Word: pious
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...elimination of sexism in American thought, they argued, it had to be especially sensitive to this question; and this case certainly, was an example of gross insensitivity. Even worse, the argument went, the appearance of such an ad in The Crimson's advertising columns would prove us hypocrites: pious about condoning sexism in our editorials, we would nonetheless be proved not so pure when it came to taking money to condone such sins on the back page...
...negotiations on our demands were conducted--an atmosphere that Daniel Steiner '54, general counsel to the University, characterized as one of "mutual respect." We must state very frankly that we have no respect for people who deal with students in this way in private while in public making pious statements about their commitment to reasoned discussion and rational discourse. And in this we include not only Ira Jackson and Archie Epps, but also Derek Bok, the man who has the responsibility for setting the moral tone for the Harvard administration...
Guys and Dolls gently spoofs the pious. Bible-reading has more serious overtones in Inherit the Wind, by Lawrence and Lee. The play is based on the famous John Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925, in which a young schoolteacher was tried for teaching his science classes Darwin's theory of evolution--a practice forbidden by statute in his Bible-Belt state. The political orator William Jennings Bryan led the prosecution, while Clarence Darrow defended the teacher. Though the characters in Inherit the Wind are but thinly disguised, the playwrights have turned a sensationalistic trial into a lyrical clash between tradition...
...cannot dismiss his faith, no one could, for it had been fiercely stripped of any pietism or sentimentality. Even my father kneeling with a rosary in his hands was not a pious sight. His faith had the appeal of war, and the horror. It was a force: manly, gladiatorial. No woman could have approached anything like it, as a woman's inevitably have to. He and God were fellow soldiers. Because he knew what he wanted, he felt entitled to do anything, and was capable...
...thus becomes imperative for the West, particularly the United States, to learn from past mistakes, the replace its pious words in defense of Namibian independence with substantive steps designed to force South Africa to back down and permit U.N.-supervised elections. It should rush the U.N.-endorsed proposal for internationally supervised elections through the Security Council--preferably before the Nationalist party finishes selecting a new South African prime minister -- and present the South Africans with the demarche accompanied by an ultimatum: either accept U.N.-supervised elections in Namibia, or face across-the-board economic sanctions from the nations...