If you want a great mass of people to work together, then that necessitates a common goal or belief.
The "movement" to end the institution of slavery in the United States required a shared belief that slavery was wrong.
Such a movement took time, and dedication, and perseverance. Some people spent their entire lives working, and "moving", society to embrace the idea that all men are created equal and are entitled to certain unalienable rights. Another such movement sought to include women in the full rights zone.
That ability to be a cog in the works of a great purpose escapes me.
I grew up as US napalm landed on Vietnamese children and was influenced by the high moral example which Richard Nixon set. As I grew up I saw religious leaders guilty of raping children protected by a "moral institution". As I grew up I saw Reagan shot and John Lennon shot and a Pope shot and children shot at school.
As an adult I now see ignorance championed and violence adored. I see a world where the rule of law is being abandoned for the rule of the jungle. I see global warming melting our glaciers and affecting our growing seasons. I see bees, upon which so much food depends, dwindling.I see diseases resistant to many drugs attacking humanity.
And I do not feel a part of anything that seems capable of changing all that.
Where did early emancipators find faith in each other and confidence in their direction?
Did they act without hope of success from a sense of duty?
Hope was a stowaway in Pandora's box and according to Studs Terkel it dies last.
How is Hope sown?
2 comments:
Although you might not like the truth of what I am going to say...
The battle to get rid of slavery was lead by Christians for the most part, although there were differences as to how to go about it.
The answer for the violence in today's society is the Lord Jesus Christ. There will be wars till He reigns. As far as the murders, I just did a post on that. A nation that teaches their children they came from animals and it is okay to act like animals can't expect anything different than for those same children to embrace that same philosophy and become animals.
Kerri,
Thanks for taking the time to respond to my post. I am glad you have found a movement that works for you.
I would like to respond by pointing out that not all Christians battled slavery. Some used the good book to justify it, which tended to make unethical people feel good about their immoral actions.
I don't say this to diminish the contribution of Christians battling slavery, but in order to point out that you can be Christian and immoral (as well as atheist and moral).
All you need for morality is to know that all humans (and many animals) wish to be happy and to avoid suffering, and to adjust your actions accordingly.
As to Jesus ruling over us all, I expect I have less faith in totalitarianism. I further expect that a world full of Christians would find ways to kill each other - probably over dogma.
I am left feeling as though I should defend the morality of animals. It seems unfair to compare their actions to those of monstrous human beings.
Did you know that even a rat, if it sees another rat come to harm when it eats, will stop eating?
Ugly Moe
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