The Seven Deadly Sins

The Seven Deadly Sins

 

Usually when people refer to the Middle Ages they only have really negative things to say about the major religion of the time – Catholic Christianity.  But with almost everything, not all of it was bad by a long shot.  Some was, so don’t think I am naïve! 

One of the best things about it was that it defined pretty well what behavior was to be sought after, and what behavior was to be shunned and ripped out of one’s life patterns.  These last were the Seven Deadly Sins.  The good behavior was called the Fruits of the Spirit.  The Spirit in this case is the Holy Spirit, or third person of the Trinity.  These Fruits of the Spirit can be the theme of another blog, but today I’ll stick to the Deadly ones.  I actually hadn’t thought much about these Seven Deadly Sins since Vatican II when the emphasis in the Church turned more on the positive actions that Christians should take to help transform the individual and society into something more akin to what God has taught in almost every religion that society ought to be.  

A few nights after forcing myself to watch the Republican National Convention I couldn’t get back to sleep in the middle of the night, and my mind began to wander over and around the speeches I had heard, and the budget plan the Paul Ryan, Vice Presidential candidate, but current Congressman from Wisconsin had presented.  And, there they were – the Seven Deadly Sins.  Pride, Greed, Lust, Anger, Gluttony, Envy, and Sloth.  What was said that brought these to mind? 

Pride

Pride is knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that you and only you know what is right.  It is not ever being able to admitting a fault.  So, the Republicans started out President Obama’s Presidency determined to see to it that he was a one-term President, and as we know now, they made this determination on the day he was inaugurated!  And in February of 2009 they were already calling President Obama a failure!!  That’s because they are right and everyone else is wrong. 

Greed

Greed can easily be explained by the quip I had put together when I was in office and people would come into my office demanding that I approve of whatever they wanted to do, regardless of whether it would be damaging to their neighbors, or in compliance with the laws.  “What’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is mine.  I want mine, I want it now, and I want you to pay for it”.  This is the attitude of the the 1% who have started the mantra, “No new taxes”.  

Lust

Lust doesn’t have to be just sex.  One can lust for power as well.  Lust is the Deadly Sin that allows what one lusts after to take over every other thought.  Thus, the lust for power will infiltrate any and all decisions that one, or one’s group, will make. 

Anger

The radical right is really angry that from their perspective they are losing power to that rabble out there called the diversity of America.  They see women and people of color beginning to also gain some power and they are exceedingly angry about that.  So, the best way to keep women out of power is to control their reproductive choices so the women are back under the control of men.  I find it ironic that women in seats of power make decisions that impact the daily lives of people all of the time.  But when it comes to their own bodies, only men can make those decisions.  There is something wrong with that picture, for sure!  People of color are to be feared as well as ‘the other’.  Barack Obama is not quite an American; he probably has not even been born here; and those other people of color will vote to keep him in office, and we will lose even more power, and that makes us really angry.  As well as very afraid. 

Gluttony

Gluttony can be defined as referring only to food.  That is, you have enough food on your plate, but you want even more.  You eat much more than your body needs, you crave more than your body needs, and you become gluttonous.  This can apply to ‘things’, as well.  Who has the need for so many vehicles that he will need an elevator in his garage to bring the vehicle of choice up to be driven away?  Probably Mitt Romney!  There is a difference between what we need and what we want.  We need clean water, adequate food, clothing, shelter, and a safe place to sleep.  Everything else we want.  If we keep those wants in perspective, that is fine.  A really comfortable mattress may not be an actual need, but it sure is a nice want.  It is when our desire for these ‘wants’ gets out of hand that we are in trouble of becoming gluttonous. 

Envy

The radical right accuses those who long for economic justice of being envious of success, when actually the opposite is true.  Those who define success by how much money one has are envious of the ‘widow’s mite’, and they want that as well as their millions or billions of dollars.  For example, I have never figured out why women who can afford to stay home and care for the children are extolled for being really great Moms.  But poor women who are on welfare are cheats and must be sent out to work because they are taking our hard-earned tax dollars!  What is wrong with this picture as well?  To envy the little that the poor have, and a desire to take even that away, probably violates several Deadly Sins. 

Sloth

Another word for sloth is apathy.  In the radical right, sloth is not being able to be bothered by the fact that the economic policies they espouse are causing children, in our own country, to go hungry to bed every night.  Calling this ‘food insecurity’ really bothers me.  It is hunger, and it is totally unacceptable.  Sloth is not caring that people are out of work.  Sloth is not caring that climate change is real, and future generations will have a major problem with this.  I could fill this whole page with examples of sloth in the radical right. 

So, there you have it – the Seven Deadly Sins and the Republican National Convention.  Not a pretty sight for this former Republican.  Whatever happened to the party that supported civil rights; the party that supported clean water, clean air, and the environment in general.  We need that party back, and we need it now.