We all agree that the list of these habits is a long one. One could begin with the Seven Deadlies: pride, greed or covetousness, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, and sloth. To this Christian list could be added such obvious ones as hatred, stupidity, stealing, vengeance, murder, suicide, lying, cheating—the list, it seems, is endless.
But here the thought occurs: Why not just stamp out sin as such?
The advantages of working on sin are obvious. First, this bad habit is the root of all the others. It is encompassing. Second, it is doable. If racism can be stamped out, as we should all recognize, why not all the other bad habits? And if all the others, why not future habits of which we now have only an inkling?
We can reasonably hope that by following this path, we will finally achieve the more perfect union of which our sainted forebears spoke.