02.24.07
Silenced by self interest
Recently I’ve been reading “How Shall We Then Live” by Francis A. Schaeffer. It is a very thought provoking book, to say the least. What Schaeffer says makes a lot of sense. Right now I’m reading in chapter 11 “Our Society”. He makes a strong case for how we arrived at the current “Status Quo”. Indeed today many people are not about to “make waves” because they do not want to jeopardize their own “personal peace” and “personal prosperity”. Thus, when the government tells them to line up like nice sheep and surrender their constitutional rights, they do so. It matters not that such idiocy makes them not one whit safer and that it indeed removes from them their God given freedom - they line up and say “Alright” because it APPEARS to promise “security” or “safety”. “Those who give up Essential Freedom to purchase Temporary Safety deserve neither Freedom nor Safety” is a quote often attributed to Benjamin Franklin. This truth is ever more applicable today.
Indeed, those who wish to be “safe” and yet take not personal responsibility for that safety are the very ones who remove the ability of the individual to protect himself. They are eager t0 call out “Save me! Protect me!” and yet do not wish to allow individuals the ability to protect themselves or save others from harm. Somehow they believe that the “omnipotent state” should be able to protect each and every indivitual and deny the right of the individual to provide for his or her own protection.
Our people have forgotten that in the United States the Government is not the one responsible for the well being of the nation. It is indeed the collective individuals who are to retain power and oversee the Government. Somehow in the past two hundred plus years things have gotten switched around. The US Constitution was written to give the power to the people and to keep government under control. Yet like Esau the people have sold their birthright for “a bowl of pottage”. Just as Esau gave up his rights as the first born son of Israel, so to have many of the American people given up their rights as free born citizens.
Government must be watched with a jealous eye. When they encroach on the freedom of the hard working honest citizens then they must be reined in, called to heel. According the the Bible (arguably the foundation of our nation’s very existence) the government is to “reward those who do good and punish those who do evil”. The power of a Godly government is limitted. It should exist to provide freedom to the people so that they may do good and to punish those who do evil. It is not the job of government to be “merciful” nor to do charity. That is the job of the Church. Government should be Just, punishing wrong doers and rewarding those who do right. When government becomes corrupt then it is up to the people to bring about change, to bring government back to its fundamental roles.
The problem is, today people do not WANT to be responsible for their government. They want the government to be responsible for THEM. To modern man the government exists to take the place of God. Compare the hurricanes from the early 20th century and Katrina from the early 21st century. In the early 2oth century, after the hurricane people got out their shovels and axes and got to work, asking God to give them strength to rescue the endangered, bury the dead and to get on with their lives. After Katrina people sat around on their behinds bemoaning the “fact” that Government had abandoned them and expecting Government to come and dig their sorry tails out. In fact, even though they had ample time to escape, many people sat around waiting for Government to rescue them or to somehow miraculously divert the storm. And when human government was unable to live up to their expectations they cursed it, they complained and they whined - but few got up and got to work to provide for themselves.
So why have people allowed the nation to slide to this point? Because they have been silenced by self interest. If you tell a large portion of the population that they are ignorant and apathetic they’ll respond “We don’t know what that means, and we don’t care.” They are to busy seeking out their own “personal peace” and “personal prosperity” to worry about the larger issues. They want to be “left alone” and allowed to seek self gratification without the ugly burden of responsibility for the condition of their neighborhood, city, state or nation. They want Government to step in and fulfill the role that God should have - that of benevolent provider. “Providence” today is not a term for God the Creator, it is a term many would use for Government for they want Government to provide everything for them.
So, who will step forward? Who will demand change for the better? Who will challenge the Government and demand that they return to the limitted power given to them in the US Constitution? Are there any such today in our land, or are we all silenced by self interest?