Mar 112011
 

People have body language and so do cars. When you ride a bicycle, as I do, you notice the body language of cars. I noticed one yesterday. I was holding up his progress, and I could tell he was restless back behind me. As soon as it was clear up ahead, his engine roared and tires screeched and he was off to beat me up the road and show me who was boss. Although he had 200 or more horsepower and I am not as strong as even one horse. But this guy acts like it's something great that he can outrun a bicycle.

When I was a young boy in elementary school, there sometimes were fights on the playground at recess. Usually it was two boys. Occasionally two girls would get into a fight and this drew great interest from the boys, but it was a rare event. Anytime there was a fight the other kids quit what they were doing and came running to form a circle of interest around the scrappers. There was cheering and commenting by the ring of spectators. It never lasted long because once it got to this point a teacher or principle would come running and break it up.

There was no peer pressure that discouraged these fights, as they provided a welcome diversion and usually resulted in no harm whatsoever. But there was an unwritten rule about fairness. A big boy was not supposed to pick on a little boy. Such a boy was said to be a "big bully" and in need of being "taught a lesson." The big boy should pick on someone his own size. The big kid might win the fight, but he always lost out in the playground court of public opinion.

Admittedly our playground was no perfect place. There were kids there who got satisfaction from pushing other kids around and would fight if given an opportunity. There were kids who would avoid a fight at all costs, even the cost of being taunted and made fun of. What fights there were occurred only occasionally. Most kids were welcome spectators if a fight did develop, but otherwise they wanted nothing to do with fighting.

But despite its imperfections, our playground did have its principle of fairness, and this usually served to protect the weak and helpless from the dominance of the strong.

Now we are long departed from these playgrounds. We now find ourselves in a "grown up" world. But our world, even the "civilized world," largely fails to provide protection for the weak and helpless. Large and powerful nations pick on small and helpless ones, with no shame at all. Dictators pick on dissidents among their own citizens, even with deadly force. States attempt to balance their budgets by picking on the meager salaries and benefits of school teachers, while protecting the powerful interests who stand to benefit. At the national level, the first targets for reducing costs are the social programs that benefit the poor, the sick, the children, the students, the wounded veterans, the homeless, the mentally ill, the bankrupt, the home foreclosed, the birth defected, the forgotten elderly, the incarcerated, the drug adicted, the disabled.

If you read the Bible, it is quite clear that Jesus would side with the weak and helpless in such discussions. But, strangely, his professed followers largely do the opposite. The Christian church aligns itself with the wealthy and powerful. It upholds a success mentality which assumes that the more God likes you the more he rewards you in dollars and cents. Then you can add to your riches by exploiting those he obviously does not like as much as you. God justifies the means to worldly success for his chosen ones. What a deal that is!

[Yes, I know the preceding paragraph is unfair to humble Christians who reject this mentality, work for low wages, and do much to help the poor. It is sad that the public face of Christianity is not their face. On the school playground, they would be the bullied, not the bullies.]

The economic mess we find ourselves in was not caused by school teacher salaries being high. It was caused by the greed and abuses of the powerful in collaboration with a political system that gave them free reign and shared their profits. These bullies have paid no price for their abuse, and now propose to cover their losses by continued abuse of the victims.

I had my teeth cleaned and checked the other day. They checked out great. You appreciate this news while sitting there in the bright lights with all the machines and shiny steel things ready to go to work.  My dentist gave me the good news in his own philosophical way: "If the country was in as good a shape as your mouth, we'd be a hell of a lot better off." I didn't argue.

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  2 Responses to “Pick On Someone Your Own Size”

  1. AMEN

  2. I truly enjoyed reading this article. Wish I could post it on my facebook page. I probably could if I were more knowledgeable with this electronic age.  God bless.  P.S. note new E mail address. 

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