Expose them instead!

Let me present you with a blunt metaphor: Whoever signs up to work in a brothel should not be surprised when it comes down to this: get f…cked or get fired.

I may have shocked you with such bluntness—but that bluntness will engrave the truth within it into your memory.

Let me explain

I once heard of a man who joined a certain large enterprise—and this enterprise is special.

This particular enterprise has a purpose. I dare say it is the kind of enterprise of which one can claim that the whole thing lies—while the individuals within it do not (all or necessarily) “lie,” but rather err reliably in the same direction. (See also the essay “May One Speak of ‘Lies’?” from 2017.)

It doesn’t really matter here whether that enterprise was concretely a mainstream newsroom, some bizarre sect, or in fact a brothel. In all these cases, literally or metaphorically: If you sign up, take the expected position, and then do what you agreed to do.

Am I therefore advocating here and now for indecent forms of making a living? Am I even disparaging the honest transaction of prostitutes by lightly comparing it with the sticky lie-trade of the mainstream press?

No.

I say: Be honest with yourselves!

Be honest about what your next steps will bring about. And do not lie to yourselves.

And one more thing

As un-Christian as my metaphor may feel, the teaching and truth within it are primordially Christian!

A solid portion of the Old Testament consists of God, through His prophets, warning the Hebrews not to make common cause with evil and idolaters. One of many examples:

But thus shall you deal with them: you shall break down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and chop down their Asherim and burn their carved images with fire. For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. (Deuteronomy 7:5–6)

Jesus warns, with absolute clarity, that no person can serve an immoral master and still remain righteous:

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (Matthew 6:24)

So too Paul, in practical admonition to the Ephesians:

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them! (Ephesians 5:11)

So am I criticizing here a state-media journalist who joins the state broadcaster only to discover that he is expected to do precisely what was always to be expected?

Ah, what would such “criticism” accomplish? A person can act only in the now.

My metaphor may feel crude, because it is crude. But what remains is the lesson, the truth: Whatever context you enter, be prepared to play by its rules.

If you don’t want to play along in the brothel, then don’t sign up there in the first place. Indeed, it might be wise to think thoroughly beforehand about which path you are setting out on.

Because it still holds true: Each day comes only once. And each life, too!