"Vengeance is a dish best eaten cold" is the saying that leaps into my mind having heard the words of the Speaker of the House of Representatives about a proposed solution to Wall Street's recently announced crisis.
Vengeance is a strong word, dredging up the hardness of retribution and revenge. Revenge's face twists into uglier form as it is fueled not only by a sense of injustice but also by a sense of self-righteousness. Self-righteousness often fires up hubris, a distasteful picture of self-admiration and boasting.
Today, in announcing the beginning of the end of a bailout for Wall Street, the House leader gave her party the major credit for the bailout solution and innocence regarding the causes; she assigned exclusive blame for the causes of the problem to the opposing party, especially the President. Congratulations are due to the House leadership and its majority if their bailout leadership works; condolences will be due to them if it does not work.
Condolences are far better than fault-finding and attack, which tend to ricochet back onto the one that attached fault to others.
Hubris has risen to new levels in our times. It used to be that the most ignorant praised themselves. Now otherwise smart people do this, seeking advantages for themselves over the respect, at minimum, for the good-faith efforts of other individuals or the other party.
The bailout will accompany much fault-finding and blame from and toward some people on Wall Street and on Political Street. If the bailout does not work well, eventually those now praising their own work will need the graciousness of those who did not agree. I hope we will offer forgiveness, while not shying away from criticizing the plan itself.
What is most alarming is that some leading individuals on Political Street would pointedly accuse and blame the President, while blatantly praising themselves and their own hard work during a bad situation.
It would be best for all to eat this dish of self-congratulation cold. If eaten in the heat of political and ideological emotions, it may be too hot, in the long run, to swallow. We do not want anyone to choke on their own premature self-congratulation. No one knows if the proposed plan for bailout will work or for how long or how deeply it may help or hinder o Wall Street and Main Street.
For the sake of those on Main Street, especially, let us hope that if the deal goes forward it will benefit those most in trouble financially due to bad loans, where there was not a real level of truth in lending.
In any case, the American taxpayer is left unprotected. It is inevitable that whatever Wall Street must pay back to the taxpayer will be passed on to all consumers in higher prices. Watch and see before cheering.
Let us see what unfolds tomorrow and days after, when all of this comes up for a vote and, if successful, when it has time to try to work. This meal, so far, is too raw to sample.
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