Just Because We Can?

“Let us redefine progress to mean that just because we can do a thing, it does not necessarily mean we must do that thing.”

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

There comes a time when we all must do that which we know is right.  The priest, politician, doctor, teacher, philosopher, parent, and the least of us will have to stand for righteousness instead of ideology. There comes a time when what we say, what we desire, must get behind that which we know to be right in the eyes of God.

I think some people claim to be atheists as an excuse to become perpetually offended at, well, everything.  It seems like they use being an atheist as an excuse; like it's their "get out of jail free card" to act as arrogantly stupid as they'd like.  As an acquaintance at the monastery just stated in a recent comment, "Spewing vitriol is not productive, or Christian."  Not being Christian must give them ample self-approval to spew away?  Those deists, who can't use atheism as their excuse, instead find a way to misinterpret scripture to excuse their poor societal behavior.

Worse are all these folks acting like the rest of us really buy into their drivel and see them for something more important than just another group of complaining, offended little bitches.   Well, more and more of us seem to be acquiescing to their whining.  The problem is the lawyers, politicians, and judges forcing us to buy into it through making us listen to their constant mindless bullshit until we've become numb.  Like a baby screaming throughout the night, we finally have to shove a pacifier in their mouth to shut them up.  They have literally beaten those of us with any sense into submission.  Our only grasp left on reality is the realization they seem satisfied sucking the pacifier without much complaint that it isn't a real tit.  It gives the rest of us much satisfaction knowing they seem to suck at anything.

Fortunately, I happen to know a few atheists and they don't act out like this.  They have cogent arguments for their beliefs, and don't feel it necessary to stir a pot that doesn't need stirring.  I think most atheists believe in a policy of, live and let live.  It is the constantly offended few whose motives are in question.

If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.

-- Adolf Hitler

The offended also keep bringing American slavery to the table along with historic Native American atrocities, and the treatment of American Japanese during WWII when they were rounded up, lost their businesses and homes, and were sent to desert internment camps for the duration of conflict.  Presenting any of these for reasonable discussion would seem pointless.  Most of the young people today aren't taught true history and have no point of reference for the offense they claim to be offended by.  Most young people they are presenting the offense to, also have not been taught history, and also have no point of reference.  The point being, none of them were there, and if they were, none of them were old enough to be offended, and if they were, maybe it's time to get a life and be happy instead of reopening old wounds best left closed for any reason other than history of which isn't being taught. Dredging up this kind of historical offense for retribution or compensation accomplishes little except the ability of the perpetually offended to continually drive a wedge between peoples that weren't even around when the crimes occurred.  Remembering them prevents recurrence, but using them as a tool to further some misplaced agenda benefits no one.

All propaganda has to be popular and has to accommodate itself to the comprehension of the least intelligent of those whom it seeks to reach.

-- Adolf Hitler

We watch as welfare recipients fully capable of labor, languish with more than most of us make and laugh at us behind our backs. Our politicians support this lunacy so they might retain their positions of power; after all, if they promise everything and even deliver a bit, lies will keep them in office because we are all really this gullible.

Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.

-- Ephesians 4:28

As a country we are forgetting who and what we are. Do black lives really matter more than the least of us? Is one group, or one person, so arrogant as to think they are better or more superior? If we are all laboring are not all of us laboring? What makes one group or person so arrogant as to feel they are above working alongside the rest of us as productive members of society? Why do any of us support such arrogance?

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime"

-- Chinese proverb

Our politicians seem hell bent, thanks to the offended, on revisiting a time not so long ago when brother fought against brother.  The Civil War and World War II offer plenty of historical memory which should not be stored away, destroyed, or removed, in order to present a kinder, gentler face of history.  The fact that radical Islamic terrorism is a holdover from the Nazi Third Reich is a fact not widely known.  We don't teach it, but the atrocities being committed drip with evidence of the seed the Nazis planted with, and the support they provided to, anti-Jewish Arabs of the day.  Hitler is laughing his ass off in hell.

How do we, as a twenty first century civilization, define progress to our children and grandchildren?  Do we define it by cleaning up the dirty little secrets of history, dooming future generations to revisit mistakes not learned?  Do we define it by the divisive rhetoric taught by our liberal education system as they try, desperately, to control the minds of our youth and prevent individualism and free thinking so as to bring about the nightmare of a socialist utopia?  Or, do we define it by taking a step back, learning from our mistakes, silencing the constantly offended minority so we can at least hear the majority above the din of whining, and decide whether just because we can do a thing, does it necessarily follow that we must do that thing?  If we don't, where will it leave our individual happiness?  Maybe Adolph Hitler was right, after all.

The day of individual happiness has passed.

-- Adolf Hitler

Just a scary thought, or was it a prediction? 

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider another viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, and instructor. He is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path," which offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination.