A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not: but knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth.—Proverbs 14:6
The congressional Democrats’ group sulk during the 2018 State of the Union address seemed to indicate an inability, or more likely, a stubborn unwillingness, to learn from the experiences of the past year. That, we can almost hear them sniff, is “just not who they are.”
Their sit-down strike from any displays of common patriotism replicated the NFL’s “kneeling for the anthem” blunder; apparently, no concern for the appearance of scorn for America itself had crossed their minds.
Their uniform dark scowls at references to such national economic blessings as rising wages and low unemployment, communicated clearly that any prosperity which has not come about through their preferred policies, brings them no joy.
And public resentment of celebrities grandstanding on political issues over the past year didn’t register strongly enough with the Democrats to discourage melodramatic gestures meant to call attention to imagined slights. The ability of the Democrats to continue on a clearly counterproductive course in the face of all reason is truly impressive; perhaps it comes from extensive identity politics indoctrination, which ingrains the habit of angry denial of inconvenient realities. However, the real world does not reward such valiant denial for long; the “gods of the copybook headings” always catch up with practitioners.
“Never interrupt your enemy while he’s making a mistake,” advised Napoleon, but I have little fear that pointing out this continuing Democratic mistake will cause them to swerve from their present politically self-destructive course. If you’re devoting all of your mental energies to rationalizing the course you’re already committed to, there’s little hope of learning from experience; my prediction for next year’s SOTU, then, involves fewer Democrats—sulking just as hard as this year.
A marvel seen under the sun, is this:
Ignorance close-guarded, as though it were bliss;
Folly protected as if it were treasure—
Delusion defended as if it wrought pleasure.
When insight approaches, a stubborn fool spurns it—
Recoils from the lesson, and so never learns it.
The truth he should treasure (or so you’d suppose)
He dangles at arm’s length, while holding his nose.
He hinders and hobbles and blinds himself, through
What he chooses to feel he’s superior to.
Wisdom would be easy, it would do its own work—
It can bypass most obstacles . . . but not that smirk.