Patriots or fools?
Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs, rather than a fool in his folly. — Proverbs 17:12
Photo and story by Stacey Warde
The classic definition of a fool is someone who believes in a lie, who lives their life according to fables and unfounded claims, who refuses to acknowledge truth, all of which eventually result in their own or someone else’s ruin.
Fools are not to be trifled with; they are supremely dangerous — better to come across a bear robbed of her cubs than to meet a fool in his folly, says the author of Proverbs. They pose a real threat to the health and well-being of the community with their loud, false, and vociferous claims.
They bear false witness and malign others to further their own ends, and refuse to bend their hearts or minds to truth despite all the evidence, and willfully submit themselves (and those within their circle of influence) to eventual disgrace and humiliation. A wise person seeks to heal and mend, to build and create rather than malign and destroy.
There’s no peace or rest with fools; only calamity. They set their sights on the destruction of all that is good. Their goal is to demolish and tear down. They haven’t any plan or clue on how to make things better, only on how to destroy, disrupt, and divide. Their…
