A Feckless Thug

by AllTimeJeff 4 Replies latest jw friends

  • AllTimeJeff
    AllTimeJeff

    Just a few words on this rather extraordinary scene from "The West Wing". The video below shows the President, Jed Bartlett, after losing his secretary tragically, who has known Jed since high school. The entire episode centers on a crossroads as the fictional president is going through a lot of personal turmoil while losing someone he has loved and known for 40 years. He is also a strong Catholic, a believer in god.

    Yet, with all that has gone on, the President, at the end of one of the toughest days of his life, has a talk with god.

    Btw, you will hear the designation "feckless thug" in this clip. Allow me to define this so you won't be wondering about it.

    feckless:
    1. ineffective; incompetent; futile: feckless attempts to repair the plumbing.

    2. having no sense of responsibility; indifferent; lazy. thug: a cruel or vicious ruffian, robber, or murderer. One more thing, whatever conversation this may inspire, whether a defense of theism, smart ass remarks (plenty of those are expected) or some deeper introspective comments (I am hopeful for more then 2 of those variety), lets try not to throw rocks and/or feces at those you disagree with.

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  • cantleave
    cantleave

    The god of the old testament and the one portrayed by many fundamentalist evangelical religions including JW's meets your definition of a "Feckless Thug".

    The god that kills because he doesn't like what hears or sees, a god that admits to jealously and bullies when in a jealous rage - he's a "Feckless Thug".

    The god that allows the suffering of millions and responds by threatening even more misery on the human race is "feckless thug".

    I no longer believe in god so therefore the PEOPLE that created the idea of the god I have just described - they were / are the Feckless Thugs.

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  • BurnTheShips
    BurnTheShips

    He's no Job, that's for sure. But it makes for some drama.

    BTS

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  • Snotrag
    Snotrag

    I think this was more of a WTF from Jed than anything else. Losing someone you love is one of the most cold slaps in the face that humans have to bear. The context of this story is about how little control we have of so many circumstances in our lives, even the most powerful person in the world cannot have it their way. Using "feckless thug" as a term in this scene had to be a brilliant insight for the writer, where else could such a term be used with so much impact than in a church to god by the president. Really skillfull writing.

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  • BurnTheShips
    BurnTheShips

    Nice insights, Snotrag.

    I think most of us have stood in Jed Bartlett's shoes, to greater or lesser degrees.

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