Morality and Compassion

If, as I am told, Red Tuesday was a moral victory, then I must adjust to this new climate. Now, it is moral to bring unwanted, ill-afforded children of grandfathers and great uncles and perverts and terrorists into this world, to let our girls suffer the shame of incest and rape with repeated acknowledgement to it or, worse, give the unwanted to another so that it can be raised with moral righteousness.

The Ouzi is moral. The ooze of the blood of dead soldiers is a victory. The slaughter of already-born children is moral.

The Bible, which we must all--Jew, Catholic, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Hopi--regard as the moral authority, advocates slavery and the subjugation of women and the sacrifice of animals and children.

It is hard, as I see it, to be at once moral and compassionate. Here, they are at odds.

My old thinking, my wrong thinking, was that they are first cousins, that morality is doing the right thing. As I saw it, that meant preventing unnecessary suffering, keeping all god's children alive and safe and fed--no matter which god oversaw. That morality is living by the golden rule. Even Jesus believed we should turn the other cheek.

But trickle down is moral. Wal-Mart is moral. Shipping jobs overseas is moral. Unfair competition is moral. Corruption and greed--you guessed it--moral. Cruel animal practices are moral. Bad meat is moral.

But government interference is immoral. Unless, of course, you happen to be an American citizen. Then, privacy is also immoral because it hampers national security, and that, my friends, is moral.

On this new day, I awaken with a new attitude about right and wrong, about morality and compassion. On this day I understand.

On this day, you will ask who tore my dress.