Two Deaths, One Choice

The recent deaths of Mrs. Schiavo and Pope John Paul II challenge us to consider our moment in time very carefully. I commented that these deaths constitute one of the great "hinges of history" in my lifetime. Barring a nuclear blast or the Second Advent, it is my conviction that historians a generation from now will look back on this moment and see the Western world moving in one of two directions.

The first direction - and the one we are currently heading in - is rather ominous. We disregard the ethical distinctions brought out by these two deaths and continue to cultivate a culture of euthanasia, where life becomes more and more disposable. Who decides someone's "quality of life" apart from the individual? Withdrawing a feeding tube is NOT the same as ending certain life-support machinery! The Pope died with a feeding tube; Mrs. Schiavo was slowly starved to death by an adulterous husband. Where does this end? Will the USA go in Holland's direction, with children as young as sixteen allowed to choose assisted suicide? What about families of the future strapped for funds - does it become an aged relative's duty to die?

There is a second direction - one that requires courage and sacrifice. We can once again affirm that life is a gift to be received at conception and released for coronation at the proper end. We must resist all modes of active euthansia and rediscover the lessons we learn from the infirm and vulnerable among us. In recent weeks is has been appalling to hear that Mrs. Schiavo should "be allowed to die in dignity." Dignity had no part in this melodrama. All Michael Schiavo had to do was divorce his wife and move on, but he refused, for no other reason that financial gain; which, ironically, will prove to be quite small (unless he sells the rights to a Hemlock Society sponsored film).

Two deaths, once choice confront us. It is a death or life decision - will we support the transcendent value of human life or continue on a pathway that make some people disposable?

The Marxist Deception

The recent furor over the public display of the Ten Commandments would be comical were it not for the earnestness of the proponents of a secular public square. The notion that displaying these historic foundations of our legal and social tradition is an endorsement of an "establishment of religion" or a "prohibition of the free exercise thereof" is ludicrous.

Our Western legal tradtion contains elements from several streams: Judeo-Christian civil and moral codes in the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures, Greco-Roman classical philosophy and case law, German Salic Laws, English Common Law and even insights fron the Iroquois Confederation. Shall we ban all references to any sources that contain whiffs of deities or spiritualities that posit authority outside of our modern and post-modern humanistic constructs?

The attempts by the ACLU and other agencies to prohibit any references to religion are not rooted in an appreciation of the letter and spirit of our Constitution and First Amendment. The real agenda is more blatant and insidious: it is Marxism imposed through the judicial organs of our republic.

Marx and Engel's 19th century philosophy is an atheistic substitution for Christianity and Judaism, both of which they heartily despised. Here is a partial list of the parallels:

• Instead of relgious conversion, there will be the rise of proletarian consciousness and the evolution of a "new man" in the communist mold.
• Instead of a millennium or heaven, there will be a classless society.
• Instead of compassionate action freely undertaken by the community, there will be government-imposed leveling.
• Instead of the "opiate of religion", there will be Party rallies to generate loyalty and solidarity - of course "deviation" from the Party means banishment or worse.
• Instead of the threat of divine judgment in the future, misconduct means alienation and elimination today - after all, any deviation is stalling the rise of the "new consciousness."

Frustrated Marxists excuse or ignore the historical record of ruthlessness in the 20th century with the lame refrain, "Marxism hasn't been given a real chance." Even more insidious, modern Marxists claim that the forces of capitalism undermined the great revolutions.

Any honest reading of history exposes the paucity of such claims. I am not writing an apologetic of global capitalism when I assert that Marxiswm is an abject failure that deserves to be on the ash-heap of history. In its mild forms - Scandanavian socialsm - it produces generations dependent upon government and families unwilling to raise children with a moral compass. In its intense forms - China, the former USSR, Cuba and North Korea - Marxism is a cover for a small elite to rule with an iron fist and for tyrants to carry our socioeconomic experiements costing the lives of millions.

The failure of Communism to penetrate the USA - even during the Great Depression - is a tribute to the American spirit which celebrates individual liberty, personal initiative and spiritual diversity.

The ACLU began as a left-wing agency devoted to personal liberty. But the Marxism of its founders and generations of law-school grads from Harvard and Columbia have produced an elitist and incestuous mentality that sees religion as the enemy of freedom rather than (as our Founders understood) the gurantor of personal responsibility that underlies any democracy.

The Supreme Court should dismiss any attempts to rewrite history and impose a Marxist agenda. Hopefully, the sincerely deceived devotees of secularism will read some history and choose not to follow the totalitarian pathways of Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Castro and Kim Il Jong II.

Our future depends upon an honest assessment of the past.

Some Observations

It is a February afternoon in California - sunny and warm, with a bit of breeze to kee me awake as I stroll outside. At the moment I am avoiding some less enjoyable tasks such as scheduling new appointments and paying the bills. I am not quite procrastinating, just pondering some observations that have come my way in the new year.

I normally use this space to present ideas that I am passionate about, especially solutions to problems that the Left and Right both get wrong!

Today I want to share my musings, so here goes:

As a nation we spend huge amounts of money on education and social services "for the children." This is good. Have we thought about using the bully pulpits of business, politics, and religious communities and some of our budgeted funds to prepare adults to be the proper parents for their children?

Half a century of serious clinical research has demonstrated that Little Johnny and Young Sally need a Daddy and a Mommy who make their children's needs their first concern. So why do we make it so easy for Mommy and Daddy to divorce?

A generation of progress for Women's Equality is being undermined in the name of freedom of expression. Explicit pornographic material will soon be widely available on TV and is currently one of the the biggest money-making industries online. We claim that we want to give full dignity to women and men, but then we pander to animalistic instincts and depersonalize human intimacy. What message are we sending to our adolescents?

