Of Morality

There is much talk these days about our nation having lost its moral authority—of abandoning the ideals that made this nation great.  A threatened loss of something taken for granted makes us realize its importance.

Our previous administration was clearly focused upon what is commonly called the ‘greater good’—that which benefits the greatest number of people or the human race in general.  The current administration has systematically reversed almost every prior initiative taken in health care, climate change, immigration reform, clean energy, involvement with international organizations, and the use of diplomacy in conflict resolution.  How is that NOT shocking?

A few brave Republicans have put principles above party and spoken out against Donald Trump’s fitness to be president and proclaimed him a danger to our democracy.  There is a new book out to which 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts have contributed, titled The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump.

Donald Trump has no respect for truth, he lies uncontrollably and winning by whatever means is the only value he holds.  He gives all indications of being amoral.  Amoral is defined as: lacking a moral sense; one unconcerned with rightness or wrongness of something.  --This also is the definition of a sociopath.

In our secular world we don’t talk too much about morality any more, but I want to make some comments about morality.  First, a few definitions:

     --principles concerning the distinction between right & wrong, good & bad

     --values and principles of conduct/behavior

     --the extent to which an action is right or wrong.

Morality is uniquely human.  We share many qualities with other animals, but morality is the hallmark of the human species.  It arises from reflective awareness, the highest level of consciousness.  It is the expression of the god quality inherent in us.  We can only be fully human when morality becomes central to our choice making.  We have the great gift of free will and that means equal access to good and evil.  We are called to make the free choice for the good—therein do we approach God.

The secular society has tried to regulate behavior through legality.  The law is necessary as foundational to civilization but without the injection of morality into the decision-making, legality dissolves into nit-picking fine points of laws and manipulating them to win a dispute.  Law is of the ‘without’, morality is of ‘the within’; both must be considered to arrive at justice.

Anyone without a sense of moral order is unfit to lead a nation.

Standing vs Kneeling

I’m not a sports enthusiast and I don’t support any team.  I consider myself a loyal American and I’m concerned about the controversy over standing vs. kneeling during the national anthem at football games.

The issue first arose as one or two players, then whole teams, chose to kneel rather than stand during the playing of the anthem to bring attention to the injustice toward blacks that is still present in our society.

I want to address the heated arguments claiming that kneeling is insulting and disrespectful to our flag.

As far back as history goes, kneeling has always been a sign of reverence and respect—subjects knelt before kings, people kneel to pray, a man kneels to ask for a woman’s hand in marriage . . . kneeling does not disparage, it is in no way disrespectful.  In this instance it is a request that our nation face the imbalance that is still present in our society.  Those accusations of disrespect arise from resistance toward facing those prejudices that still mar our nation. 

Too often in recent times protests have resulted in violence—in which case the good of the justice sought, is lost to the injustice of the destruction that ensues.  Martin Luther King Jr. awakened our nation to peaceful protest—the method used by Gandhi and Mandela to win freedom and justice in their countries.  Our segregation battle was won by sitting at lunch counters, taking a seat in the front of a bus, and a peaceful march of thousands . . . kneeling at the games is in the same category, and I praise it.

Clearly the imbalance and injustice we are being asked to look at is very real and multifaceted, it will take time and agonizing efforts to resolve, but let us look at the peaceful way this protest is being expressed and admire the courage of those ‘stepping outside the box’ to bring it to light.

YouTube Song

My daughter sent me a message about a song on YouTube, “My World Needs You” . . . so beautiful . . . so true.     Listen to it.

Our secular world has moved away from God; and the world is in crisis!  It is God that focuses us on the good.  Religions—so needed to help us keep God in mind—have alienated so many thinking people because they have misinterpreted God and encouraged an absolutist mentality that insists, ‘only this way is right’.  Our God is the God of Love and infinite diversity, not a god of vengeance nor a god of magic, bestowing special favors on those who ‘pray correctly’. 

In rebelling against those false concepts many have rejected not only those concepts, but also God.  The error is in human misinterpretation, not in God’s being.   God is God of this incredibly wondrous complex Universe . . . mystery beyond our knowing; the source of all that is good and true.

Consider the ending statement in Genesis 1:31, “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.”

Indeed, ‘my world needs you right now’.  Too long we’ve been shortsighted, failing to heed your directive to ‘love one another’.  In seeing and hearing how, through the recent tragedies of hurricanes, floods, earthquakes and mass killings, people have reached out to help and comfort one another . . . in this we see the face of God.

Of Hand in Hand

‘Hand in Hand; benefit for hurricane relief’

This is what it is all about—this is what God is about!  People rising to meet a need: the first responders, folks powering up their boats, or paddling a canoe to rescue someone they don’t know simply because that’s what is needed.

           There is something calling, I hear it  . . . but only 'almost'.

The media helped, during the tragedy showing stories of love and compassion.  Then, CBS with its telethon Hand in Hand, at its hour-long closing raised 14 million dollars for victims of Harvey and Irma.

Mystery God is the God who set the world in order, then brought forth creatures with reflective awareness, giving them the freedom to manage life and the world according to their choice.  Over time that choosing has not been well thought out, but we learn form our mistakes (which have been monstrous).  Now is the time we are given to assess and reorder.  The massive calamities of Harvey and Irma are awakening us to realize the need to work together to overcome disorder and disaster.  Hard lessons, but the outpouring of concern and help says we are beginning to learn.  The lesson is ‘We are One World’ and helping each other is what this life is all about.

We’ll return to grumbling and fault finding, but the lessons of showing compassion, helping and giving aid will enter our consciousness as the ‘Yes’ we are called to.  That discovery is what Mystery God awaits.  Selfishness will return, but take courage; consciousness change is a slow process.

Nature Unbalanced

Hurricane after hurricane after hurricane, earthquakes and tornados, mountains sides ablaze, wars and terrorism—it is not God’s wrath but man’s refusal to heed God’s precepts that creates this chaos
. . . nature exists in a delicate balance, human actions have unbalanced that balance and God mourns the destruction.  The saving words are “Thy will be done” and they have been ignored.

The voice of the Lord is in nature and nature howls from the pain man has inflicted upon her.  Nature is warning us, calling us to awaken.  In the earliest pages of the Bible God says, “I lay before you life and death, choose life”.  We make the ‘for life choice’ by following The Way of Jesus which is love and forgiveness—but instead we have ignored that imperative and chosen greed and selfishness . . . and the earth groans as man’s choices unbalance the balance, bringing destruction.

We need God in our life, our world and our consciousness.

Once again I invoke the contemporary version of  Psalm 29:

We have not kept your precepts, Lord.

We have not shepherded the earth by your formulation,

We have plundered for private gain

            and trampled the lowly to amass profits.

Ascribe to the Lord, O world leaders,

            ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

Ascribe to the Lord the reverence due his name

            and take heed of the splendor of his holiness.

The voice of the LORD is heard in Nature,

            the God of glory thunders.

The Lord gives us warning as we despoil the earth;

            the voice of the Lord breaks the cedars

            and howls the winds.

The voice of the Lord shakes the mountains

            and strikes with flashes of lightening.

The voice of the Lord twists the oaks

            and strips forests bare.

Look, listen and know!

The Lord sits enthroned over the waters and land,

The Lord reigns King forever.

The Lord gives warning to his people!

Heed his precepts and principles

            lest man’s choices bring destruction
            to this wondrous earth and all its inhabitants!