Not every action or emotion however admits of the observance of a due mean. Indeed the very names of some directly imply evil, for instance malice, shamelessness, envy, and, of actions, adultery, theft, murder. All these and similar actions and feelings are blamed as being bad in themselves; it is not the excess or deficiency of them that we blame. It is impossible therefore ever to go right in regard to them – one must always be wrong.
–Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics
I heard the protesters loudly chanting “Shame, Shame” yesterday during the disgraceful session yesterday in Tennessee that saw two young black state representatives expelled from the legislature for their participation in a protest against gun violence in the wake of the recent school shooting there. During the protest in question, according to law enforcement, there were no arrests, no violence, no property damage.
The two expelled representatives were Justin Jones and Justin Pearson. Remember those names. They spoke with great passion and eloquence. Both were impressive and are destined to leave their mark on this country. A third participating representative, Gloria Johnson, who was equally impressive, survived the expulsion vote. This was due no doubt, as Johnson pointed out, to the color of her skin. She is a white woman.
I think that says everything that needs to be said about the purpose of this proceeding.
The protesters’ chant was very powerful. The crowd was predominately young and to hear them berate the Republicans of the state house in such a way was effective and moving.
Or it should have been.
But I immediately remembered that we now live in a time and a country where shame has lost all its power to affect behavior.
And we are seeing firsthand evidence in states like Tennessee, Florida and others that the shameless abuse of power is not to be taken lightly. It is not just bad judgement. It is something more than that. It is a political/cultural mania that is paving the way for even more shameless political extremism.
And that leads to places where we should not be willing to venture.
Word of caution: Pay attention. We are on an edge and the shameless have no concern about pulling us all down that slippery slope.
I repeat that I take no pleasure in writing these types of posts. But there are times and occurrences that demand all our eyes and ears. Full participation.
Here’s Bob Marley and his song Caution. Take it from Bob. He warns us that the road we’re on is slippery and we’re in danger of tumbling down.
Redtree Times 
Gary, I have been busy lately and didn’t see this until just now. I share your concern about the path our country seems to be embarking upon. While no country or culture is perfect, the US seems to be embracing some negative, and repulsive, values. In my lifetime we have endured some hard times but I think we made significant progress in our culture. It’s apparent that there’s a growing faction in our country determined destroy that progress and step backwards to some awful beliefs, values, and behavior.
My father and most of my elder male relatives fought in WW2 to defeat countries that tried to spread similar thinking and policies across the world. It’s an increasingly scary and worrisome time in the US, and the world.
It is a scary time, Cliff. However, I think there is potential for optimism in that this seems to be predictable, the final flailing all-out effort from people trying to hold onto to their power and privilege. People trying to hold back progress. There may be some dark days and some bad things may well happen, but I firmly believe that the good and reasonable among us will prevail.