What’d she say?
I am not a political chick. Anyone who knows me, knows that. I can’t even say I wish I were more political, because I don’t. I’m fine just the way I am. I think all politicians say whatever is necessary to get into office and then do what they want to do. So there you go.
Now Mr. C is really into politics and knows all the players. He also watches political shows on television when he gets the chance — our television is usually set to Noggin, Cartoon Network or the Disney Channel depending on who’s home. But he frequently watches news clips on the computer.
Anyway, last Sunday Mr. C was watching “Meet the Press” with Tim Russert interviewing Hillary Clinton. I was vacuuming so I didn’t hear all of what she said, the snippet I caught was something like: “We can have a Jesuitical argument…”
And I turned off the vacuum and asked Mr. C, “Did she just say, “We can have a Jesuitical argument?”
“Yeah, I think that’s what I heard.”
Hmm. Wonder what that means. That’s the first time I have ever heard that word used. I had to look it up. I found the following explanation over at America The National Catholic Weekly.
Now according to the Oxford American Dictionary, “Jesuitical” has two meanings. The first is the more benign: “of or concerning the Jesuits.” Okay, that’s straightforward. But the word has a second meaning, which is almost always pejorative and was born of the old anti-Jesuit canard that we can be a little slick with our reasoning. Here the word means, “Dissembling or equivocating, in the manner associated with Jesuits.”
So I don’t have any deep philosophical thoughts on that. I was surprised to learn a new word and I was surprised to hear Hillary Clinton throw it out in casual political conversation. But it did get me thinking on a different jag.
I am not a fan of the Clintons — his or hers.
My distaste for them has nothing to do with their politics, it has everything to do with Mr. Clinton’s lack of morality and Mrs. Clinton’s effort at covering up his lack of morals. That is the reason why I do not respect them.
However, as I sat there and listened to Hillary, they showed footage of Mrs. Clinton and her daughter, Chelsea. It was then that I realized Mr. and Mrs. Clinton seem to have raised a responsible, intelligent member of society.
Contrast that with Mrs. Lynne Spears, mother of Britney and Jamie Lynn Spears.
As a parent I understand we only have so much time to instill our values and morals in our own children. Eventually, however, those children will become young adults faced with their own choices. At some point, the child becomes responsible for her own actions, regardless of what the parent has taught her.
I am ever so hopeful my own daughters will make wise choices based on solid memories and examples. But I am not so naive to think peer pressure doesn’t exist. I am not looking forward to the teen years.
So as I sat there watching Hillary pontificate, I had one more thought: People who live in glass houses, Cardiogirl, should not throw stones.
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