It was bound to happen sooner or later
… A day before deadline and not a word on the page. Yikes! When
do I call the editor to say,
”
Hey chief, I got nothing. Nothing but deep disappointment in
special interest activists and a phrase dancing in my head,
‘Everyone believes in something.’
”
It was bound to happen sooner or later … A day before deadline and not a word on the page. Yikes! When do I call the editor to say, “Hey chief, I got nothing. Nothing but deep disappointment in special interest activists and a phrase dancing in my head, ‘Everyone believes in something.'”
First the phrase …
I don’t think we give it much thought while we’re bumping along in our everyday routines. But when trouble strikes, ah yes, that’s when we realize that sometimes even our spiffiest coping tools aren’t quite enough.
Some people, even in distress, firmly believe only in themselves–that everything (the good, the bad and the ugly) is up to them. That given enough time and willpower, human beings can fix or solve anything. The official name for this belief system is “humanism.”
Others have chosen to put their faith into something bigger or more powerful than themselves.
It might be an institution, (i.e. government: everything is either a gift from the government, the government’s fault, or the government’s duty to solve.)
It might be science, (answers lie at the other end of a microscope or a telescope.)
Or, it might be a higher authority, a spiritual being–a transcendent power that far exceeds any human’s mental, emotional or physical abilities.
So far so good. To each his own. Live and let live.
(I do suspect that some of you are starting to think I’m trying to irritate Tuesday’s columnist. Well, I’m not trying to but can make an educated prediction…)
Of course I wish everyone believed in the same things I do but I really don’t have a problem with those who don’t. In fact, how people construct, adapt and use their belief system to support their opinions and actions fascinates me.
As I see it, the problem isn’t that we have faith in different things, the problem is that those “different things” are the source of our integrity. Let me say it another way: Our integrity is predestined by the object of our faith.
If my faith is in something outside of myself, then my integrity comes from outside of me as well. I don’t decide what’s right or wrong or black or any shade of gray. The object of my faith sets the parameters. My job as a willing constituent is to embrace the guidelines and do my darndest to live them.
The trouble with humanists is that their integrity comes from the same thing they believe in, themselves. They shape their morals to fit innate needs or wants so that they can do what seems right in their own eyes or what seems right in the moment.
Which brings me to my current events disappointment: The moratorium on capital punishment because activists have threatened to revoke the license of any medical professional standing by to make sure convicted criminals don’t suffer (which was also the activists’ idea.)
I understand that people want freedom of choice but I cannot understand the zig-zag thinking about life and death issues. I don’t understand how a belief system that justifies ending a life in the womb during the last trimester of pregnancy or the life of a sick or elderly person can vehemently fight for the life of a convicted rapist/ murderer.
I’m not saying that every felon should die for their deeds but I think Michael Morales should. Why? Because of the coroner’s report on the 17 year old girl he raped, tortured, stabbed and bludgeoned so badly she couldn’t be identified. Because he never denied the charges. Because a court of law and a jury of his peers saw the evidence, heard the testimony, convicted him and sentenced him to die for the vicious, merciless slaying of young Terri Winchell.
Hanging and firing squads were outlawed years ago because activists said they were too barbaric. The electric chair was outlawed because it was messy and sometimes didn’t work right or quickly enough. Now, the special interest folks say that lethal injection is “cruel and unusual punishment” because the 10 minute death might include a moment of suffering.
Everyone believes in something. I believe in our judicial system, that it should be allowed to protect and serve all law-abiding people all the time. More importantly, based on my belief in a higher power, I believe innocent life should be spared, tended, sheltered, respected, treasured and loved.
