Posted by
peripheral on Friday, June 20, 2008 8:37:14 AM
I was just thinking about - - -
The
political world brings out both the best and the worst. There are the
“talking points” and “spin” with which we are all too familiar. There
is the image that is projected and the makeover of public appearance
and proclamation. It becomes difficult at times to separate the real
from the unreal. Plato was one of three philosophers who had an early
influence on thought and how one arrives at conclusions (Socrates and
Aristotle were the others). However, in his quest to discover the Real
– important virtues and realities such as: goodness, beauty, equality,
bigness, likeness, unity, being, sameness, difference, change, and
changelessness – he would have times when he despaired because of the
evasiveness of the Real and the prominence of the Unreal (a mere shadow
of the Real and True).
On
today’s Wall Street Journal Editorial Page, Peggy Noonan writes about
the life and death of Tim Russert. She reflects regarding the Memorial
Service and remarks that were offered, and concludes: “In
a way, the world is a great liar. It shows you it worships and admires
money, but at the end of the day it doesn't. It says it adores fame and
celebrity, but it doesn't, not really. The world admires, and wants to
hold on to, and not lose, goodness. It admires virtue. At the end it
gives its greatest tributes to generosity, honesty, courage, mercy,
talents well used, talents that, brought into the world, make it
better. That's what it really admires. That's what we talk about in
eulogies, because that's what's important. We don't say, "The thing
about Joe was he was rich." We say, if we can, "The thing about Joe was
he took care of people."…The young are told, "Be true to yourself." But
so many of them have no idea, really, what that means. If they don't
know who they are, what are they being true to? They're told, "The key
is to hold firm to your ideals." But what if no one bothered, really,
to teach them ideals?”
In Colossians 3:1 through 17, there is statement made to seek The Real – “If
then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above,
where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on
things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” This
is followed by a long check-list by which one can differentiate between
that which is Real in terms of the values the Lord Himself has
established, followed by that which is Unreal, namely, the things a
Carnal World would like to have us substitute for The Real. The Unreal
is to be avoided and put away and The Real is to be sought, embraced,
and applied.
Peggy
Noonan makes a great point – it is difficult to find the values that
matter modeled for us. Too many are caught up in the Unreal Values that
they lose sight of what matters most. I think it was a Pennsylvania
Dutch saying that went something like – “The busier I am the behinder I
get!” The idea is that the temporary and temporal supersede the
permanent and eternal. Our culture has taught us to be self-centered
and self-indulgent – and – we have bought into that concept of life.
Peggy Noonan noted in this regard: “…the
things you actually need to live life well, and without which it won't
be good. Among them: taking care of those you love and letting them
know they're loved, which involves self-sacrifice; holding firm to God,
to your religious faith, no matter how high you rise or low you fall.
This involves guts, and self-discipline, and active attention to
developing and refining a conscience to whose promptings you can
respond. Honoring your calling or profession by trying to do within it
honorable work, which takes hard effort, and a willingness to master
the ethics of your field. And enjoying life.” She’s on point and the right track!
Think about this with me - - -