I am a big fan of free speech, that is why I get to write the blog without censorship. I saw a newscast about some students in CT that wanted to put on a pro-peace play at their school. The topic was to intense and they got shut down. The kids wanted to present a play expressing their desire for peace in Iraq. They were actually going to use the actual words of Iraq War veterans. Facts whether they sustain my personal view or not, are facts. I like that.
My opinion is this: I don't think it is fair, but in a sense it may be. Here is why. Because of the separation of church and state, there is almost no free Christian speech in public schools around the country. You can wear vulgar t-shirts as long as they don't say Jesus. I think it is a bit of poetic justice that these pro-peace folks have suffered the same censorship that most Christian kids in public schools have.
I have to ask the question, why is the gulf so big? It seems to me that when I was kid, the left and right were closer together. It seemed that the church was a viable part of the community. Even during the short period after 9-11, it seemed that the spirit of patriotism was strong... "one not seen since Pearl Harbor."
Today none of that seems true. The fact that the war is not over has outraged many Americans; about 70%. I don't really think that is the reason. I think the shift in society has come from tossing God to curb for the most part. We are told that we can't legislate morals. So, what can we legislate? If nudity on TV was illegal some years ago, and it still is, then why does it keep showing up on TV? Someone is allowing it. If truth and morality are different for everyone, then I suppose no one will be pleased. It like my math teacher told us, "when you average a set of numbers, it is entirely possible that no number in the set will be the same as the average." I think that is what is in play here in America. When there is no standard for morality, such as the Bible, we will average the ideas of millions... and it is entirely possible that no one agenda will be met.
What is difficult is that where some folks think that a certain behavior should be legal, another doesn't. All we can do is rally our supporters to see things our way. When we have a standard, we can use that to measure things. For those who don't want to measure up, there are other countries. I know it sounds a little harsh, but it's true. Israel as a country never allowed in any foreigners to become "converts."For that reason they have been around as a nationality and a religion for about 6,000 years. They, as a people have suffered extensively during different periods of world history. It doesn't mean that they did not extend kindness to foreigners, they simply didn't let them run the country. They didn't let them make the laws and they didn't allow other religions to be practiced by their citizens.
So why the gulf? Because opposing views have nothing to measure their morality by. They are now, never taught it. As Christians we do a standard, but more importantly we have a Gospel.
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