Ethics is a Good Race to the Bottom (Synthesis)

                                                 Ethics is a Good Race to the Bottom (Synthesis)


                                                    The P.D.'s a bad race to the bottom,

                                                    The prisoners rat, and both end up worse off,

                                                    Same for the poor folks who lived in Sodom,

                                                    You'll cheat!--so I, too, my ethics must doff.


                                                    Ethics is a good race to the bottom,

                                                    The stars are those who help us renounce pride,

                                                    To live in a humble anti-Sodom,

                                                    Where we serenely yearn to be God's bride.   


                                                    Is this a competitive endeavor?

                                                    Honesty compels admitting it is,

                                                    Wanting to win is part of us ever,

                                                    It's as true in religion as in biz.


                                                   Is ethical competition frightful?

                                                   I am inclined to say it's delightful.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hoboken with Martha and Robin

       Darcy and I lived on the second floor, Martha and Robin's place was on the top, The Caniglias were by the front door, The apartment was old.   Things were alop. Is there such a thing as a hidden saint? A beacon of goodness in a fallen world?   Well maybe there is and maybe there ain't. I think Martha was a goddess kept furled. ⁹ We moved to Newark, to the back of beyond, Darcy and I gave up our New York dreams, Martha helped lift us up from our despond9, Painted our new bedroom in tans and creams. Do I wish I could go back to change time? No!  Martha, your life is a perfect rhyme.   
Read more

The Gandhi Ashram

The Gandhi ashram's closed for Ashura. Lizzy's on the street in heels, looking smart. "Off to Gulberg," she says, "on a tour--a tour of humanity's evil heart." "Ghodse killed Gandhi.  That can't be undone. Godra, Gulberg.  You can't prevent either. But you can shoot Ghodse with his own gun. Burn both sets of arsonists.  Spare neither!" "Yes, there are fine, fine people on both sides. An eye for an eye makes the world go blind. On Heaven's throne, love not anger presides. In Heaven kind sayings rule the mind." "But this is Hell and We, too, are God's plan. Let us punish wrong as hard as We can." [7-18-24--Ahmedabad, at the second Gandhi ashram]
Read more

Sati

Suttee comes from Sati, Shiva's wife. She cursed her father and leapt into flame. Did she err, Lizzie, in ending her life? Could she have done better in Hell's dark game?   I think that she did as well as she could. Shiva in rage cut off her father's head. What she could not do, her husband did. He danced with her body when she was dead. Remember punishment is not magic. Hell is mixed, but it, too, is comedy. Nothing in the end is truly tragic. With God, All is a Divine dramedy. You cannot conjure up dragons and towers. Better to burn than to debase your powers. [7-18-24--flight to Kochi--drawn from a book bought in the Ahmedabad airport: Mahagatha: 100 Tales from the Puranas, by Satyarth Nayak]
Read more