As I frequently do, I hung around after church talking to a gentleman in my ward who sees things similarly to the way I do. We talked about how the Atonement can't help people who insist that they have done nothing wrong, because in order to repent, you must first recognize the error.
Since then, I have seen several instances of what someone once described as insanity. People insist on doing the same thing and expect different results. We see them double down on errors, insisting that they have all the answers, that they are right. At the core of this is pride.
People who refuse to repent and refuse to change do not admit that they might not be perfect. Frequently, they try to save themselves, thinking that they have to prove themselves worthy before they even go to the Savior, which if they could do negates any need for Him. They are the kind who refuse to ask for directions, who turn away help, and who often lead their flocks to the edge of the cliff and off the precipice like a gathering of lemmings. They would rather be right than find out what is right.
Good men are happy to be proven wrong. Especially when they are fearful of the result, they will gladly cede being right if there is another truth. The problem with so many of our leaders is that they are not open to the truth. They want what they believe to be the truth, come what may. You can tell a man by how he reacts to principles. Evil men say, "I do not like the rules, so I will change the rules to fit my behavior" whereas good men say, "I will change my behavior to fit the rules". At this point, well-meaning people who are nevertheless not looking for truth would point out that Jesus 'got angry' sometimes. Until and unless you are perfect and your motives are perfect without any personal gain, it's still a kind of pride to justify your behavior based on that of the Savior.
Too many of us are Rameumptons. The Rameumptons were a group of people in Mesoamerica prior to the birth of Christ who got up on a stand, called the Rameumptom, and spoke forth the same prayer. In this prayer, rather than humbly admitting their imperfections, they proudly proclaimed their perfection. One day, an army from a neighboring kingdom fell upon their city in a fit of rage and laid waste to it before the sun set.
Continuity in error is a matter of pride. As we have already discussed on this blog, pride cometh before destruction. As long as you insist that you are right and double down on your errors, proudly confident that you are better than other people, you can count on destruction in some form at some point. My best friend pointed out that he doesn't worry about me because I am sometimes unsure that I'm doing what is right. He said that as soon as you're sure you are, that's when it becomes troublesome. Yesterday, Michelle Bachmann, however tongue in cheek she may claim it to be, unjustly ascribed Hurricane Irene and the DC earthquake as evidences of God's wrath and a sign that they should change. Who is she to speak for God? That's kind of vain and worrisome to me.
When I started my lecture in Organic Chemistry last night, I took a different approach. I discussed how although the author of the text was clearly very smart I only understood him because I knew the material already. So, I told the students we would take another approach. I invited them to give me feedback if it wasn't good enough. I had really tried over the weekend to assimilate information and techniques from several courses and textbooks to do what I felt would help them most, but I knew that it might not be good enough. I know things they don't, and I may not be able to convey well what I know to them. If it was poor, I invited them to correct it, because ultimately they pay me to teach them this material. I can cover it and require them to memorize it, but that doesn't mean they learned.
In the end, politicians, like professors, are paid by the people. They are obligated to deliver on work for which they are already paid. If it doesn't help them, then they have sold an inferior and useless product. Yet, too many of them double down, insistent that they are right, that they are smart, and that the fault lies in everyone else. Mr. Miyagi told Daniel "no such thing bad student; only bad teacher". It's not always true, but the leaders and teachers have an obligation to give us truth, not to force things they hope to be truth and that only work in fairy tales. Doubling down on errors might not just cause you to lose; with the trust teachers and politicians enjoy, it might also cause loss for those who pay them to deliver, and then it really is chasing good money with bad.
They press forward anyway. They see error only in the stars, forgetting that Cassius pointed out that it is usually in us.
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