The Moral Imperative - again!

Ralph Nader has announced plans to run again for the US presidency. The anti-establishment consumer advocate made the announcement in a televised interview on Sunday.

He said most Americans were disenchanted with the Democratic and Republican parties - who were not discussing the urgent issues facing American voters

People, he said, felt "locked out, shut out, marginalised and disrespected".

He called Washington DC "corporate-occupied territory" that turns the government against the interest of its own people.

Referring to the three main contenders in the race so far, he questioned: "Do they have the moral courage, do they have the fortitude to stand up to corporate powers and get things done for the American people?"

"We have to shift the power from the few to the many."

Coincidentally, a site that is normally outside my range of browsing pleasure popped up in response to a query. It was "Ask Moses.com" at http://www.askmoses.com

On this site I found that Rabbi Naftali Silberberg has written:

"Our sages teach us that when G-d created Man, he was concerned that the angels would be jealous, for Man is the only creation like them who understands right from wrong. So G-d consulted with the angels before creating Man and said, "Let us make Man."

The lesson from this is that one should always seek advice, even from those who are inferior to you."

Apparently, even when you are the Almighty and can create and/or destroy the universe and all things in it, you stop, pause, think of all those lesser, inferior creatures around you, and seek their advice – before you get on and do what you wanted to do in the first place.

All this emphasised with the moral imperative "should."

The word 'should' is OK from the mouth of the Almighty - after all who has a greater claim to the moral imperative.

When uttered by lesser beings though, it could be a worry!

So here is a tip for all Americans:

Be careful who you vote for in your next election.

You can know with considerable certainty that you will NOT have the Almighty in power, regardless of who you vote for.

At least make sure that the person you elect consults with the lesser beings around them, preferably those whose lives and well being are likely to be put at risk by the decisions that they make.

The chances are that if you choose wisely then perhaps they will tend to exercise restraint when they are tempted to use the 'moral imperative.'

Just remember that Nader is a two time loser - he tried and failed in 2000 and again in 2004.

2% of Americans voted for him last time and had his votes gone elsewhere, especially in crucial states like Florida we may not have had to put up with "Dubya" for the last few years.