The Moral Crisis of Incorrigibility

The time is upon us. It has been but with impeachment now, it seems to me we have run out of ways to avoid it, again. I'm of the view that when we face the hard truths in life we stand a better chance of living with ourselves. I refuse denial or any of its softenings to make the ugly palatable. I prefer dealing with the diagnosis and the facts and then figuring out how to cope, how to deal, what to do. None of my need for realism makes the world a less beautiful or wondrous place. I insist on both. 

How you face the cruel facts of the world is up to you. Some situations create moral crisis and not every one of those we can reconcile. Somehow we have to carry on. Let's start with a word that should have deep ethical resonance

incorrigible
[ in-kawr-i-juh-buh l, -kor- ] not corrigible; bad beyond correction or reform: incorrigible behavior; an incorrigible liar.impervious to constraints or punishment; willful; unruly; uncontrollable: an incorrigible child; incorrigible hair.firmly fixed; not easily changed: an incorrigible habit.not easily swayed or influenced: an incorrigible optimist. noun a person who is incorrigible.

I've been keeping track of the 538 poll of polls. The Republican Cult has not moved one bit. Nothing will move them. It is a solid 41-42%, never falling out of that range of support. Everyday the evidence accumulates and everyday the situation deepens. It's not just the vile menace, it's a worldview that is coming into real policy and deeply changing people's lives for the worse.

 

Is there an incorrigible person in your life? I don't know what anyone can do with this situation except understand it. I'm not sure how you cope if there is such a "good" person in your family. What do we do with ourselves and with those who are incorrigible? How do we respect their choices? How do we live with values and ideas that are beyond the pale, not just political disagreements.
I'm not using "incorrigible" as a mere adjective but rather to raise a moral crisis. Without moral crisis there is no reason to doubt one's next choice. That is the Gita's first point. The things these "good" people want are no less vile than the American situation in 1859.

I'm not asking for anything from anyone who has this problem in their lives. If some of those 42% are your family or friends and you insist they are "good people," I know this is hard. I know you love them. But do give thought, as painful as it is, what it could mean that they are "good." They are good _to you_ or in some or another circumstance that suits them. They aren't criminals and they show up when things go wrong---but for whom? What is it to be good when it comes to supporting a worldview that is in fact destroying the planet and ruining lives? What is good about a government that is cruel, no, utterly inhumane and in violation of basic human rights?

Are these "good" people if you are a woman needing healthcare or a person of color or a person whose gender or religion or lifestyle whose very existence demands their control? Let's be honest. These good people are not part of the problem, they are the problem. Because they are going to vote and they support evil. Evil. Does that make them evil? Is complicity in evil enough? Of course it is. That hurts again. What do you do when someone you love is complicit in evil? Perhaps for you love somehow conquers all and you can accept these choices because you care for these persons deeply. Does that implicate you in the evil? Love is a feeling. When is it an excuse?

The only votes that will really matter are in States where these "good" white people will decide for the rest of us if this scourge continues. That may give someone the chance to avoid the incorrigible as a personal issue. If your incorrigible lives in Massachusetts or California or New York, their choices are muted. Does that matter? I merely ask.

I don't have any solution nor much in the way of advice. Frankly, I am sure that I couldn't deal with an incorrigible in my life but to excise the relationship. Truth is, I have done that already. I can't look that person in the eye anymore. I had to walk. I say that because that is my choice but I would not presume to advise nor do I think this should or needs to be your choice. You need to live with yourself. That is the most important thing I can think of. The rest is living. I think what we have is a moral crisis for people of conscience who must suffer an incorrigible. I feel for you, truly. It must be deeply painful to live with it. I wish you well.