As I watch the United States of America become increasingly less able to remain the "last best hope for humanity" in the world, I cannot be silent any longer.
Personal responsibility and liberty are symbiotic principles. One cannot exist without the other; yet we see daily steps to eradicate both in our country. Frequently the two ideas are played against each other.
We are taught that we should have the liberty behave with wanton abandon in our sex lives; and at the same time we should be able to avoid the responsibility of consequent child birth and rearing by abortion. We are taught that we should have the liberty to behave asocially showing respect to no one and for no thing; and at the same time we should be able to avoid the responsibility of being impossible to respect. We are taught that we should have the liberty to speak our mind; and at the same time we should expect none to take offense.
In addition to playing the ideas against each other, we are taught with stunning inconsistency.
We should value all life; and we should embrace abortion. We should be tolerant of all ideas; and we should not tolerate intolerance. We should not question the evidence of science; and we should reject the evidence of religion. We should decrease our personal standard of living when money is scarce; and we should expand our government's spending when money is scarce. It is unpatriotic and irresponsible to accumulate $4 trillion in debt; and it is generous and compassionate to accumulate $8 trillion in debt. We should love our enemies; and we should hate our friends.
I will briefly try to outline my thoughts on these issues.
First, there is a God who created the universe and mankind. His creation was deliberate and purposeful. His purpose is to provide experiences and learning that will bring happiness to us, his children. Key to his plan for our happiness is his son, Jesus Christ. Jesus suffered the pains that come into our lives in consequence of our mistakes, our sins, and those of others. Through faith in him we can be relieved of the painful burdens of this life. Jesus died and was resurrected, that is to say, his eternal spirit took up his mortal body and the two were united immortally and will remain so forever. And he gave that gift of resurrection to all of God's children.
Second, there is absolute morality. There is absolute right and absolute wrong. There is good and evil. These principles and forces have always been and will always be. Absolute good and right can be found in the teachings of Jesus Christ and his prophets through all time. The great commandment is to love God with all that we are. The second commandment is to love our fellowman as we should love ourselves. All of the other commandments are not less important. All of the other prophetic teachings are not less significant. They all are rooted in these first two.
Third, choice and accountability are individual and eternal rights upon which God will not, and man should not, attempt to infringe. The individual is and should remain sovereign in affairs both spiritual and temporal. No man, no group, no sovereign and no state has the right to interfere with freedom of conscience or with rights to property. As such, I believe that Thomas Jefferson was correct in advocating for a continual referendum on the laws of the land. Not that they should be changed frequently or for trivial reasons, but that each generation should have the obligation and the right to willingly submit to them or to cast them off when they found them too oppressive.
I will not be silent anymore.
Personal responsibility and liberty are symbiotic principles. One cannot exist without the other; yet we see daily steps to eradicate both in our country. Frequently the two ideas are played against each other.
We are taught that we should have the liberty behave with wanton abandon in our sex lives; and at the same time we should be able to avoid the responsibility of consequent child birth and rearing by abortion. We are taught that we should have the liberty to behave asocially showing respect to no one and for no thing; and at the same time we should be able to avoid the responsibility of being impossible to respect. We are taught that we should have the liberty to speak our mind; and at the same time we should expect none to take offense.
In addition to playing the ideas against each other, we are taught with stunning inconsistency.
We should value all life; and we should embrace abortion. We should be tolerant of all ideas; and we should not tolerate intolerance. We should not question the evidence of science; and we should reject the evidence of religion. We should decrease our personal standard of living when money is scarce; and we should expand our government's spending when money is scarce. It is unpatriotic and irresponsible to accumulate $4 trillion in debt; and it is generous and compassionate to accumulate $8 trillion in debt. We should love our enemies; and we should hate our friends.
I will briefly try to outline my thoughts on these issues.
First, there is a God who created the universe and mankind. His creation was deliberate and purposeful. His purpose is to provide experiences and learning that will bring happiness to us, his children. Key to his plan for our happiness is his son, Jesus Christ. Jesus suffered the pains that come into our lives in consequence of our mistakes, our sins, and those of others. Through faith in him we can be relieved of the painful burdens of this life. Jesus died and was resurrected, that is to say, his eternal spirit took up his mortal body and the two were united immortally and will remain so forever. And he gave that gift of resurrection to all of God's children.
Second, there is absolute morality. There is absolute right and absolute wrong. There is good and evil. These principles and forces have always been and will always be. Absolute good and right can be found in the teachings of Jesus Christ and his prophets through all time. The great commandment is to love God with all that we are. The second commandment is to love our fellowman as we should love ourselves. All of the other commandments are not less important. All of the other prophetic teachings are not less significant. They all are rooted in these first two.
Third, choice and accountability are individual and eternal rights upon which God will not, and man should not, attempt to infringe. The individual is and should remain sovereign in affairs both spiritual and temporal. No man, no group, no sovereign and no state has the right to interfere with freedom of conscience or with rights to property. As such, I believe that Thomas Jefferson was correct in advocating for a continual referendum on the laws of the land. Not that they should be changed frequently or for trivial reasons, but that each generation should have the obligation and the right to willingly submit to them or to cast them off when they found them too oppressive.
I will not be silent anymore.
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