What is Right?
I recently received my email copy of the Judson Cox column entitled "Is John Kerry a Democrat?". [If you wish to read the article in full you may find it at: http://tinyurl.com/2r3he - Is John Kerry a Democrat? - Judson Cox April 19, 2004]
While the article is peculiarly American and Political, it did cause me to think about a whole host of issues. The particular section which struck me, I quote as follows:
"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty." � John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address. This sentiment is the heart of the "Bush Doctrine." Our President has vowed to hunt down terrorists, undermine nations that support terrorism and foster Democracy in totalitarian nations. John Kerry sees little value in democracy.
Now my particular expertise is not politics but Biblical Chronology, and therefore I take interest in matters pertaining to religion and Ancient History. It is only natural therefore that I take interest in the situation in the Middle East, and Islamic terrorism worldwide, and therefore quite accidentally, I have come to take an interest in things political. If living in China has had a particular impact on me, it is that I now avidly read the news; belong to the Yahoo Religion forum; and regularly contribute to the feedback columns in the Online Version of an Australian Newspaper called 'The Courier Mail'.
The abovementioned quote from Judson Cox's column made me stop and think about the world we live in, and the varieties of opinions, arguments and comments I have come across about God, religion, society, politics, the Middle East, and terrorism and ultimately led me to the question 'Why are we here?' Out of that contemplation I want to share with you some of my observations about society in general, and specifically in relation to the question of whether or not we are the end result of accidental evolution, or the creation of some Divine Being.
From the comments made by Judson Cox in reference to J.F. Kennedy and George Bush, we can justifiably conclude that the USA is a country determined to go its own self interested and determined way; to lead the world into its own fold so to speak; and to fight against anyone who stands in its' way. In fact, this just about sums up many of the negative comments I regularly encounter in reference to the USA in relation to the Middle East and the issue of Terrorism.
So many people condemn the USA and its' allies for what they have and are doing, and their opinions are sourced in their various perspectives of life as a whole. But if we stop and consider for a moment the question of Creationism versus Evolution, and decide that 'we' - the human race - are the end product of a chemical accident in the primordial soup, then we must come to the conclusion, that life and liberty in nature, goes to the strongest, the most powerful, the fastest, the most aggressive and the most cunning. In other words, all those people 'out there' who don't believe in 'GOD' AT ALL, have no basis upon which to found their criticisms of the Iraq and other wars in which the USA is involved, for they are nature's NORM.
When you remove GOD from the equation of life, many of the principles for which people stand, are just so much BS. Take the issue of abortion for instance. If their is NO GOD, then life is accidental and meaningless. All, as the Scripture says, is vanity! What is wrong with aborting babies? Many would say 'Nothing is wrong with it!'. But then take China for instance, where abortion is a 'legal obligation', where having more than one Child without permission, is punishable in law. 'Oh that is different!' some would cry, 'that is a deprivation of human rights!'. But without A GOD, what is "human rights"? There is no such thing. It is just a convention, and as we know, all conventions change over time. Who is anyone to complain about what the Government of China does with its' citizens? It is the power, the law, the force that rules by the 'might is right' principle, and THIS IS the law of nature.
How many people are there in the west who believe in Political correctness, multiculturalism, feminism, gay rights or whatever, but don't believe IN GOD? The law of nature is that victory goes to the strongest, and when people are weak, they get conquered or eaten for supper. Why should women have equal rights? If society chooses to oppress women, who is to say that that is wrong? How can it be wrong? WITHOUT GOD, right and wrong don't exist. Only power or powerlessness are left.
Take the issue of gay marriage for instance. Without prejudice to the actual issue of homosexuality, the fact is, that the GOD BELIEVERS have condemned it for millenia, and now in these enlightened times when GOD IS SILENT or has ceased to be, what was once socially inappropriate, has become the norm. So given that it is the norm, what is wrong with gay marriage? And for that matter, what is wrong with a government making a determination that it does not want such a thing to become the societal norm?
