Cautionary Thoughts on Easter
Mindful that the universe of Ricochet is composed of an exquisite array of faiths, beliefs, and fine minds, it is with some trepidation that I posit the following proposition for your consideration: To the extent that our nation has turned its back on the The Creator, from whom our Declaration of Independence says our freedoms originate, we have become in fact less free. Put another way, we've asked God to leave various spheres of our society and He has obliged. And how is that working out for us?
The headlines tell us in grisly detail what happens when people lose the anchor of a moral code and drift about rudderless in a sea of relativism. Below, Heather Higgins recounts the barbaric deeds of adolescent savages in Florida. In Baltimore, a 14 year old girl and an 18 year old girl beat a 22 year old MacDonalds customer to the point that the victim went into seizures while an employee filmed the crime. Some onlookers called for the attackers to stop, while others can be heard laughing in the video. In Panama City, FL, spring breakers trashed a Burger King restaurant in a rampage that included one maniac jumping onto the counter, picking up one of those coin-filled charity containers and striking an employee with it. She's in the county hoosegow, but what are we to left to conclude? In a country in which a simple trip to get the kids a happy meal can turn into life-threatening mayhem, are we more or less free?
And what are the implications for our public institutions if we subordinate Eternal Truths to Man's Whim? If our rights in fact come from God, as the Declaration supposes, then is it a legitimate exercise of power when men usurp those rights? The framers evidently didn't think so, writing as they did a Constitution that places specific limits on the power that may be exercised by government, recognizing instead that a government's legitimate role is to protect the citizen's rights, rather than infringe upon them. This respect for the individual, informed as it is by respect for the divine, forms the basis of civil society. To the extent that the power-hungry have substituted their audacity and hubris for the transcendent nature of the limited exercise of power, they have undermined the civic and religious institutions that constitute the moral foundation of our society. In so doing, they take the “civil” part of civil society out of the equation. The resulting breakdown in social order is in the headlines.
So, what to do? Perhaps it comes down to individual responsibility. Benjamin Franklin admonished us that, “A nation of well informed men who have been taught to know and prize the rights which God has given them cannot be enslaved. It is in the region of ignorance that tyranny begins.” This “region of ignorance” has been codified in an education system which produces graduates who can barely read their diplomas but who have it on good authority that the world's evils are rooted in capitalism. So I ask you, is there cause for hope?
As the sun peeked above the horizon on Good Friday, I was on a two lane highway between Richmond and Lynchburg, VA, when I saw a solitary figure walking along the roadside. Driving closer, the image of a clean cut middle-aged man wearing a windbreaker was unremarkable except for the fact that he was bent over while walking. As I approached, I could see that he was carrying something over his shoulder. Moving my 18 wheeler over one lane to give him plenty of room as I passed, I saw that he was in fact carrying a large cross. A simple act of devotion, devoid of fanfare, symbolizing The Savior's willingness to take responsibility for the shortcomings of others. I wonder if, by becoming more involved in our country's civic life, many of our own citizens have shouldered responsibility for the nation's future? Perhaps there is hope after all.
Of course, we will have more opportunities to engage the little would-be tyrants who would dictate our light bulbs, our cars, our toilets, our property, even our physical health and well being. But on Easter, it's good to pause and give thanks to the Author of the freedoms we defend in word and deed. And in so doing, perhaps we can begin to reverse the trend that has thus far proven by default the wisdom of Benjamin Franklin's observation that, “Man will ultimately be governed by God or by tyrants.”
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Jun '10
Re: Cautionary Thoughts on Easter
We must submit willingly to God, he does not govern us. That is the nature of free will. When we do not submit we fall into evil. Yet, there is hope, it is sometimes hard to find, but we know that God's love will triumph as it did in the resurrection we will be celebrating again tomorrow. The hope we so desperately seek most times seems impossibly slim, even irrational in the presence of the evil we see, but it's is all we will ever have. We either see it for what it is and keep trying to renew it on a daily basis or we give up and in doing so blaspheme.
