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Health & Fitness

RECOVERING AMERICA, 1.

Rumors and scandals are destroying the values America has stood for: do not contribute to rumors of any kind by spreading them.

RECOVERING AMERICA, # 1, "Rumors"  by Gonzalo T. Palacios, Ph. D.

          The abdominal surgery had left me weaker than I had expected;
fortunately, two weeks later I was recovering quite well. In fact, by the end
of the month my gastroenterologist okayed driving and teaching and soon afterwards I was back in the classroom. I teach Philosophy and Philosophy of Religion, both of which entail important contemporary ethical insights into our society.


This fact brings me to the issue of the evil of rumors and the rumors of evil.          I had been home from the hospital about a week when my wife informed I had received an email from a life-long friend. I had first met him as a freshman in high school. Thinking that it was a “Get Well” message I asked her to read it to me. “Better not,” she said, knowing of my resolve not to read or argue politics or religion with anyone, much less with my friends. My wife did tell me that the last three lines declared Ms. “B” was a lesbian (I have substituted letters for names to avoid continuing the rumor.  Later that day, I saw the “Subject” heading still in my laptop: “Why “B” can’t relate.” My friend had forwarded the demeaning rumor to numerous acquaintances and relatives. I have edited the message in order to lessen its deleterious effect: in part, it read as follows:

Find out what's happening in Kensingtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“Apr 19 (2012)

Cheers, 

Find out what's happening in Kensingtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

" In case you have been on a different planet [B] is the lobbyist, Democratic pundit, and Obama supporter, who made the statement that [C], a stay-at-home mother, "has actually never worked a day in her life."

In addition to their vastly different political viewpoints, the following item from “B’s” Wikipedia piece may explain why she dissed  C.  … “B” is herself a lesbian… She and “D” separated in 2006.   No word on what happened to the kids…”

True or not, the last statement is obviously intended to malign “B’s” character. Ironically, such intention presupposes a traditional Judeo-Christian understanding of human sexuality. That ethical view, and a preponderance of other human values, literally constituted our America. The Judeo-Christian ethic differentiated this country from all other nations in the history of humanity. Equality, freedom,
and justice, “endowed by their Creator” (“the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them”), guided our legal system and assured the citizens of the United States of the possibility of living in a peaceful and harmonious society. Respect for one another is protected by our judiciary, whose authority is, to this day, directly derived from our belief in our Creator, specifically, the Judeo-Christian God.

          Many years ago I promised myself I would not diminish or jeopardize in any way various old friendships trying to explain to them why I did not share their points of view. I stopped all conversations about political or religious ideologies with them (Please note the word IDEOLOGIES; I am not thinking about philosophies or theologies).

          What was expressed in the article mentioned above reminded me that we are LOSING AMERICA. We are losing the substance of what that word has meant for most of us.  Respect, decency, freedom, tolerance, truthfulness, compassion; in short, we are robbing the meaning of the virtues we inherited from the Judeo-Christian, Greco Roman culture. We are LOSING AMERICA, not because “they” are invading our country; not because “their” religious values are supplanting ours; not even because our economic system has deteriorated to the point that it not longer serves our democratic system of government. No, we are LOSING AMERICA because we have fallen into a trap set by Power and Greed, called “Ideological Division”. Personal attacks against “Everyman” (leaders and ordinary citizens) are a daily occurrence. Intolerance and aggression are now considered the right courses of action for whatever goal is intended (win elections, evade prosecution for crimes committed, having a different life style,). The slander/rumor mills created and propagated by ideologues is [one reason] why we are LOSING AMERICA. Such social behavior is not justified in our America, the one I became a citizen of years ago.

          The following story from Jewish folklore illustrates why we are losing America. It tells us about a person who spread a rumor concerning his neighbor. Soon, the whole community had heard the rumor. Later, he learned that the rumor was untrue. The person was very sorry and went to a wise elder of the community to seek advice; he wanted to repair the damage he had inflicted on his neighbor. The elder told the man, “Go to your home and take a feather pillow outside. Rip it open and scatter the feathers, then return to me tomorrow.”

The man did as the elder had instructed. The next day, he visited the elder.The elder said, “Go and collect the feathers you scattered yesterday and bring them back to me.”

The person went home and searched for the feathers, but the wind had carried them all away. The sad man returned to the elder and said, “I could find none of the feathers I scattered yesterday.”

“You see,” said the elder, “it’s easy to scatter the feathers but impossible to get them back.” So it is with rumors; it doesn’t take much to spread hurtful words, but once you do, you can never completely undo the damage.” 

 These days, the feathers of the torn pillow are the e mails and tweet messages in the internet. For the sake of restoring decency, love, union, freedom and justice to our dear country, DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN RUMORS OF ANY KIND.  According to St. Thomas Aquinas (II-II,Q. liii, a. 1) scandal (rumor) is a word or action evil
in itself, which occasions another's spiritual ruin.

You can find the story in (http://www.readability.com/articles/n9vv2acs)

 Gonzalo T Palacios, Ph.D.                                                                 Kensington,
MD 04/28/2012

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