Societal Vices

[james03]

My purpose for this post is to point out vices that are common in our society, but are somewhat hard to pin down.  You know people are acting screwed up, but can't quite put your finger on it.  There's also the obvious, such as sins against the 6th and 9th commandments.  You can discuss them if you want, but I'm concentrating on some other vices.

Servility:  This is the offense of excess obedience.  People guilty of this vice overlook St. Thomas's teaching that governments have no authority when it operates outside of its sphere, e.g. when the Canadian government decrees things that violate the Charter of Rights, or when the decree is unjust, such as mandates that serve no purpose and do harm.  You see this when people went along with mask mandates for kids and social distancing.  Well the government said to do it, so I'll force my kid to muzzle and not play.  This is the vice of servility.

Guile:  This is deceiving through words.  It can either be a knowing deceit through rhetoric, or an outright lie.  It is in your face everyday, either with news reporters, or in the speech of politicians and "experts".  Sadly it is present in the Vatican.  Politicians are known for it, but lately it has been completely over-the-top.

Pusillanimity: Think of this as the hand wringing excuse maker who has an excuse in every pocket.  Women seem to have an innate instinct of revulsion when faced with a pusillanimous man.  Pusillanimity opposes Magnanimity, which is believing in great things and accomplishing them.  It shows up in ugliness and slothful behavior -- people satisfied to sit around doing nothing.  It could be due to a hatred of God, or it could be from mal-education.  It is very destructive on society.

Inconstancy:  Withdrawing from doing a good thing for a lesser thing.  We see this in the "instant gratification" mindset.  Usually seen in backwards cultures, it is now widespread in the West.

Precipitation:  When we react without reason.  We see this in society where right/wrong does not matter, just how someone feels about something.  Also seen when people are accused of "violence" or "hate speech" when they point out an error.

[james03]

It's almost like the lid of hell was pried off on all these vices came pouring out in large measure.

[james03]

Here's another big one: sloth.  Here's a short video from another thread (hat tip to Miriam_M).  In the video Fr. Ripperger mentions that Sloth is due to a lack of Charity.  Is it any wonder that sloth is so widespread when we are beyond a lack of Charity and instead society has a hatred of God?

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoqMAyKYXj8[/yt]

[Miriam_M]

Important point about the hatred of God.