The spread of evil is the symptom of a vacuum. whenever evil wins, it
is only by default: by the moral failure of those who evade the fact
that there can be no compromise on basic principles.
— Ayn Rand, Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, 1966

I should first clarify today\’s entry by saying I didn\’t actually read the book. This is one of my emailed daily quotes. Don\’t want to appear smarter or more well read than I actually am!

And I am not in any way implying that the morally neutral Roomba is evil and that the presence of a Roomba is the invitation for evil to spread. Really. Unless you believe that pet hair acts as a shield against evil. And that is a topic for another day, as I personally believe cat hair is evil and a Roomba would therefore be an active defense against evil and not one of Ayn Rand\’s vacuums. Which begs the question, When is a Roomba not a vacuum?

My all time favorite vacuum advice comes from another mother with two sons, Larry Crabb\’s wife, Rachel. She says you should store your vacuum in the living room, plugged in, so when people come over, they can see that you were just getting ready to vacuum when they interrupted, so they\’ll excuse the yucky rugs. I may need that excuse more in the new house, since the yucky carpeting there doesn\’t hide dirt nearly as nicely as berber.

Nature abhors a vacuum and the universe is expanding toward chaos. Vacuum here meaning nothingness and empty space. Jesus says that evil moves into empty houses in greater quantity. Which Rand is saying above, that if there is lack of action for good, action for evil will necessarily take over. The antidote, being, do good. Maybe why a large part of the New Testament isn\’t necessarily \”Don\’t do bad\” but \”Do Good.\” If you are doing good, you\’re too busy to do bad, and you are less likely to want to screw up the good you are doing. Less likely, but not unlikely.

So if you want to not compromise on Basic Principles (BP), it helps to know what Basic Principles you aren\’t compromising. And this, I believe is the basis for most arguments and wars. Not apathy, although it helps, but the disagreement of which principles are the ones that cannot be compromised. If one sides key BP is that you should save money for private sector at all costs, and the other side\’s is that no one should go to bed hungry and illiterate, there is a conflict. If one side thinks that their version of God is true and another thinks theirs is, you have Armageddon.(This can be as simple as denomination vs denomination or as big as Islam vs Christian). I\’m not saying there isn\’t one true Truth. I believe there is. But if part of the one true Truth is that ALL people are fallen image bearers of the Creator, one must tread lightly and treat them as such.

\”The battle is not against flesh and blood, but powers and principalities…\” Those flesh and blood fallen image bearers? We\’re supposed to be all on the same side.