In one of the comic strips that I follow—religiously, of course—a male character, acknowledging a certain lack of domestic tranquility in his home, observes that he cannot serve two masters; in this case, his wife and his mother-in-law. He is, of course, echoing the words, if not the exact sentiments, of Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:24). In today’s world, at least as recorded in the international print media, this continues to hold true, with only a few exceptions.
We start with an example close to my heart: A letter writer to The Washington Times signals agreement with columnist Thomas Sowell “that journalists cannot serve two masters: the complete truth and a political agenda.” Lucky for those of us who write for BAR that we can seek out “the complete truth” with no agenda, political or otherwise, to impede us.
What about architects? They, too, seem caught up in conflict, as reported in The Times of London: “No man can serve two masters. The architect will often find himself in the unenviable position of conniving to defend the public, the project and the building users from his own client’s relentless programme of cuts.” Don’t get me wrong: I can certainly sympathize with someone in that position, but it sounds like there are at least four masters vying for attention in this case.
For regular readers (are there any other kind?) of this column, it will come as no surprise that the worlds of politics and sports are replete with examples. Politics first. From the United States comes this assessment, under TheNew York Times headline, “The Dilemma of Fannie and Freddie”: “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were intended to serve at least two masters—the investors who put up capital and a government that wanted to help the housing industry and extend home ownership. In the end, they failed to serve either one very well.” Oh, that those in the halls of power had consulted the Bible, in addition to some elementary textbooks on accounting, before involving us all in their machinations. The New York Times columnist David Brooks is no more sanguine about the future of the now-reorganized General Motors: “G.M. now has to serve two masters, the market and the administration’s policy goals.”
Speaking of goals, let’s turn to the sports world. Thus, we read (in Australia’s Herald Sun) of the plight of Australian football star Dale Thomas, who, became “an overnight cult hero … In his short but wildly exciting AFL career [he is] made to serve two masters with mutually exclusive priorities … All the fans want is the action from the highlights reel: hangers, baulks and outlandish check-side snaps from deep on the boundary. But his real priority is delivering to his club the type of football that is often stripped of hyperbole.” I suppose I could better commiserate with Thomas if I understood what “baulks and check-side snaps” (“outlandish” or otherwise) were all about.
At the same time, however, sports provides an individual who has apparently defied the odds, and the Biblical adage, to serve two masters. This example involves a sports figure whose name I actually know, David Beckham. (In all fairness, I should admit that there are probably few people who haven’t heard of the Beckhams, David and Victoria.) London’s Guardian, under the headline, “Football: Beckham Digs Deep to Serve Two Masters,” reports that “David Beckham’s hopes of appearing in the 2010 World Cup have been boosted by an unusual ‘timeshare’ deal struck by the player’s American club, Los Angeles Galaxy, and Milan, the team where he is currently on loan.” And here I thought that all “timeshares” involved overpriced condominiums in out-of-the-way locales.
In one of the comic strips that I follow—religiously, of course—a male character, acknowledging a certain lack of domestic tranquility in his home, observes that he cannot serve two masters; in this case, his wife and his mother-in-law. He is, of course, echoing the words, if not the exact sentiments, of Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:24). In today’s world, at least as recorded in the international print media, this continues to hold true, with only a few exceptions. We start with an example close to my heart: A letter writer to The Washington Times signals […]
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