Least

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ .....

“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ " Matthew 25: 40 & 45


I'm not a bible-thumper. It's not needed on this forum. But while reading some of my favorite Gandhi quotes, I was reminded of the above sayings. I had been reading Gandhi as I thought about those Americans who think this is a christian nation. I was thinking about the least in this country, after watching coverage of a criminal case in Kentucky.

It's the September 19 shooting of a judge by the sheriff while the two were meeting in the judge's chambers. At the time, news reports hinted that the murder might be related to a deputy who was recently convicted for having "sex for favors" with a female inmate, while in the judge's chambers. Since that time, there has been evidence that the judge had been involved in similar activities with female inmates. Thus far, there has been nothing made public to tie the sheriff to the making of the chambers into a brothel. But there are reports the judge and others filmed themselves.

Now, again, I'm no bible-thumper. But I suspect that women who are poor, having issues with addiction, and are frequently found in county jails qualify as being among the least in our society. That's just my opinion, and fits what I understand that the prophet Jesus was speaking of. Others may disagree.

Some might think this was an isolated case, involving a couple bad apples. But there are more than a few bad apples. Back in 2018, you may remember, the PA Attorney General charged the Bedford County DA with 31 counts of corruption. These included offenses of protecting drug dealers, revealing the identities of police informants, and having "sex for favors" with the females charged with crimes that he found attractive.

In a society that respects the rule of law, one would expect that when a powerful government official betrayed the public's trust in such a hideous manner, they would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Indeed, the state's Attorney General -- who is now the governor -- told reporters he would prosecute this case "without fear or favors." However, he reached a deal where the (former) DA would plead guilty, but not spend any time in jail -- unlike the women had he sexually abused.

We have entered a phase where a convicted sex offender will enter the White House next month. Good people ask, "How can this be?" and "What can we do to protect society?" I think those are important questions, of course, and suspect that the answer to the first one can be found in how our society has treated the least of our brothers and sisters at the local, county, and state levels for far too long. Just my opinion, of course.