Somewhere along the line, mainly due to religion, society decided that men should only have one wife. But if GOD does not exist, why should a man not have more than one wife? If society can decide by consensus or legislation to abolish polygamy, why can it not also PREVENT gay marriage from becoming socially acceptable? There is no reason!
Societal victory on any issue goes to the strongest fighter on the issue, irrespective of RELIGION, irrespective of GOD; and without GOD, there is no 'ultimate truth' to any issue.
If God exists, and if God is OUR GOD, then we MIGHT be entitled to say that right now in the world we are fighting to KEEP ourselves from being overrun by an ADVERSARIAL RELIGION. IF GOD DOES NOT EXIST, then we can justify what the west is doing by simply observing the ways of NATURE.
But if as the many 'isms' seem to believe, God does not exist, and the only purpose in life is ULTRUISM, then why are so many people objecting to the fight against a small bunch of paternalistic, mysognistic, sexist, biggoted, murderous, violent POLITICALLY MOTIVATED individuals whose main purpose is to RULE not only their own people, but the rest of the world by force, and TO FORCE THE NON ISLAMIC WORLD to BELIEVE OR AT LEAST CONVERT to Islam?
Why are not these 'isms' loudly protesting the attitudes and behaviours practiced in these aggressively heterosexual, chauvinistic, and paternalistic societies?
Will this small group of power hungry individuals grant you your feministic principles?; your gay rights?; your freedom not to have a religion?; to dress as you please?; to listen to whatever music you want?; to read anything your want?; to have your own political opinions?; to vote for your own political cause? to pursue your own career? - if they succeed in gaining control of the world?
Somehow, I don't think so.
Although this is the newsletter in full as planned, rapidly occurring world events sometimes require an immediate comment, so I would draw your attention to the following copy of a 'feedback' comment I sent to the Courier Mail ONLINE newspaper in relation to the article entitled: Scores dead in suicide blasts - Basra, Iraq - 22apr04 - http://tinyurl.com/344h3
One of the righteous arguments against western interference in other countries, is that it 'creates' terrorism, that terrorism is the final act of a people in desperation, and I feel that the most important point overlooked by people who view the situation from this perspective, is that 'these people', the terrorists, do not have the view of life and liberty that we westerners have.
These people will kill 'anyone' in pursuit of their goals, and that not only includes their own people, but women and children as well. POWER is the ultimate goal of terrorists, and nobody and no cost can be allowed to stand in the way of achieving that power.
Many people will say that this is really just 'war' and that all kinds of people die in war. But let's look at a situation AWAY from a war zone. I live and work in China and what I tell you now, is fact.
In China, while people will say Taiwan should come back to China because 'they are our family, our brothers and sisters and our cousins', the bottom line is that these same 'family' members believe that if Taiwan does not come back, 'then they are the ones responsible for their own deaths'. Yep, that is right folks. The people of Taiwan should come back to their family, or be killed for refusing to do so. Are these rabbid people who say such things? No! They are educated, civilized and very nice people, who nevertheless believe that you should kill people who won't do what you want, and who by the way, while condemning the USA for 'killing innocent men women and children in Iraq', say that if China attacks Taiwan, it is nobody's business but China's, for it is an internal matter'.
What we are seeing throughout the world, are a bunch of people hellbent of 'having their own way' in controlling everyone within and beyond their 'sphere'. Every Muslim, innocent or otherwise, that dies as a result of terrorist action, is a martyr, and therefore there is no need to worry about how many of their own people these terrorists kill. It is OK! And while the Government in Australia has called on Muslims to be vocal against terrorism, the long arm of terrorism does reach into Australia and Muslims are well warned of the consequences of being vocal against it.
Whatever the judgement 'we' pour on the western aggressors, Whatever justification 'we' give to the terrorists, the bottom line is, 'Do you really think the terrorists are 'just, but desperate people' who only want their 'just right to rule their own countries'?
Somehow, I don't think so.
R.P. BenDedek resides in China, and can be reached at http://kingscalendar.com.
