Politics without Principles

The 7 modern sins: politics without principles, pleasures without conscience, wealth without work, knowledge without character, industry without morality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice.
~ Canon Frederic Donaldson


Ever hear of Canon Frederic Donaldson?  I never had until a few days ago when I stumbled upon this quite relevant quote for today’s society.  The surprising part is that Mr. Donaldson wrote this back in the late 1800’s in Victorian England.  Now, I am not a scholar, nor even a minor history buff of the Victorian Era.  Though I do like some of the jewelry and the gilded, grand homes. with the fine craftmanship!  The little I know about this time period is that some of the United States greatest wealth was beginning to be produced.  Montana’s own Copper Kings in Butte, MT were emerging as ‘rags to riches’ stories of turn of the century society.   Historians now deem William Clark as one of the wealthiest men in the U.S. for that era.

Across the Atlantic Ocean, the Czar Nicholas of Russia was oblivious to the frustration of the poor, hungry multitudes and their growing unrest.  The Russian Revolution was drawing near.  The European nations were still being ruled by monarchies, that were for the most part all related to one another and to the Queen of England.  In Great Britain, it's children were often left starving on the streets or in horrible conditions in orphanages.  Frederic Donaldson was astounding his Christian, Anglican, white collared world of friends with the message of social conscience.  He thought his fellow Christians, not the government should awaken to this message.  He called for ‘spiritual and economic emancipation of the people’.  The Church of England during this time was mainly a church of the rich and well to-do classes.

That brings us to his ‘7 Modern sins’ which seem to a human being of the 2010 world, as having been penned specifically for us.  Today we are bombarded with ‘politics without principles’.  We are encouraged to shut up and sit down and let our elected make decisions for us, without listening to the will of the people they govern.  Our secular world preaches "pleasure withour conscience" as a matter of course…the me, me, me society. 'Knowledge without  character', many of our young people approach their college years having been inflenced more by a TV or a daycare provider, than a parent or mentor.  They have an unprecedented entitlement mentality, 'wealth without work', and have been given much, without giving much back in return.  They come eyes downcast with a backpack of gadgets: ipods, blackberries, and laptops, all giving them communication skills at the speed of light, but few social skills.  'Industry without morality', has been spawned with a common example being that of a modern girl’s best friend, Planned Parenthood.  Ripping unborn babies from wombs, all so that we can get on with our lives and be productive, but not burdened, leaving Planned Parenthood as the great money making "abortion machine" of the 21st Century.  Oh, how our creator must weep.  'Science without Humanity', sees Intelligent Design being scoffed at.  We are instead taught, to believe we are just stardust of the cosmos in a Godless world.  Our worship has been turned into 'worship without sacrifice'.  We can now have our cake and eat it to.  Marriage is wrong, celibacy is wrong, commitment is wrong…why…because it makes someone else feel uncomfortable, feel bad about their poor decisions.  We now change our morals to match theirs.

The 7 modern sins were a wake up call for 1896, as they need to be for 2010!


If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.
~George Washington