Good Morning Digital Neighbors!! Haoppy Monday Friends & Refugees, PHAM & Misfits, ADD Irregulars and Curators of the WSN!

Those crafty little monks of the 9th century bring us the messianic title of O Lord. As the final week of Advent the readings at Mass always turn our attention to the either the person of St. Joseph or the Blessed Virgin Mary. We look at how their yes opened to the door to the Mystery of the Incarnation. Yes to God, to the Mysterium, to the Numen that can change your life. Some embark on the path of selfless sainthood or mysticism, others become the worst type of demagogues and fanatics that menace their neighbors. While many want to blame religion for the worst events in world history, it is really human nature pushed through various funnels of behavior, indoctrination and the removal of critical thought and questioning that brings out the worst in us. Sadly for many, it doesn't take much to remove critical thought and thus questions and doubts never arise. They are the potential for the best of herdthink and worst of mob mentality. I am not sure how much of humanity prefers to be led and told, but the numbers are worrisomely high. Good leaders (not perfect, there are none) and real shepherds are invaluable to the safety, well-being and improvement of the flock. We need good people willing to lead. And today's O' Antiphon speaks of the Lord of Sinai who gives the law to govern the children of Israel.

LORD - Unless you run in religious circles, play medieval fantasy games, are active in the SCA https://www.sca.org/about/ you probably don't use Lord as much more than a low grade profanity or expletive. For the record I was never active in the SCA even if I am D & D geek, but I was often fascinated by their activities on campus when they did their "historical" reenactments. Too often they were the lowest rung of dorkness or geekdom on campus. You needed a tough skin or an independent spirit to let you dorkiness show so freely.

Lord - a rather heavy word and concept since it carries authority in its meaning. Hard to think positivity of any authority these days since we have seen far more misuse and abuse of authority than humble or selfless use of authority. There are almost no George Washington's left among the the political leadership, corporate leadership, or people within institutions of influence. I would add religious institutions since they still carry influence in the lives of many. Power doesn't always corrupt, but there are few who can resist its distortions and temptations. Unaccountable power inevitably tilts towards abuse and the illusion that you are unaccountable or above accountability. A Good Lord (an occasional expletive among the gentler crowd) is hard to find. Washington was not perfect, but when he walked away from his position it is remarkable.

Anything you cannot walk away from without authoritarian abuse is an unhealthy community or relationship. And by abuse, I mean your life or livelihood being threatened with injury or termination. I guess many are tempted to say that makes almost all governments and the societies created around them unhealthy. Enemedia, Big Tech, Academia, Wokertainment, Uni-party Careerist and now Big Pharma Addicts have all created cultures of punishment for the outliers, heretics and scapegoats that they designate. They often don't have to do anything themselves, they have flash cancel mobs ready to mobilize on-line and occasionally show up for peaceful protests. Not an abundance of Good Lords or Ladies as it were. Too many buy the dialectic distortion proposed by Hegel and magnified by Marx (Karl, not Groucho). Hegel & Marx trade adoption as an interpretive lens for mastery & slavery, and most are slaves.

I am not so black pilled or jaded to think there are no good people in positions of authority in life, but they are infrequent and rarely celebrated in the current culture. They probably like it that way to be honest, celebrity is one of the quickest ways to wreck your life. Fame almost always comes with an unmooring from reality as your perception of self-important surpasses your actual contribution to humanity. I hope you have had the good fortune of finding people in good leadership positions at work or in elsewhere in life. Authority and accountability can open to the door to leadership excelling for the good of all, but as soon as the sense of accountability or actual accountability disappears, its abuse is almost always instantaneous.

If you ever find yourself in a position of Lord or Ladyship, I hope you can handle the authority entrusted to you with responsibility and humility. Good Lord, I am thankful I believe in One and I am thankful that my path along life has been filled with a number of humble servant leaders and only few authoritarian dirt bags. I am not talking about the world beyond daily interaction, as mentioned previously there are too many who abuse or misuse authority in the world at large. The bigger the stage, the larger the fraud. Not always, but often. Daily interactions with real people in life and on Locals keeps the cynicism and resignation at bay.

Ever a skeptic, never a cynic. I strive for that, but is not easy. The two are so similar but skepticism opens the door to questions, to hope, to change, cynicism does the opposite. Cynicism claims to know better but is just despondent pessimism parading around as insightful experience. They look the same at the beginning of an emotional & intellectual onset, but yield very different results. Blessed Monday my friends across Locals, you are remembered daily in my prayers and so many of you are thought of fondly and with gratitude for being among the people who brighten my life.