Original Sin
I can identify a conservative by asking one question. The question is one that not many people tend to think about these days. I came to my own conclusion to this question by mere observation and my ability to reason. The question is simple: what is the nature of man?
Is man good or evil; is man fallible or infallible? Better yet, is man perfectible?
Many today believe that we as humans have physically evolved to the point where we are able to manage our affairs without strict boundaries on the limits of power. To put it simply, we now have people smart enough to socially engineer our society without becoming tyrants.
Fortunately for us the framers of our government read enough history to know the ultimate nature of man, and to know his limits. They knew human nature so well that they created a document of negative liberties, the constitution.
It was the rise of social darwinism and the progressive movement that prompted ambitious politicians to denounce the constitution for what it is, a check on their power to control us, the people. Woodrow Wilson thought we had evolved to the point where those pesky checks and balances were not needed anymore.
We must remember our limits. Man is self-interested, and he is not capable of being perfected.
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Feb '12
Re: Original Sin
The book, "Witness" by Whitacker Chambers, explores this point in a deeply moving way. If you have not read it, I highly recommend it.
Re: Original Sin
Maureen, I just checked it out on Amazon, and I am now intrigued. Will definitely get a copy.
Feb '12
Re: Original Sin
Austin, it was one of a handful of books that deeply impacted my understanding of good vs evil in human history. His personal submission to communism, followed by an epiphany and defection, is amazing. You will learn things about America in the early 20th century that will shock you.
Feb '12
Re: Original Sin
I absolutely second the recommendation of Witness.
Feb '12
Re: Original Sin
I would tweak this another way. Original Sin is like being placed in an incredibly vast and exquisitely detailed china shop, with an enormous bull of an ego. The shop is so vast that each ego thinks it is at the center around which all else revolves -- and the china shop carries elegantly on, allowing each ego the time and experiences of brokenness necessary to discover its delusion.
Rather than knowing our limitations, I suggest a daily acknowledgment that we belong to something bigger than ourselves, and that the elegance increases the more we take in the day as observant helpers.
The concept of perfection is an ego trick to keep us down and delude us from accepting that we are made in the image of the Creator God. This life is about adventure, not perfection. Mercifully admit and own the missteps and imperfections. Walk humbly and honestly with your God, and find more and more ways to act justly and to love mercy.
Re: Original Sin
Mark, you have here a vivid display of original sin, I like it, and I will think about your analogy.
I certainly think that self interest is not a particularly bad thing. It is what drives a free market. I think what I am trying to get at is that progressives have claimed through their rhetoric and actions that they can shed their self interest for the interest of others. I claim this is not possible. And because this is not possible, there must be necessary checks on those in power to not overly abuse their authority.
Modern liberals know these checks (the constitution), and these checks hamper their ability to bring about their brand of change, change that is pressed upon us by their morally superior attitudes.
Edited on March 10, 2012 at 8:19pm