Greetings Dear Reader,
One of my good friends often poses questions with the introduction
“wond’ring aloud”. This is actually the
title of a Jethro Tull song. It is also
something that I do often in this blog.
I wonder aloud about the things we choose as a society. One of the lines from the song I posted with
the opening thoughts was, “Let him live in freedom if he lives like me.”
I cannot find a social position at either end of the social/moral
spectrum that does not contain people who feel that other individuals should be
made to live as they live. You cannot
force anyone to live a certain way and say that you are in the right. Once you take away the freedom to choose, you
lose the moral high ground. You abandon
the basic idea that we live in a free society.
That freedom must stop where it actually harms someone
else. We are not free to harm other
individuals. Before you vigorously nod
in agreement, I want to be clear. If you
are denying civil or social rights to any individual or group of people you
have lost your understanding of freedom.
Whether it is medical care, social equality, basic sustenance, or even
life, we do not have the right to deny the needs of others. Worse, we actively deny these things to
humans in the name of religion, morality, and convenience.
We are content to virtue signal instead of being actually virtuous. I need this point to be needle fine in my own
mind. No matter how vehemently I think
something is socially or morally wrong, I do not have the right to deny the
needs of those who do that thing. The
other side of that coin is that neither does anyone else. Please watch your toes Dear Reader. I am about to trample on some social issues
heavily.
Healthcare – I do not know what the answer is for providing
for the healthcare needs of our people.
I do know that instead of loving those in need we care more about money,
our large gourmet coffee, and the newest fashion than we do about the vital
care of others. We are free to do this
but we have no moral footing if we do so.
Worse, we use a moral position to justify denying proper healthcare to a
group of people. Still worse, we make
vital healthcare unattainable for those who cannot afford it.
Civil Rights – We think that we have equal right under the law. The law says that we do. Our practices do not always align with
this. Even those who have been oppressed
in the past are obligated to treat everyone with the same rights as they have sought
or seek. There is no standard by which
to say that someone else has to live a certain lifestyle to enjoy all the
freedoms of a free society. Again, this
stops where the freedoms of others are impinged. This does not mean that you have to align
with me morally to be free. Until we get
that every human has a right to this, we may not make any progress.
It is not my place to tell anyone how to live. It is my obligation to love everyone, even
those who hate me. There is no life that
is not sacred. There is no human that
should not receive love and compassion from those who claim to follow
Christ. We cannot love the Father until
we love each other. We cannot truly love each other until we stop making exceptions
to that love in our minds, actions, and laws.
We cannot declare an entire class of people exempt from life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness. We
have. We make it illegal for people to
live as they choose. We make it impossible
for certain groups to get equal care and representation. We have declared that the most defenseless in
our culture may be murdered out of hand.
We tolerate the buying and selling of other humans.
I do not know how to fix all this. I do know that in following Christ I am obligated
to make it more important than my views on anything. Denying others’ social/moral needs is not
loving, and therefore, not following Christ.
If you disagree Dear Reader, search your heart as to why you wish to
deny these things. You may argue with me
about it if you wish, but if your argument does not proceed from love then you
have no footing. Again, watch your toes
because I love you too.
Great
American Novel – Larry Norman
I was born and raised an orphan in a land that once was free
In a land that poured its love out on the moon;
And I grew up in the shadows of your silos filled with
grain,
But you never helped to fill my empty spoon.
And when I was ten you murdered law with courtroom politics,
And you learned to make a lie sound just like truth;
But I know you better now and I don't fall for all your
tricks,
And you've lost the one advantage of my youth.
You kill a black man at midnight just for talking to your
daughter,
Then you make his wife your mistress and you leave her
without water;
And the sheet you wear upon your face is the sheet your
children sleep on,
At every meal you say a prayer; you don't believe, but still
you keep on.
And your money says in God we trust,
But it's against the law to pray in school;
You say we beat the Russians to the moon,
And I say you starved your children to do it.
You are far across the ocean in a war is that’s not your
own,
And while you're winning theirs, you're gonna lose the one
at home;
Do you really think the only way to bring about the peace,
Is to sacrifice your children and kill all your enemies?
The politicians all make speeches while the newsmen all
take notes,
And they exaggerate the issues as they shove them down our
throats;
Is it really up to them whether this country sinks or
floats?
Well, I wonder who would lead us if none of us would vote.
Well my phone is tapped and my lips are chapped from
whispering through the fence,
You know every move I make, or is that just coincidence?
Will you try to make my way of life a little less like jail,
If I promise to make tapes and slides and send them through
the mail.
And your money says in God we trust,
But it's against the law to pray in school;
You say we beat the Russians to the moon,
And I say you starved your children to do it.
You say all men are equal, all men are brothers,
Then why are the rich more equal than others?
Don't ask me for the answer, I've only got one:
That a man leaves his darkness when he follows the Son.
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every
writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a
homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure
store.”
(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
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Thorn:
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