Some words of wisdom. A blogger comments about the president’s bow to the Japanese emperor, “Yep. Saw the bow. Slept like a baby anyway. Don’t much care.” And explains:

[There’s] a much more fruitful way to approach this whole story. How often do we let ourselves get whipped into a frenzy by the news? Why do news people whip us up so much? What’s in it for them? Is there a scriptural mandate for being whipped into frenzies frequently? How does this square with the apostle’s counsel: “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do; and the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:8-9)

The blogger who wrote this is himself, actually, among those especially highly prone to frenzies. (Look at the tone of the rest of his post — not the substance, some of which I agree with and some of which I don’t — but the tone. You’ll see what I mean.) I point this out not to “gotcha” him with a hypocrisy charge, but to praise him for upholding the principle. It’s well known that we dislike most in others the faults we ourselves share, and this fault — the cultivation of rage in our hearts — is one I’m sure most of us know, only too well. He deserves as much slack on this as any of the rest of us.