Thursday, April 17, 2014

Cliven Bundy and Mahatma Gandhi

You probably know who Cliven Bundy is, a freeloading, baggy old millionaire rancher in Nevada who has grazed his cattle on federal land for 21 years without paying the required fee. Last week we saw a showdown on TV. Bundy made it clear that he does not recognize the federal government. They sent men to confiscate some of his cattle in lieu of payment, and Bundy, with the aid of many armed men, blocked them. The feds, avoiding bloodshed, left empty handed.

Bundy is a western type I've seen before. What was new was that a commentator compared him to Mahatma Gandhi. There is some truth in that. Both men (as another commentator mentioned) formed, in childhood, a deep attachment to cows. Gandhi held that the cow is mother to millions of Indians. "She pleads before us on behalf of the whole sub-human species for justice. . . ." Gandhi believed that the central fact of Hinduism is cow protection. Bundy protects his cows, willingly putting the lives of his family and supporters on the line if it comes to armed conflict. Gandhi said that "my ambition is no less to see the principle of cow protection established throughout the world." Bundy is more modest, attempting only a major revolution in one nation. Also he loves a good t-bone, especially that little medallion of rich meat found in the upper left corner. 

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