Corita Kent (Sister Mary Corita): it can be said of them (1969)

Inscriptions and Marks
Signed: l.c.: Corita
(not assigned): Printed text reads: it can be said of him, as of few men in like position, that he did not fear the weather and did not trim his sails, but instead, challenged the wind itself to improve its direction and to cause it to blow more softly and more kindly over the world and its people. the New Yorker
inscription: l.l., in graphite: 68-69-81

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"We deserve to live in a land of the Decent and the home of the Thems!"

One under-appreciated aspect of the current War on Decency involves continually Themming Decency. Our incumbent characterizes Democracy, until very recently seen as a common element governing American life, as Themocracy, something ‘those other deplorable people practice.’ Anything not actively undermining Decency must be characterized as evil, even, especially, Decency itself. The Repuglicans refer to The Democratic Party as Themocrats, and insist that none of ‘us’ should be caught dead collaborating with ‘those people.’ I have even begun self-identifying as a Them, since that label clearly distances me from the apparent source of the problem. If ‘us’ stands for what he espouses, I gladly see myself as a Them. Us, once so inclusive, has become exclusive in a way that some wealthy golf retreats might seek to distance their members from all others. In this way, they’ve already successfully seceded from our union. So much the worse for ‘em, and good riddance!

Yet our union remains strong if wrongly characterized by those dedicated to undermining Decency. The very need to accomplish things by extra-legal means demonstrates a certain contempt for Decency and the society that supports it. If a chief executive can manage by whim, the organization can’t help but become hopelessly lost. Those who characterize such cheating as winning have lost the judgment necessary to govern anything, most especially themselves. They conflate winning a round with winning a contest, and gloat on over-leveraged borrowed time. They will find few allies once the Thems become the majority party again, and their tactics seem most effective at transforming formerly all-in us-es into thoroughly disgusted Thems, thus renewing our presently beleaguered Themocracy.

Democracy, you see, was initially intended to represent society’s Thems. Monarchies and duchies, and such, served crowned heads well enough, but tended to underrepresent the majority of the people they governed. Given voice, the majority’s inherent diversity became a strength, regardless of the unsupported, firmly held beliefs the elites adopted opposing DEI. They believed in a social evolution that was wholly unobserved in nature but well-represented in the literature. It tried to convince those who’d never held power that they were naturally incapable of managing it, that it required some genetic predisposition. They believed in many fictions that the Thems had always questioned. Until the United States of America came into being, those fictions had been pretty much unquestioned among the so-called ruling classes.

When Thems govern, things tend to get messy. Deliberation replaces decisiveness, and care supercedes an inevitable cruelty. If the executive frames every decision in terms of what’s suitable for ‘me,’ he cannot possibly properly represent anybody but himself. He was never supposed to be anything more than the people’s representative, servant and steward rather than an indecent king. Kingliness is naturally anything but regal, for it must ultimately rule by cruelty, defining policy and forcefully enforcing it. Otherwise, s/he might be perceived as something other than wise. Wisdom seems overrated. Thems prefer a mix of Decency and naiveté such that we more appropriately represent the aspirations of the masses. A properly run Themocracy eschews privilege other than that enjoyed equally by everyone, as opportunity rather than inheritance, as birthright instead of dominion.

Democracy, Themocracy, attempts to make good the notion that the meek might inherit this earth, that those invested in taking mean advantage should not succeed. It might be easier to accumulate wealth without any rules for comportment, but every man cannot abide by such lawlessness, for we require a more level playing field. We need to subsidize each other to prosper. Nothing works otherwise. Those who wish for domination were never native to this nation and qualify as immoral aliens, suitable for immediate deportation. Let them flee to Ariby or someplace more friendly to shieks. We deserve to live in a land of the Decent and the home of the Thems!

©2025 by David A. Schmaltz - all rights reserved

Tags: #Decency, #PureSchmaltz