Many and varied modern activities presented themselves for
examination, nomination, short listing and prize giving in my theoretical 8th Deadly
Sin award scheme. It was an exhausting process of elimination. It became
obvious that many modern and seemingly new sins could be shoe-horned into the
existing 7. A startling number just begged to be shovelled into the gaping hole
marked Greed, which I think of as a subcategory of Gluttony allied with
Avarice, Acquisitiveness and Materialism.
What marked this particular chosen activity out as a
contender (to rival Marlon Brando’s Terry Malloy) was not so much that it
created a new category but that it seemed to combine more than half of the
headline sins. Certainly Pride is involved but also Covetousness, Gluttony and
Sloth. I could see no evidence of Lechery but if I could have identified Anger
and Envy there might have been an opportunity for a memorable acronym.
The nomination goes to the use of bio-fuel. Broadly speaking
this means taking stuff that hungry poor people could eat and making motor fuel
to power our overused vehicles.
I’m not going to dish out a whole Parson’s Tale deal here on the Seven Deadly Sins. Who would dare
tread on Chaucer’s toes in that way? Suffice to say, if there had been such an
abomination in Chaucer’s day, the use of bio-fuel may well have got the
medieval personification treatment and warranted its own tale.
The idea that we have the right to do this fulfils the
requirements of the definition of Pride so we’ll put that one to the side. Let
us move to Covetousness, which is at the heart of global exploitation. The Haves
are not content to use their own resources but turn beady eyes on the rich
assets of the Have-nots in countries too poor or under-resourced to defend,
develop and use them for their own people. Let’s face it, the G8 countries would
be very different places if they weren’t permanently operating with their hands
in other countries’ cookie jars, slapping away the malnourished hands of
indigenous populations.
At this level, Greed, as over-consumption, takes on a whole
new aspect. Greed or Global Gluttony is killing them by deprivation and us in
the West; not just physically but mentally, emotionally and spiritually. We
know we have too much of everything but all our efforts are being put into
making sure we can keep devouring at this devastating level. Think of that
post-Christmas Dinner feeling. We are creating that effect with our general
consumption every day.
Sloth in this context is more a kind of inertia. This may
seem contradictory but imagine an obese guy at a table stuffing himself with
fat burgers and he doesn’t stop – not because he can’t but because he can’t be
bothered. A subtle distinction but that is where we are at. The effort of
changing our behaviour seems greater to us than continuing with the deadly pursuit
of over-consumption.
I’ve often wondered why dishonesty was not an original
Deadly Sin (not to be confused with Original Sin – boy this could get
complicated) but maybe it just goes without saying. Like it goes without saying
– literally – that we cannot carry on the way we are. No one says it. (Yes – I
know dishonesty is in the Ten Commandments but we’re on sins here not
commandments so get off my case.)
It is somehow easier to promote the lie that we can
‘science’ our way out of the current mess. ‘Discovering’ new forms of exploitable
energy is euphemism for saying we intend to carry on using at our current rate
rather than bite that particular bullet, the ‘we-have-to-change’ bullet.
In the world we live in, how mad is using food for fuel?
Tomorrow, try denying your own family food for just one
whole day and tell them it’s because it’s going in the petrol tank...