Edited on Apr 23, 2011 at 8:54pmDec '10
Re: Cautionary Thoughts on Easter
The 80 / 20 rule has been a good historical proxy: 80% of the population rides on the backs of the 20%.
Our historic first Islamic apostate president and his brethren have the idea of fundamentally transforming our way of life into a 95 / 5 rule: 1% of centralized government authoritarians dictate how the wealth of the 4% shoulders the burden of the ride for the other 95%.
Re: Cautionary Thoughts on Easter
Charles Gordon: The 80 / 20 rule has been a good historical proxy: 80% of the population rides on the backs of the 20%.
Our historic first Islamic apostate president and his brethren have the idea of fundamentally transforming our way of life into a 95 / 5 rule: 1% of centralized government authoritarians dictate how the wealth of the 4% shoulders the burden of the ride for the other 95%. · Apr 23 at 8:27pm
Someone needs to tell Obama that you don't follow the Biblical injunction for a person to be his brother's keeper by enslaving him. Theft is not charity. Coercion is not compassion. And "fundamentally transforming" the freest nation on the planet is not a good idea in general.
Mar '11
Re: Cautionary Thoughts on Easter
Amen!
Jul '10
Re: Cautionary Thoughts on Easter
Dave, very well put. Francis Schaeffer was pointing out the need for a moral underpinning to our culture and marking its erosion 40 years ago in much the same terms. Hope you had an enjoyable drive through my neck of the woods (Lynchburg), and a safe and happy Easter!
Edited on Apr 23, 2011 at 8:56pmRe: Cautionary Thoughts on Easter
Whiskey Sam: Dave, very well put. Francis Schaeffer was pointing out the need for a moral underpinning to our culture and marking its erosion 40 years ago in much the same terms. Hope you had an enjoyable drive through my neck of the woods (Lynchburg), and a safe and happy Easter! · Apr 23 at 8:55pm
Edited on Apr 23 at 08:56 pm
Thanks. You as well, Whiskey Sam. Lynchburg is a lovely place. The roads were a little confusing to me, but that's nothing new. Lately, if the directions start making sense, I get a little worried.
Jul '10
Re: Cautionary Thoughts on Easter
The joke around town is that the roads were laid out by following a cow. Where the cow went, the road went.
Mar '11
Re: Cautionary Thoughts on Easter
Not only do you have a great point, but I keep running into an alarming number of people that call themselves conservative of late that think moral issues not only don't matter, they're in fact taking the Left's stance that concerns about morality and religious traditions in law and society are holding the conservative movement back. I had a self-described conservative all but call me homophobic today because I noted that the Bible condemns homosexuality. Increasingly, we're not allowed to call a spade a spade.
Jan '11
Re: Cautionary Thoughts on Easter
We are fast becoming a nation of people that Paul spoke about in the first chapter of Romans.
Feb '11
Re: Cautionary Thoughts on Easter
That is the traditional Rabbinic commentary on Numbers 21, 4-9. The People are tired of the supernatural and want to be normal. God says "You want normal, here's normal. This is a desert. It's full of snakes. Have your 'normal.'"
Feb '11
Re: Cautionary Thoughts on Easter
And speaking of normal, Palestinian Authority "policemen" shot a group of Jews returning from prayers at Joseph's Tomb, which under the Oslo agreements was supposed to be under Israeli control. One dead - word is he is the nephew of the Minister of Culture and Sports, Limor Livnat of the Likud.
Judith must not be up yet.
Edited on Apr 23, 2011 at 11:06pmMay '10
Re: Cautionary Thoughts on Easter
I appreciate the caution with which you proceed, Dave. I must say however that I am very often confronted with the fact that Mr. Jefferson argued that the origin of man's rights lay with God. When converted for contemporary audiences, the proposition asserts that "our rights come from God." This claim is made often by conservatives but I have not seen a proof of it.
Edited on Apr 23, 2011 at 11:29pmRe: Cautionary Thoughts on Easter
“I stop the first American whom I meet...and I ask him if he believes religion to be useful to the stability of laws and to the good order of society; he answers me without hesitation that a civilized society, but above all a free society, cannot subsist without religion....Those least versed in the science of government know that at least.”
