looking for is ideas that are SIMPLE but not EASY.

When an Inquisitor or a Puritan says being right is much, much stronger stuff than being nice, he is not saying what Shari is saying.

In fact, the Inquisitors and Puritans gave us what passes for leadership today. They totally forget The Golden Rule and go for what they have decided is Right.

And neither the Inquisitor nor the Puritan can deal with a human being who can THINK. And most people don’t like to think, so they prefer that.

What Shari is saying is that being good requires one to take a stand that that person sees as fulfilling the Golden Rule. You can’t just sit back and say, “Well, they TOLD me what is good for people.” You have to have MORAL courage.

You have to bet on the unknown. Nobody really KNOWS how other people would LIKE to be treated. I could make The Golden Rule easy if I just made everybody put the same amount of sugar in their food as I like on mine.

But what I want peole to do is give ME the sugar bowl.

But what if they like an amount of sugar I do not think is good for them?

What if I am sure that, if they got used to a different amount of sugar they would actually like it better? It’s not so simple.

A libertarian can make it easy. he can just say, “Damn my opinion. Just give everybody a sugar bowl.”

Generally I agree. But if that person is a diabetic and am sure he is not being rational, I will fight to keep hiim OUT of the sugar bowl.

And the world is more complicated than sugar bowls.

No, Sheri says, you can’t even depend on your bishop or your policeman to give you the final word. The Golden Rule is the final word.

That is mental work and moral courage to back it up. That is a willingness to have people be mad at you. That is a willingness not to be nice.

Shari just gave us something better than a book on morality in a single sentence.