TO TREAT CONTEMPTOUSLY
Wednesday, December 9, 2020
Intolerant of intolerance.
Does that make sense?
I’m tolerant on many fronts – religion, politics, gender, philosophy – of people with views different from my own.
And I love spirited discussions of what people believe and why they believe it. For example, one of my most interesting volleys lately are with a client/friend who is a Trump supporter and a believer in the big conspiracy theories being flouted. It is challenging to have discussions with someone I so wholly respect for his integrity, big brain, and sterling reputation. I can’t tell him I think he’s a dupe because it would insulting, but I think people are being duped. My friend is not a gullible fool – he’s a partisan and a believer.
I know people who are fervently devout in their faith – people of many religions. And some of no faith at all; there is no belief like their faith within me, so they label me an atheist. While my explanation of what I believe and why I think it cannot be boiled down to one word, that’s pretty close to my place on the spectrum of non-belief. Still, I respect those who have faith in something I don’t get, understand, or believe in.
We live in a good country here, in Canada, with no shortage of flaws, failings, divisions, regional animosity, and sports team rivalries that knit us together. We’re fine, but we have a neighour – not as large as we are, but with ten-fold the population. I don’t care for their partisan politics, but I do understand it. But I don’t understand my friend; he’s not stupid, but I think he is wrong.
As each day draws nearer to Trump’s reality-show demise, I cannot understand how he doesn’t know he was fired by 81.2 million voters to his 74.2 million votes – that’s 7.0 million. It’s an extraordinary time to be watching history unfold while we all wait for our vaccinations, but there’s nothing else on TV. Methinks that makes Trump happy.
I looked up flaunted – as in, “He’s flaunting the rules.”
Of several meanings for the word, ‘to treat contemptuously’ seemed to fit best.
The world’s leaders and the citizens of all countries have one job to do right now – to stay safe and manage a pandemic. Everything else is a distraction.
Magicians and illusionists use distraction to fool their audiences. Fools, court jesters, and con-artists use similar tools. If you don’t believe me, ask yourself – in what other way could Trump lose and election and then get people to give him over $200.0 million?
Reader feedback:
“When your self-worth evaporates you’re backbone it is very hard to stand”. That’s a keeper, RH, Calgary, AB
Congratulations Mark, thanks for sharing!, TA, Calgary, AB
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