The PETA organization, dedicated to animal rights, calls the slaughter of animals a modern "holocaust", comparing it to the Nazi barbarity of WWII. At the same time, religious citizens are fined and jailed for expressing non-hateful, non-violent opposition to homosexual behavior. Am I crazy, ot is something wrong with our moral compass here?

In 1935 FDR proposed that Social Security have both private and public elements to insure its long-term health. President Clinton stated the same in 1999. Why then is there such a hailstorm of criticism when the issue is addressed today? Are we so bitter and ideological that we can not think strategically for generations ahead?

We try to improve educational quality so that our students can compete in a competitve global economy. We then undermine this improvement with grade inflation, allowing unprepared students into advanced classes, and graduating functional illiterates. Can we do better?

Amidst the hectic pace and high price of modern life, we long for "simplicity" and wish we could get out of the "rat race." Don't we see that we make choices about lifestyle and location that either intensify or ameliorate our stress?

Well, lunch break is over and the afternoon's tasks await. My next blog will mark a return of your "Sage of Sanity" as I deal with the Middle East. Until then, I hope these thoughts will help us all make better personal choices.

Humility and Hope

Amidst the din of debate over the use of religious imagery in public "Holiday" (shall we change this word since it originally meant "holy-day"?) celebrations, a simple idea can escape our attention. This virtue is so powerful, it can change a person overnight and our world in a generation.

In historical order, every tradtion affirms this virtue.

In 164 BC, a rag-tag group of Jewish insugents defeated the larger armies of the Empire and restored pure worship in the Jerusalem Temple. The Menorah keep burning for eight days in spite of being empty of oil. The miracle of Channukah lives on in millions of Jewish homes.

A Child is born in barn, adored by lowly shepherds, heralded by angels and nurtured by a teenage Mother astounded by her role. Our very notion of history changes and billions affirm "peace on earth" every year.

Kwanza is a recent invention of African-Americans, but it does reach back to traditional celebrations of harvest and gratitude. Farmers of every culture and geography know that their labor can only do so much - they depend upon the right mix of rain and sun to bring bounty to the community.

What is this universal virtue? What is this radical idea that will change the world? It is humility, the simple reality that we are not the measure of all things and must bow to the One from whom our very breath comes as a gift.

Humility is the pathway to honor. When we consider others' needs before our own, we discover inner joy and we receive far more in return. Humility points us to a hope that reaches beyond our immediate gratification. Humility esteems other perspectives and persons without unhealthy self-abnegation. New insights and strategies on any number of issues are possible when our egos are in check.

Imagine a world with just a bit more humility. Families will argue less because children and spouses do not have to be "right" to be accepted and loved. Political demagoguery is abated as the issues are examined with a view to the long-term and not just the next election. Developers and environmentalists might realize that ecology and economics are rooted in the same word for stewardship of our planet.

Let's allow Christmas to be a public word, along with the Menorah and any other symbols that point our human family to humility and hope.

For myself, I will continue to chime, "Merry Christmas" to all I meet. If I find our someone who does not share my religious joy, I will find another way to be inclusive. Let's not muzzle the delight of this Season with fears that are more rigid than the ideas we are afraid of!

May this Advent Season be the dawn of a new humility in all your hearts!

PS - My new book, The Power of Faithful Focus, makes a great gift and affirms this pathway of humble hope.

Real Integrity is Hard to Find

The war of words regarding "values" will continue for months and years ahead as crackpots, pundits, and serious thinkers ponder the 2004 election.

The Bush victory was not a mandate for "Jesusland" and America is far more complex than "Red" vs. "Blue".

The word integrity is used so often that it has been stripped of its original power. Integrity is linked with integration. Integration is a state in which all the parts of a system work together. Sometimes words like "synergy" or "synchronicity" are used as comparisons.

Over time the term integrity has come to mean wholeness of character, a union of motive and action, word and deed that deems an individual to be trustworthy and deserving of respect.

I want to bring these two concepts together and suggest that both conservatives and liberals have much to consider if they are going to be individuals and/or movements with integrity.

Integrity means that the head, heart and hands are united in pursuit of good that goes beyond immediate hedonism or political advantage.

My liberal friends, if you want to claim integrity, you must...

Realize that people are complex creatures and most of them believe in God and moral absolutes, even if they do not always practice what they preach.

The resources you want to allocate to social programs come from hard-working people who merit an accounting for how they are spent. The fact that a large percentage of welfare dollars support middle-class, college-educated government officials grates on the nerves of business leaders.

Understand that America will never be fully loved or trusted by nations and groups that simultaneously envy, hate and seek to undermine her role in the world. Decisions can not be based on the self-interests of nations that despise us!

Recognize that most people are uncomfortable with abortion-as-birth-control and homosexual relationships that want to be called marriages. This is not intolerance and homophobia; it is part of the transcendent morality that goes back 3000 years.

OK, time for conservatives to...

Stop gloating and continuing in the self-deception that 2004 is a mandate to turn to the right on all issues.

Articulate a compassionate conservativism that offers opportunity for the poor to get the help they need to become self-reliant instead of being condescended to by government plutocrats or media demagogues.

Craft policies that allow for less-than-perfect world while recognizing permanent values. Allowing state-by-state civil unions is one such step. Allowing abortion to save the mother's physical life is another.

Get real about the immigration and security challenges we face and work with the other side to solve the "illegals" problem. Are you willing to accept short-term sacrifice of profits from illegal labor in order to establish the rule of law and new worker's visas?

Stop the budgetary chaos and REALLY curb spending, including overbloated defense programs.

There is more both sides need to think about, but integrity does not come pre-packaged and microwavable...it is carefully pursued and has to simmer for a long time. But the flavor of the final product is worth the time!