J. Davy Crockett III

A cousin of mine has been very successful in several business ventures. He has worked hard over many years and has accumulated wealth and property. He has the accouterments of luxury that one might expect, in the form of homes, cars, boats, an airplane, and a farm in the country. This cousin has traveled extensively in pursuit of his interests and passions. Along the way, his family has fallen apart and he has experienced a lot of heartache and pain. His “success” has not really brought him the peace of mind and satisfaction that he thought it would.

The Western world exerts tremendous energy and spends huge amounts of money on political elections. It seems like the campaigning never stops. Since money is “the mother’s milk of politics,” there are endless fundraising events bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars or euros or pounds, or whatever is the national currency. All forms of media are used to promote the bid for office—and the power that goes with it. Inordinate sums of money are spent to win elections to offices that may have relatively modest pay.

Charles Dickens (1812–1870), the popular, prolific author of Britain’s Victorian Age, penned a poignant introduction to his famous novel A Tale of Two Cities, published in 1859. Now that was a long time ago, yet his description of that time certainly fits this modern age. He wrote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

The Declaration of Independence, written in Philadelphia in 1776 after months of debate and negotiation, contains a beautiful statement of principle. It was “heard around the world” and it continues to resonate with people today. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” It is an uplifting concept—recognizing, of course, shared equality in the eyes of the law and before our Creator.

You have probably heard the rather snarky phrase, “You can’t fix stupid!” It’s usually used as a put-down of a person or group that does something particularly inept, ridiculous, or doomed to failure. Of course, stupidity has existed since the dawn of humanity. Foolish thoughts bring foolish actions, and sometimes people spend a lifetime dealing with the disastrous results of such reckless, unthinking, and often sinful activities.