Politician or Priest

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by classicman

Nice, so???

So what's the difference between being a politician or a priest?

They both live off of the proceeds from people for whom they don't provide a product or service. They are both positions where people allow themselves to be told what to do by them. They both have high incidences of abuse of power. A portion of both use their position to have sex with young boys. They are positions commonly held by hipocrits.

[SamIam]

Well, Spex, do you maybe, just maybe hate organized religion? I am going to take a great intellectural leap here and assume that you do. I have no desire to attempt to discuss religion with an individual whose mind is already made up. Go follow your bliss, but don't expect me to sign on for your journey.

[piercehawkeye45]

Originally Posted by SamIam

Well, Spex, do you maybe, just maybe hate organized religion? I am going to take a great intellectural leap here and assume that you do. I have no desire to attempt to discuss religion with an individual whose mind is already made up. Go follow your bliss, but don't expect me to sign on for your journey.

The analogy isn't so much that all priests are corrupt like politicians, but that they both hold the same unquestioned position of power that allows them to be corrupt like politicians.

[wolf]

Originally Posted by Spexxvet

So what's the difference between being a politician or a priest?

If you have no use for them, steer clear of them.

I think you are tarring the clergy with too broad a brush ... there are good, sincere folks (from all religious paths) out there. Those are the ones you don't hear about, incidentally.

All priests are not a Bernard Cardinal Law shielding a Father Geoghan.

[DanaC]

Originally Posted by Spexxvet

So what's the difference between being a politician or a priest?

They both live off of the proceeds from people for whom they don't provide a product or service. They are both positions where people allow themselves to be told what to do by them. They both have high incidences of abuse of power. A portion of both use their position to have sex with young boys. They are positions commonly held by hipocrits.

*slight wince* much as I'd like to bash the priestly profession, and much as i agree at a meta level that they offer nothing to those whose money they live off...at an individual level the majority of priests have a huge workload. Parishes are large. Lot of parishioners. Parishioners who will often turn to their priest for all kinds of help and in all kinds of emotional, physical or spiritual distress. Much of the job is essentially a kind of ad hoc social work. In poorer communities, if state assistance is not available, they are often at the frontline trying to make life a little better for people on the edge. From my perspective the solace they offer looks hollow and valueless; to those who seek such solace it may be a lifeline. Ad hoc social workers, some-time psychological councillors, debt advisors, family guidance councillors, community workers.

Most priests I know (and I know a few from my work), are hard working and not particularly well-paid. They are pretty much on call most of the time. They are heavily involved in community groups, often at the forefront of wider community activity. In fractured, working-class areas in particular, priests and vicars provide something which can come in many forms, but without which a community doesn't really exist.

A word on politicians: again, the majority of politicians don't have a national profile, are primarily involved in local matters, and are often a lot harder-working than people realise. I have lost my political verve, and have lost all faith in my own party. The system tends towards star-making, but star-making doesn't breed good politicians, it breeds stars. Meanwhile here on earth, ordinary elected representatives at various levels of the system, put in ridiculously long hours, for pay that would be laughed out of the private sector. The least useful work they do is what we hear about. The soundbites and the run for election, the populist policy announcements, the internal wrangles over party direction.

What makes it into the Britsh press, for example, is the long summer recess for members of parliament. Like work stops for them when parliament is not sitting. Actuallly, your average MP has their busiest time during the recess, because they can cram in all the local visits and campaigns they don't have time for when they're at the House of Commons til 1am on a Thursday morning. An MP's office is expected to help all sorts of people on all sorts of matters. From the single mum who feels she's been wrongly treated by her council authorities, to the asylum seeker trying not to be deported, to the local school who's fighting closure, and the employees of a major firm that's closing.

It's like any profession: some people work fucking hard.