Quell and Kill

“You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them.  But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant,  and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else.  For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

~The Gospel of Mark

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Dear Kate,

Everyone needs to ask one's own questions, in one's world, of oneself.

Being a "progressive" "Christian" (notice there are two sets of quotation mark), my question in my here and now is this: How am I to be a peace-loving servant of all without being intellectually lazy and morally indifferent?

Peace-loving servanthood, a principle to live by, so I was told, more like an excuse for us to live an unprincipled life.

I like the message though, pragmatic and practicable for this middle class to stay peaceable--which I take as at least a good first step to be peace-loving.

I do love peace.  No news is good news.  Another day another dollar.  Thank God I can eat and shit, sometimes at the same time, with balanced vigor.  Don't stir your food just as you shouldn't stir what comes out of you, and give the most domesticated rendition of yourself at church; then we can, together, make the abstract tangible, everyone serving everyone, everything good as anything.

「息事寧人」, we Chinese know it true and well.  "Quell the affair and calm the people."  If what it means in practice is to kill the affair and put down some people, then so be it.  And please do it quietly.

The "Freedom Convoy" protest, have you read about it?  Do you know what is at issue?  What "freedom" are they talking about?  Negative? positive? and how does it compare to your idea of freedom when you choose to observe all the Covid mandates?  You are an educated professional, do you ever wrestle with these basic but perennial political conundrums?  Why would people from all parts of Canada come to stay out in the cold for days and not go home, have a good warm meal, hug their loved ones (and take a proper shit, like, seriously)?  Unbelievable, right, these evil exceptions to our otherwise good human race?  You and I took the vaccine, loving peace and ready to serve all, if not for the roadblock to our proper glory.

Have a glorious day.  Don't let the light hurt your eyes when you look into the mirror.

Yours, Alex