Arrogance

From My Perspective - - - -

One has to wonder at times whether or not the USA is losing its way. There seems to be a growing absence of logic in thought and proclamation, whereas there is a more evident bloviation (one who discourses at length in a pompous or boastful manner) and reaction response (counter-point) present on-stage every day. One of the candidates for the Presidency personifies what it means to be pompous and arrogant. His supporters would say it is “confidence” but the casual observer would disagree. In a June 26^th, 2008 article in the Wall Street Journal, Karl Rove writes the following: “It's All About Obama - Many candidates have measured the Oval Office drapes prematurely. But Barack Obama is the first to redesign the presidential seal before the election. His seal featured an eagle emblazoned with his logo, and included a Latin version of his campaign slogan. This was an attempt by Sen. Obama to make himself appear more presidential…" Also - "Consider his treatment of Jeremiah Wright. After Rev. Wright repeated his anti-American slurs at the National Press Club, Mr. Obama said their relationship was forever changed – but not because of what he'd said about America. Instead, Mr. Obama complained: I don't think he showed much concern for me.”

However, it’s not just in the Political Arena where arrogance and pomposity is present. Consider this appeal reported in the Boortz Report: “In May an illegal alien by the name of Joel Sanchez-Jacobo was found guilty on two counts of aggravated murder and one count for soliciting two murders. In other words ... this illegal alien came into this country and got involved in drugs and murdered people as a result. Now Joel Sanchez-Jacobo is complaining that his constitutional rights have been violated…Through an interpreter, Sanchez-Jacobo told the judge that the only reason he is on trial is because "the American justice system has failed to protect my rights." He claims he was denied his right to an impartial jury because Mexican-Americans were excluded from the jury. He also cited violations to his constitutional rights to due process, a fair trial, his right to testify on his own behalf and a full disclosure of information to be presented in court. And finally, his right to counsel was violated because the government appointed attorneys didn't speak Spanish. And if that isn't bad enough, he complained that the jail's law library books weren't written in Spanish, therefore he couldn't do his own legal research…After presenting this information to the judge, Sanchez-Jacobo was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole for the first murder and life in prison with a minimum of 25 years for the second murder…”

And someone wrote this letter expressing frustration with the system by which redistribution of money takes place regularly in this nation. He writes: “Like a lot of folks in this state, I have a job. I work, they pay me. I pay my taxes and the government distributes my taxes as it sees fit. In order to get that paycheck, I am required to pass a random urine test with which I have no problem. What I do have a problem with is the distribution of my taxes to people who don't have to pass a urine test. Shouldn't one have to pass a urine test to get a welfare check because I have to pass one to earn it for them? Can you imagine how much money the state would save if people had to pass this test in order to get a public assistance check?”

In Jeremiah 9:23-24, we read: “Thus says the Lord - Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” Love, Justice and Righteousness in the land – where can we look for it? Where will we find it? The context of Jeremiah 9 indicates it is not in an outward action of the flesh but through an inner yieldedness of one’s heart to the Lord God. Anything less than that perpetuates the Pomposity and Arrogance that is on display in our culture.

Think about this with me - - - -