"Freedom and reason make us men; take these away, what are we then? Mere animals...." So wrote an anonymous poet in Boston in 1805.
What is it to be human? If we believe the creationists, mankind was placed on the earth to be its husband, caretaker and sovereign, accountable to God for the wellbeing of all His creatures. If we believe the Darwinists, mankind is the pinnacle of evolution, a superior and supreme product of nature's unforgiving winnowing process. Either way, it is impossible to argue that mankind is not superior by design to all other forms of life on earth.
And where superior good is enjoyed, superior goodness is required. As human beings we are obliged to respect and nurture all of nature and to protect it in its natural state as much as we possibly can. If we are to use or consume parts of nature, then it is incumbent on us to do so as sparingly and as responsibly as possible, and not to abuse anyone or anything.
The natural state of all creation is liberty (Don't Fence Me In), freedom (Free To Be You And Me), and responsibility for its actions. This is certainly the case for mankind, too. Governments have a duty to protect the liberty of the individual and encourage the wellbeing of society. Any move toward restricting the freedoms of citizens or interfering with their responsibility - the consequences of enjoying freedoms - is a move toward reducing them from humanity to brutishness. And once reduced to an animal, men need to be herded, driven, penned and like cattle are prone to slaughter.
As the American frontier philosopher observed in 1839, "We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion."
There is an element of extremism - overzealousness - in many ideologies. Some fight wars - destroy people - to spread their brand of oppression in the name freedom or democracy. Some injure others to prevent injury to lesser creatures in the name of nature. Some would infringe on the natural and free state of others in the interest of imposing their values in the name of compassion.
And so, very often, the Crusader and the humanist, the Puritan and the hedonist find themselves in violation of the fundamental principle that freedom and reason make all of us men. When we take those away from even the most misguided or impotent creature, we are on the wrong side of nature.
And as both the creationist and the Darwinist will tell you, in the long run Nature will always win!
What is it to be human? If we believe the creationists, mankind was placed on the earth to be its husband, caretaker and sovereign, accountable to God for the wellbeing of all His creatures. If we believe the Darwinists, mankind is the pinnacle of evolution, a superior and supreme product of nature's unforgiving winnowing process. Either way, it is impossible to argue that mankind is not superior by design to all other forms of life on earth.
And where superior good is enjoyed, superior goodness is required. As human beings we are obliged to respect and nurture all of nature and to protect it in its natural state as much as we possibly can. If we are to use or consume parts of nature, then it is incumbent on us to do so as sparingly and as responsibly as possible, and not to abuse anyone or anything.
The natural state of all creation is liberty (Don't Fence Me In), freedom (Free To Be You And Me), and responsibility for its actions. This is certainly the case for mankind, too. Governments have a duty to protect the liberty of the individual and encourage the wellbeing of society. Any move toward restricting the freedoms of citizens or interfering with their responsibility - the consequences of enjoying freedoms - is a move toward reducing them from humanity to brutishness. And once reduced to an animal, men need to be herded, driven, penned and like cattle are prone to slaughter.
As the American frontier philosopher observed in 1839, "We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion."
There is an element of extremism - overzealousness - in many ideologies. Some fight wars - destroy people - to spread their brand of oppression in the name freedom or democracy. Some injure others to prevent injury to lesser creatures in the name of nature. Some would infringe on the natural and free state of others in the interest of imposing their values in the name of compassion.
And so, very often, the Crusader and the humanist, the Puritan and the hedonist find themselves in violation of the fundamental principle that freedom and reason make all of us men. When we take those away from even the most misguided or impotent creature, we are on the wrong side of nature.
And as both the creationist and the Darwinist will tell you, in the long run Nature will always win!
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment