Ex-VP Dick Cheney has a new heart. His old diseased one was twice the size of his good-as-gold new organ, which pumps like a champ.
After viewing the mangled discards in a slop bucket alongside an X-ray of the new and improved tight little organ, counter-intuition strikes again. "Bighearted" usually implies someone with great love. Alas, this similitude lives on in the world of metaphor only. In truth, Dick's repulsive leftovers mimic his equally repulsive thought processes.
This man wielded power over the lives of millions. His duplicitous policies caused mayhem, death and destruction. At the very same time, he fought to live by undergoing every heart procedure known to mankind. He now enjoys a life of peace on his Wyoming ranch, delighting in his borrowed heart and granddaughter's antics as she barrel races her thoroughbred, a good ol' tradition of the American West.
When questioned as to whether his chronic and debilitating heart ailment effected his judgment as Vice President, instead he proudly pointed to his achievements, one of which was "enhanced interrogation" a.k.a. torture. A direct violation of international law which goes largely unenforced, nonetheless Dick was proud of his trademark policy.
Watching the cold blue eyes of this man as he describes his innovations as it they were the crown jewels of American diplomacy, an icy thought-wind traverses my body from head to toe. And then, the usual dismay coupled with amazement.
How can a human being of Dick's education and intelligence not understand that the will to live and love is universal? That pain, needlessly inflicted for self-serving needs, is a crime against humanity, one which requires the most profound repentance and reparations to repair?
The answer is obvious -- it is an ingrained ignorance of the interconnectedness of all beings and a view that "the other" does not require the same kindness and care that we give "our own."
The most profound insight leads to the conclusion that we are interpendant. Scientists know this, yogis know this, and anyone with their eyes wide open can see this.
The truth is hidden in plain sight.
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