Petty — or Just Very Observant?
One who’s observant and attentive to detail — and vocal about it — is liable to be accused of being “petty,” especially by the presbyopic. Yes, the NOR has been indicted for being petty, and, believe it or not, we take the charge seriously. That’s why we pay close attention when someone else is upbraided for being petty.
One of our very favorite magazines is Crisis, and in its April issue Mary Jo Anderson reviews New Catholics for a New Century by the liberal Catholic Arthur Jones, and charges the author with being, yes, petty. Noting how Jones pits the liberal Bishop Thomas Gumbleton against the conservative Archbishop Charles Chaput, she says that “While Jones concedes that both clerics admirably observe vows of poverty, he can’t resist the petty observation that while Archbishop Chaput’s possessions ‘fit in one suitcase,’ Bishop Gumbleton’s ‘fit in a very small suitcase.'”
Is Jones being petty — or acutely observant? We’re stumped, though we acknowledge that if poverty is extremely important to you, you’d probably say the latter.
“More pettiness follows…,” Anderson adds.
You May Also Enjoy
One youth says, “I look at those teachers and their books, and I say: man, you’re out in space, and I’m where I am, and there’s nothing between us.”
The Ringing of Revolution... Latin Was the Vernacular... Freedom to Speak the Truth... Heroism & Humility... Evangelizing With NFP... An Overwhelming Read... A Prison Scholar's Special Plea ... and more
Vox Day uses logic and facts (not theology) to refute the "unholy trinity" of Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens.