Wednesday 12 September 2012

Samuel Adams, Free Speech, Consistency

Recently I commented to some friends..

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I'm reminded of my tour of Faneuil Hall

There, they told us [tongue in cheek] how Samuel Adams would persistently quash anyone who opposed free speech!

I'm fairly sure there's a sermon there somewhere!

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Then I also recalled what a very wise manager told me when I first started as a Programmer at Aetna Life and Casualty

"Rich, watch out when companies declare platitudes like 'We're a company that welcomes suggestions,' Or 'we are open-minded, etc' The more they loudly protest something, usually the worse they are at it."

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Indeed. It is the converse, the flip-side of "kol Happoseil passul... b'moomo poseil.". IOW there are hypocritical fault finders who identify their OWN faults in others.

Similarly there are those who project their own shortcomings as strengths. Closed-minded they protest that they are open-minded. Short-tempered they claim to be patient. Stingy they claim to be generous.

The issue of hypocrisy is complex. In term of doing Teshuvah, being in denial, denies oneself of the ability of Haratah, to be mitchareit. Full Self-Honesty therefore, is perhaps THE very first pre-requisite to T'shuvah.

Shanah Tovah,
Best Wishes for 5773!

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