J.D. Vance Once Called Trump "America's Hitler" & Hall of Famer Terrell Davis Removed from Plane in Handcuffs After Asking for Ice for His Son
What I’m Discussing Today:
Kareem’s Daily Quote: This quote from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount challenges us to get our priorities straight.
In Private Speech, J.D. Vance Said the “Devil Is Real” and Praised Alex Jones as a Truth-Teller: Vance reveals exactly why he shouldn’t be in politics, let alone VP.
United apologizes to ‘humiliated’ Hall of Famer Terrell Davis after removal from plane: Davis was led off in handcuffs after asking for ice for his child. Would this have happened if he was White?
Kareem’s Video Break: Liam Neeson auditioning for the role of Cupid. ‘Nuff said.
Kareem’s Kvetching Korner: This quote from the trailer for Twisters is just the kind of nonsense philosophy appropriate for t-shirts and beer koozies.
What happens when NBA rookies become millionaires overnight?: I’m less worried about their money than I am about their personal growth being stunted.
Leonard Cohen Sings “Sisters of Mercy”: In honor of Shelley Duvall’s death, I’m featuring this classic song from one of her best movies, McCabe & Mrs. Miller.
Kareem’s Daily Quote
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.”
Jesus, Matthew 5:38-40 (NIV)
I’ve always found this quote to be inspiring because it envisions humanity at its best. Jesus is rejecting a commandment from the Old Testament (for those keeping score there are 613 commandments, not just the ten they made a movie about). The original OT quote was also an attempt to bring about measured justice instead of revenge. “An eye for an eye” was to prevent people from exacting greater punishment than the crime deserved. But Jesus was rejecting the notion of punishment altogether. He was saying that by punishing others, we’re hurting ourselves much more.
The Big Picture he’s describing is that we live in a material world in which everything, including our bodies, is made of matter. But that world is a temporary one. The permanent world is where our souls will reside. When we cling to the material world too tightly for the comfort of our temporary bodies, we can damage our eternal souls. Vengeance and greed damage our souls. He wants people to concentrate on what matters and abandon what isn’t significant in the long run, even if it means sacrificing the material comforts of this world, including our bodies.
The basic teaching is true whether or not you believe in a soul or an afterlife or a God. Vengeance and greed will damage your personality and make you miserable. Nevertheless, this particular teaching is more aspirational than practical which is why almost no one truly follows it. If someone steals your TV, you don’t run after them shouting, “You forgot the remote!” You demand their arrest and punishment—the opposite of his teaching.
This is why people tend to modify inconvenient teachings. For example, during that same sermon, Jesus said, “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” That teaching has been pretty much kicked to the curb by everyone except the most devout.
When it comes to choosing a moral path, most people fall into two categories: (1) Orthodox, who believe people should follow the teachings of their deities without interpretation or variation. Otherwise, people are putting their ideas above that of their infallible god. (2) Moralists, who believe people can create their moral teachings based not on unquestioning dogma, but on the spirit of the teaching. Orthodox people prefer rigid rituals and tradition over constantly wrestling with shape-shifting moral dilemmas. Moralists prefer the challenge of addressing each moral issue as a unique circumstance that requires more complex thought.
Pretty much everyone is a Moralist when they don’t like Orthodox teaching—like the divorce/adultery one—but many still like to promote themselves as righteous Orthodox. That’s because what they want from religion is less about morality and more about belonging to a group predisposed to have to accept them if they say they hold the same beliefs. It’s all about comfort and safety in numbers. That’s why Christian Nationalists are so vigorously promoting a religion they barely understand let alone follow. They prefer strict tradition and ritual—showing up at church and saying grace at meals—over messy theology. Trying to make Christianity a national religion is the opposite of Jesus’ teachings here because it focuses on gaining power in the material world. They are more like Madonna’s “Material Girl” than Jesus.
It’s a bit sad when the main teaching of religion is so rarely followed, either literally or in spirit. Yet, it’s still a pretty powerful metaphor for how we should look at life, how we should separate material value from spiritual value, which is what most Christians actually do—to their credit. But that’s what we’re all supposed to do, whether we’re part of a religion or not. We try to prioritize what truly matters and then have the moral discipline to live by that. This quote challenges us to be our best selves despite our flaws. I like that challenge. But you still can’t have my remote.