DISPARAGEMENT

From My Perspective - - - -

One of the cruelest forms of insult is disparagement. It’s a word that means: “To speak of in a slighting or disrespectful way; belittle. To reduce in esteem or rank….the act of speaking contemptuously of…” There are sundry illustrations of this type of verbalization and/or body language. Most recently, it began occurring when a man named Joe 'the Plumber' Wurzelbacher attended a Senator Obama Rally. He asked a question of The Senator regarding his plan to tax those with income exceeding $250,000.00, and how that would affect whether or not he could aspire to and develop his own small plumbing company.

How does a Campaign and a sympathetic Media respond when a challenge is presented to the Plan of The Candidate? The criticisms (and disparagement) were almost immediate: “He’s a registered Republican; He isn’t a Licensed Plumber; He owes back taxes in excess of $1,000.00; No plumber earns $250,000.00 a year; etc.” Others stated: “Bill Maher says that Joe is "living in a Republican fantasy world" where he is going to get rich and have over $250,000. Joy Beyhar said pretty much the same thing on The View.” Why the vitriolic commentary? Why the disparaging remarks? Simply because “Joe, The Plumber” elicited the answer from The Senator, “we’ll spread the wealth around…” There you have it – the admission of re-distribution of wealth! “Take from the rich and give to the poor!” That will be the Tax Policy of that Candidate IF he is elected (and the momentum appears to indicate that he will).

On the other hand, a Battle Tested Military retiree decided to endorse a non-battle tested candidate for the Presidency. While Colin Powell was hailed for his wisdom in making such an endorsement, The Candidates” running mate was sharing the dangerous possibility of what will occur with a non-Battle Tested President within the first six months of his Presidency. Senator Joe Biden is reported by ABC NEWS to have made the following comments on October 20, 2008: Biden to Supporters: "Gird Your Loins", For the Next President "It's Like Cleaning Augean Stables"… Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del. guaranteed that if elected, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., will be tested by an international crisis within his first six months in power and he will need supporters to stand by him as he makes tough, and possibly unpopular, decisions. "Mark my words," the Democratic vice presidential nominee warned at the second of his two Seattle fundraisers Sunday. "It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking. We're about to elect a brilliant 47-year-old senator president of the United States of America. Remember I said it standing here if you don't remember anything else I said. Watch, we're gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy…”

The erudite and elitists who disparage others and who reject any criticism regarding The Candidate have moments of reality checks indicating this man may not be ready for prime time; the Presidency is not a place for the untested and inexperienced; that he may be getting into something that is clearly above his pay-grade. But – don’t dare to be heard saying that or you may be the next “Joe, the Plumber” who is berated and disparaged because of a contrary point of view.

Consider these things with me - - - and remember that Disparagement is nothing new. Noah was Disparaged as he built the Ark. Nehemiah and the people of God were Disparaged when they rebuilt a wall from the rubble they found. Nehemiah 4:1 through 4 gives one the sense of the Berating and Disparagement: “Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews. And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that? Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, Yes, what they are building if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!” At the end of the day, the Disparaged were Victorious. Don’t despair! Keep your focus on the Goal! God is still in control!