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[Bartholomew]

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Virtues and Allies

We all know that in support of the Virtues we need to battle those who hold the Virtues to scorn. Equally obvious is that we would be wise to enlist allies in this struggle. What is more sublime is what methods should be employed to find suitable allies. Very often allies have been chosen through matter of convenience. All to often the vision used is one of, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” But is that even a valid concept, let alone a preferred criterion for choosing allies in the struggle for the triumph of the Virtues. Of course I find fault with this form of expedience, as it will most certainly lead to further conflict and compromising the Virtues. It is not possible to further the cause with sincerity concerning the Virtues with allies that do not hold the same passion for the Virtues. When it comes to living and realizing the Virtues there can be no compromise, no equivocation, no half measures. So by choosing allies of convenience we have diluted our cause, our root motivation, and our commitment to the Virtues.

So, what then should be our criteria for choosing allies in the struggle and furthering the Virtues in our society? What would serve us best in this crucial venture to implement the Virtues as the basis and rooting of our society? Obviously, the first step is to ally only with those who are fully involved and behind our goals of implementing the Virtues into our society. Where this may make our efforts more difficult in the short run, but will enable our fight to be pure to espouse the Virtues in the future. Picking allies who are as pure in their pursuit of the Virtues as we ourselves are, we make the statement that what we stand for are the Virtues rather than taking the expedient and easy paths to victory. After all, is it honestly a victory for the Virtues if we needed to compromise the Virtues in order to win the day? Have we truly made any gain if we cast the Virtues aside when times call for conflict just to gather more to join our cause? Of course we have gained only a victory in battle, an empty victory in battle if we cast aside our pure cause of the Virtues.

So, with this knowledge in hand, how is it we choose with whom we should seek alliances? Well, first we put personal feelings aside and choose to support those who, like us, support the Virtues first, last, and in all ways. Once we have chosen those who are true friends and supporters of the Virtues, we group together in mutual and unwavering support basing everything we hold dear to further the Virtues. We then take up a new calling for choosing allies. Instead of “The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” we use, “The enemy of my friend is my enemy.” By using this we will make all who would combat against the Virtues our enemy and those who defend furthering the Virtues as our friends. We would become an alliance of the Friends of Virtue.

Finally, who would be considered worthy of being called a Friend of Virtue? We must take care to include those who further the Virtues in all that they do and be wary of those who only support the Virtues at times they are under the scrutiny of others. We must choose those who fervently support all the Virtues all the time, not those who choose Virtues they support and discard the Virtues they find inconvenient. Our alliance of the Friends of Virtue must support all the Virtues all the time and nothing less. In this endeavor, only purity of purpose will suffice. Anything less is a recipe for disaster and further conflict instead of a pure victory of the Virtues. So, let us go forth and make allies under the banner of “Friends of Virtue” and follow up by supporting with our efforts and lives that “The enemy of the Virtues and my Friends of Virtues are my enemy. Then and only then can we move forward to have a society built, guided, and rooted in the Virtues!
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Bartholomew; Celebrant of Virtue {HCV}