大象传媒

A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Hope Lonergan

Good morning.

Charm is a slippery, fraudulent parlour trick. A way to manoeuvre people away from their better judgement or finesse them into providing utility. It鈥檚 a performance that鈥檚 evaluated on whether it stimulates the interlocutor 鈥� and in such a way that it fills them with false hope or satiates their vanity.

I always thought I was immune to the tactical nature of a charmer鈥檚 seduction. That I had a shrewd, hardboiled, discerning personality despite a veneer of congeniality. I鈥檝e often seen public figures I鈥檝e previously held a robust disdain for, easily handling a series of soft ball questions. In that setting they might present as quite amiable with a knack for social lubrication and I鈥檝e found myself getting pulled in, starting to question the narratives around them. Maybe they鈥檙e flawed, broken people who don鈥檛 really understand the warping effect they have on, say, world events or public opinion.

And 鈥� as always when trying to rehabilitate reprehensible figures who have some hold on you that鈥檚 hard to reconcile with your ethics 鈥� I looked towards that powerful religious virtue: forgiveness.

Another controversial figure recently wrote: 鈥淔orgiveness is available for all of us鈥�. A noble sentiment. One I feel deeply in my bones. But the thing about forgiveness is it requires a certain amount of sacrifice and accountability 鈥� a pound of flesh 鈥� to elicit that level of understanding from the world. You can鈥檛 expect respite from judgement if you鈥檙e avoiding the singeing light of exposure and keep trying to force your misdeeds back into the dark.

So today, I pray for real, soul-searching accountability, and a forgiveness that鈥檚 earned by their actions. I pray for those who have the fortitude to approach their bad behaviour head-on and find ways to rectify their mistakes.

Amen.