I will never forget when I first heard that Google had adopted “Don’t be evil” as its motto.  My first thought was:  Spare me the self-righteousness, please.  My second thought was that such a holier-than-thou statement could only come from a couple of immature kids who were infected with that horrific moral disease known in finer circles as “absolute moralitis.”

Thus, it was easy for me to translate Google’s “Don’t be evil” motto into “We intend to be evil.”  And evil they’ve been, so much so that the company’s nefarious track record has finally caused the powers that be to take notice.  There is little argument that the most powerful company in the history of the world is determined to silence conservative viewpoints while elevating those espoused by the Radical Left.

The Google brouhaha has reminded me that at the top of my list of pet peeves are those pompous souls whose words make it clear they believe they are morally superior to mere mortals like you and me.  I’m talking about the sanctimonious individuals who seem never to tire of pounding their chests and lecturing us with childish, hollow statements about such topics as “love” and “truth.”

The idea of “do as I say” love has become so pervasive that even President Trump blurted out, during one of his visits to Texas, “We must all love each other.”  I realize that politics is 99.99 percent B.S. and that Trump has a scary habit of spewing out dumb comments without thinking, but this particular statement made him sound very much like members of the fascist left who seem intent on wanting to force us to say and do what they believe is right.

As the great David Seabury so eloquently stated, “Love is not so simple and malleable as many suppose.  Put it in prison and it dies.  Restrict it and it turns into hate.  Force it and it dis­appears.  You cannot will love, nor even control it.  You can only guide its expression.  It comes or it goes according to those qualities in life that invite it or deny its presence.”

Ayn Rand put it in even simpler terms when she explained that if you love everybody, it only serves to diminish the value of your love.  Love should be reserved for special people in your life, those whom you most admire and respect.  If you “love everybody,” those whom you care about most are not likely to place a very high value on your love.

People who incessantly talk about how “we must all love each other” would do well to read The Road Less Traveled, by M. Scott Peck.  A psychiatrist by training, Peck wrote extensively about love, opining that most people do not understand what it entails.

For example, Peck believed that when people say they love their dog, they are unwittingly mischaracterizing their feelings.  As he put it, you cannot love your dog or cat or any other pet; you can only cathect a pet.  Love involves admiration and respect, feelings you can have only for another human being.  (Yes, I know I’ll get a lot of blowback on this, but, nevertheless, it’s true — and, I might add, self-evident.)

Which brings me to the world’s most talented lost soul, Glenn Beck, and his latest revelation about finding his true purpose in life … again.  With his company in crumble mode, Beck, in a tear-jerking article, wrote that his purpose is “clearer today than it has been in years: Love, Courage, Truth.”

Of course, bipolar Glenn has made similar statements many times in the past, but it’s clear that none of his declarations has ever succeeded in fulfilling his “true purpose.”  I will disregard the word courage as a purpose, because it is totally nonsensical in such a context.  But when people start loosely throwing around words like love and truth in conjunction with purpose, it’s time to be alert.

Beck’s insatiable thirst for the praise of his followers may yet drive him insane … hmm … make that more insane.  When he tosses around words like love and truth, make no mistake about it, he’s talking about his idea of love and his idea of truth.

As well-meaning as he may be, Beck is the epitome of an absolute moralist.  He even went so far as to plead with people not to vote for Donald Trump for the sake of his children.  I’ll never be able to figure out why he wasn’t smart enough to say “our children,”  but I think it was just an offshoot of his absolute morality.

Beck is in bad company on this one, because the Radical Left’s modus operandi has long been to lecture fellow citizens about such personal virtues as love and truth while at the same time practicing hatred and violence and spreading the most vicious lies imaginable on a daily basis.

The lesson from all this is simple:  When politicians and pinheads make stupid statements like “We all have to come together and love each other,” your best bet is to ignore everything that follows.  If patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel, bandying about words like love and truth might be the first.

Come to think of it, make that the second.  The first refuge is when someone adopts a ridiculous, self-righteous motto like “Don’t be evil.”  Thanks, Google, for the reminder.