The great American poet-philospher-abolitionist Ralph Waldo Emerson is credited with coining the popular truism:
Sow a thought — and you will reap an action
Sow an act — and you will reap a habit
Sow a habit — and you will reap a character
Sow a character — and you will reap a destiny
One of the most beautiful aspects of this proverb is that it works both ways:
- If you sow lots of benevolent/courageous/honest/just/wise thoughts — you will eventually reap a heroic, noble destiny.
- But, if you sow lots of hateful/cowardly/fraudulent/lawless/ignorant thoughts — you will eventually reap a vile, miserable destiny.
Although it hasn’t happened quickly, we are in the process of watching Donald Trump, his enablers, and a large fraction of Republican voters slowly melting down into a waxy, odorous, sludge that represents the morbid finale of their wicked lives and the putrid carcass of their malignant souls.
About six weeks ago, Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker gave a witty and compassionate commencement speech at Northwestern University. You can view the most memorable 3½ minutes here. The culmination of his speech contained so much wisdom:
Over my many years in politics and business, I have found one thing to be universally true — The kindest person in the room is often the smartest.
Many people think of the Ten Commandments as a benevolent lecture from God to man. (Yes, many others think of them as a checklist for declaring themselves holier and worthier than their neighbors, but let’s ignore them for now.) Commandments 6 through 10 are often grouped together into one overarching commandment known as “Love your neighbor”.
Emerson’s aphorism actually blends together very nicely with the 2nd half of the commandments, which were arranged in ranking order from most rare (and heinous) to most common (and relatively victimless):
6. Don’t murder. 7. Don’t cheat on your partner. 8. Don’t steal. 9. Don’t deceive your neighbor. 10. Don’t covet things that don’t belong to you.
Each of these five commandments describes (and condemns) an act of unkindness against someone else — and in reverse order, they form a path that starts with a hurtful thought (I deserve that gadget, title, position more than they do) and ends with the most serious offense against another human (intentionally shortening their life).
At the beginning, Emerson laid the foundation for his wisdom construct by appealing to us to “sow a kind thought” — yet many of us sow covetous thoughts that are fundamentally unkind (e.g. Joe doesn’t deserve to be President, I do!).
At the end, Emerson bestowed his hierarchical edifice with a magnificent destiny of goodness — yet some of us reap doom and self-destruction as a consequence of our hatred, enslavement, and murder of innocents.
Today, we see many, many Republicans believing and spreading lies, because their hearts are desperately coveting privileges that are solely based on their whiteness. Some graduate to fraud, intimidation, and violence, but the starting point for each perversion is always covetousness. The problem with their thoughts is that they are unkind, and as a result, the social structures they build can only be corrupt, and their destinies can only end in bankruptcy.
I see Jack Smith (and Fani Willis, Alvin Bragg, Dana Nessel, etc.) as Emersons for our times.
I can visualize the jurors (who will hear the disgraceful evidence that these prosecutors have uncovered) as fate-empowered citizens who will have the opportunity to sow goodness in the courtroom and reap praise from historians of tomorrow.
Tell a Republican friend about Emerson and Pritzker — and challenge them to sow a kind thought. Wouldn’t it be amazing if they actually tried it?
