People of Conscience

Ogden Nash once wrote:

“There is only one way to achieve happiness 

On this terrestrial ball

And that is to have either a clear conscience

Or none at all.”

Here’s the unfortunate thing. So many of the people we choose as our leaders are those who fall into Mr. Nash’s second category – those with no conscience at all.

You know who I’m talking about. They have names like Trump and Bush and Kissinger and McConnell and so many more. When these people put their heads down on the pillow at night (or whenever it is that these forms of life sleep) what goes through their minds?

We can’t know. We are nothing like them. We try to live like Ogden Nash’s first category – those with clear consciences. We have trouble sleeping when we have forgotten to say ‘“thank you” to a friend who drove us home. 

Our leaders on the other hand, they couldn’t possibly feel the same way.

What of those who have destroyed the country by injecting into it an inability to identify the truth, and even an apathy over caring about it? This, of course, is the Pumpkin President and his ilk. What do they do in their sleep when an American flag appears? I would hope that they would wake up in a cold sweat. But not the Pumpkin President. Even if he does, “cold” is his natural condition.

Or what of those who decided to attack the wrong country in response to an attack on our country? By doing this they personally caused the unnecessary deaths of tens of thousands and the destruction of the lives of the of tens of thousands more. This, of course, is George W and his advisers.  Do they see any of those dead and tortured faces when they close their eyes? No. George likely just sees the faces on those cheap, amateurish pictures he now paints.

Or what of those who assisted in the implementation of authoritarian, genocidal regimes in order to increase their own power and influence. This, of course is Kissinger and his minions. Do they see the images of the torture victims from Chile and the flaming countenances of the napalm victims in Viet Nam? No. Henry surely doesn’t even question why he is allowed to live to be 100 while so many he has killed died so much younger.

Or what of those now pushing reverse on the country’s gear shift and eliminating the legal advances that those less privileged than they have just started to enjoy? This, of course, is McConnell and his followers. Do the images of the more and more downtrodden they have created dance in their dreams? Clearly not. Instead, they likely fantasize about their Supreme Court legalizing racial segregation again.

If these bastards had any conscience, they would be utterly unable to sleep and, for lack of that human necessity they would be long dead by now. Maybe someday our science will enable us to ascertain which of us has a conscience and which of us does not.

Then we can forget about all the position papers and debates. We can then choose our “leaders” by the measures of their consciences.

And then we can all sleep a little better.