Sunday, April 06, 2008

Our society

I have long been an admirer of Isaac Bashevis Singer. His later books are less good than his earlier work, but he retains an imagination and an ability to evoke " the old country" better than most of the younger generation.
I am always taken with his quotations from the Mishna, the Talmud or Gemara. These may have been meant for a nomadic tribe a couple of thousand years ago, but many of the sayings remain true.
The one I most recently took to was:
"Those who pity the wicked are cruel to the just"
Isn't this exactly what's wrong with our society? We bend over backwards to be nice to thieves, rapists, murderers, illegal immigrants and many more. Who pays for this, both physically and in cash? Why, we, the just, do. Ok we may not necessarily be "Just" in the OT sense, but we are certainly Mr. and Mrs. Average who pays their taxes and abides by the rules.
It's a truism, but I regret to say that the Government finds it easy to prey on law-abiding people.

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