--Alexis de Toqueville, The Old Regime and the Revolution,
Oct '10
Re: Cautionary Thoughts on Easter
Dave, you have a real point. I've been thinking about this a lot. I plan to (eventually) go into charitable poverty reduction. After a great deal of thinking and research, I came up with something nearly identical to a church (but secular) as the most efficient way to cultivate social capital and civil society, and ultimately end poverty in a community.
But then, why not simply use religion? It is certainly more effective, and I'm starting to wonder if antipoverty community-building is as inherently secular as most of us think (what if all communities are spawned by religion, other then the highly educated? That might explain our failures at poverty reduction. It might also explain the high incidence of secular and political religions among the intellectual class).
Edited on Apr 24, 2011 at 1:27amOct '10
Re: Cautionary Thoughts on Easter
Michael Labeit: I appreciate the caution with which you proceed, Dave. I must say however that I am very often confronted with the fact that Mr. Jefferson argued that the origin of man's rights lay with God. When converted for contemporary audiences, the proposition asserts that "our rights come from God." This claim is made often by conservatives but I have not seen a proof of it. · Apr 23 at 10:42pm
Edited on Apr 23 at 11:29 pm
It's a religious thing. A lot of religions view the Constitution (in its modern form, not necessarily the pre-14th amendment one) as divinely inspired, a sort of civil scripture. That's why you see so much Constitution-veneration on the right, and even somewhat on the religious left.
Re: Cautionary Thoughts on Easter
Israel P.: And speaking of normal, Palestinian Authority "policemen" shot a group of Jews returning from prayers at Joseph's Tomb, which under the Oslo agreements was supposed to be under Israeli control. One dead - word is he is the nephew of the Minister of Culture and Sports, Limor Livnat of the Likud.
Judith must not be up yet. · Apr 23 at 10:42pm
Edited on Apr 23 at 11:06 pm
I saw that, and cannot make sense of the news reports--according to the Israeli government it was a "security incident?" What is that supposed to mean?
Feb '11
Re: Cautionary Thoughts on Easter
Claire Berlinski, Ed.
Israel P.: And speaking of normal, Palestinian Authority "policemen" shot a group of Jews returning from prayers at Joseph's Tomb, which under the Oslo agreements was supposed to be under Israeli control. One dead - word is he is the nephew of the Minister of Culture and Sports, Limor Livnat of the Likud.
Judith must not be up yet. · Apr 23 at 10:42pm
Edited on Apr 23 at 11:06 pm
I saw that, and cannot make sense of the news reports--according to the Israeli government it was a "security incident?" What is that supposed to mean? · Apr 24 at 2:29am
I think it means that the PA is claiming that their police shot with legitimate cause. Of course their definition of legitimate shooting is different from that of civilization. Both the PA and Barak and friends are going to try to make this victims' fault.
Edited on Apr 24, 2011 at 2:54amNov '10
Re: Cautionary Thoughts on Easter
Have Christians who believe in effecting "social justice" via government redistirbution turned their back on their creator?
Maybe not; but they make us less free too.
Apr '11
Re: Cautionary Thoughts on Easter
Ajax Telamônios
We are fast becoming a nation of people that Paul spoke about in the first chapter of Romans. · Apr 23 at 9:44pm
Thank you for that Bible passage. It made me realize something very important. I guess that's what the Bible's for, huh?
Re: Cautionary Thoughts on Easter
Israel P.
I saw that, and cannot make sense of the news reports--according to the Israeli government it was a "security incident?" What is that supposed to mean? · Apr 24 at 2:29am
I think it means that the PA is claiming that their police shot with legitimate cause. Of course their definition of legitimate shooting is different from that of civilization. Both the PA and Barak and friends are going to try to make this victims' fault. · Apr 24 at 2:52am
Edited on Apr 24 at 02:54 am
The initial reports say that they ran a roadblock. From what I understand (not much at this point) it sounds as if there's at least a possibility that the official account--a total screwup--is correct. No?