A righteous man has regard for the life of his animal,But even the compassion of the wicked is cruel.
Proverbs 12:10
Encouraged by the despisers of liberty in the media and the White House, the unwashed denizens of “Occupy Wall Street” protestors have gathered around the country – and now around the globe. With one voice they are calling for . . . well, it’s not exactly one voice . . . and it’s not exactly clear what it is that they hope to accomplish. But, whatever it is, they want it now! These protestors defy parody:
These guys mutter more about “social justice” than a meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Also like the USCCB, the members of this august group dine on gourmet meals prepared by a former hotel chef using only the finest organic ingredients. An ex-five star chef churns out the meals for more than 1,000 protesters on “salmon cakes with dill sauce and some quinoa salad” along with “some wonderful tomato salad with fennel and red onion.” Defecating in the park is just their way of saying thanks.
This mob, appropriately dubbed the Flea Party, marched from Wall Street to protest in front of a couple of corporate guys’ homes who actually produce a product “right past [billionaire] George Soros’ apartment building.” The throngs have also missed two other seemingly obvious Flea Party destinations: Redmond, Washington and Omaha, Nebraska, the respective hometowns of billionaires Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.
Soros, Gates, and Buffett have a lot in common. All are fabulously wealthy. Each is noted for his support of liberal causes: Gates funds sterilization and eugenics programs around the world – eliminating poverty by eliminating poor people; both Gates and Buffett solicit other elite members of the Billionaires’ Club to give vast sums to their various population eradication projects; and, Soros is the Obama Administration’s single biggest donor.
Recently, Buffett made about $62 million last year. Obviously, anyone can have an off year. He also paid less than 10% of that amount in taxes. And he is complaining – I am not making this up – that he didn’t pay enough in taxes. This is – let’s see the Spanish have a word for it, oh yes I remember – el toro poo poo.
Since I have an Accounting degree and practice before the U.S. Tax Court, I feel qualified to offer Warren some free advice to remedy his “predicament”: Fire your CPA; prepare your own taxes. There’s a little known provision in the “10 million word mess” (a/k/a the Internal Revenue Code): You don’t have to take all the deductions that your entitled to.
On the one hand, this unholy trinity’s contempt for capitalism makes about as much sense as a bunch of male Sodomites advocating for abortion (which they do, but that’s another post). Why would these three guys – all smart, wealthy, and (unlike the Flea Party), bathed – want to destroy the system that gave them wealth, indoor plumbing, and – last but not least – consumers?
Healing from a distance is the exclusive province of the Son of God, but I have a couple of guesses. Like their counterparts occupying Wall Street, these three economic warlords seem a little twisted with guilt. Unlike the members of the Flea Party, they have been (in temporal terms, anyway) successful. Perhaps the road to this success is marked with a few “potholes.” You know, those pesky little Commandments that tend to cramp our “style.” But what’s transgressing a couple of Commandments among billionaires!
Guilt can drive any of us in one of several different directions. Anger, resentment, intransigence, a seared conscience are just a few. But those will not lead anyone to peace. Success won’t do it either.
Lust, when it is conceived, brings forth more sin; sin, when it is finished, brings forth death.
Is there any other single sentence that can better explain the behavior of Soros, Gates, and Buffett; or, if we were to be honest, our own inclinations? Even King David, a man after God’s own heart, thought he could cover up one sin with another. That didn’t work out too good. It never does.
To the docile spirit, it can also result in – there is no synonym for it – repentance.
Whether billionaire, protester, or big shot lawyer, it ought to be, Lord, be merciful to me a sinner.
If we do anything other, all we’ll have is a very cruel compassion.