What Passes For Conscience These Days

Some nurses in New Jersey are garnering attention for the "stand" they are taking, in refusing to assist in abortion procedures at their hospital, because to do so violates their ethical tenets. Their "heroic" stand against abortion has garnered them the support of notorious women's rights foe Representative Chris Smith, who has come out in full support of their actions, because he has an election coming up and it is time to energize his base constituency: the self-appointed moral guardians of New Jersey.

If you've noticed a particular odor wafting through the air as you read, that is the taint of hypocrisy that clings to the air whenever a government official or some member of the community stands up and claims that to have anything to do with sex, the aftermath of sex, or abortion of a fetus goes against their "principles." I put principles in quotes, because in many cases, their moral and ethical system of values is so fraught with contradictory and confounding rules that it makes no sense. Conscience, as such people define it through their words and actions, involves denying others their rights because something those others do upsets them in ways that are usually tangled up more in belief than reality.

So let's examine this "conscience" these people claim is being so offended.

The One Hundred Percent

Numbers are bandied about continuously to make a point in the Information Age. Statistics, percentages, tallies, proportions, and the like are becoming the drivers of social change, the mirrors behind which truth is hidden, the towers in which power is created and kept, and the walls that keep groups separated. Even now, across the globe, a battle line is being drawn between the ninety-nine percent of the population that is suffering under the economic and social oppression of the other one percent, in which is invested great wealth and greater power.

While it is all well-and-good to be cognizant of the disparities and divisions that are the heart of our current place in human history, the polarization effected by numerical comparisons in any number of axes, far from delineating and defining the problems and potential solutions of those problems, serves to only increase the divisiveness and demonization extant in human societies all over the planet. If our conscience and social change are to be driven by numbers, then there are only two numbers that should truly count: one and one hundred.

People Who Don't Belong In Government

1. Those who think government is evil
2. Those who think government is incapable of solving problems
3. Those who think government should not be solving problems
4. Those who think government has no obligation to support its citizens.
5. Those who think their form of worship is superior to the works of humanity and want to impose it on all citizens

Government is only as capable as those who run it. Placing people incapable of accepting government for what it is in positions of importance, is the surest way to destroy a nation. We need people who can be open-minded, fair, reasonable, compassionate, and who will compromise to get work done, not party sycophants or fear mongers or power grabbers. America suffers, where it cannot follow the precepts outlined for it by its founders: that each of us is equal and each of us is responsible to ourselves and to our fellow citizens. Those who cannot see themselves as part of a greater whole cannot possibly work toward the greater good.

They Pledge Allegiance...

Of late, we note the spate of candidates for, and holders of, high offices in our nation signing pledges, to groups and organizations, that they will not raise taxes, that they will ban same-sex marriage, that they will repeal the health care law, and so on. They are all in earnest, believing that such pledges make them exemplars of what it means to govern the United States, that they are willing to commit such action to paper and place their name upon it.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

The Big Picture

It is interesting how so many of the more divisive issues we face are the result of a narrow scope on a much larger problem. It seems far easier for many to simply lock in on a singular aspect of society that they find objectionable, ignoring the grand scale that encompasses it.

Take abortion. Much fire and brimstone is traded back and forth over its propriety and legality and morality, but it is simply a singular aspect of a larger framework: human reproduction, more specifically, a woman's ability to regulate when and in what manner she becomes pregnant. With the advent of reliable chemical birth control, it became possible for a woman to gain complete control of her reproduction, allowing her to enjoy her sexuality without the constant fear of becoming pregnant at an inopportune time. This remarkable breakthrough would allow humanity to better manage its resources, as it could have lead to fewer unwanted births, and a reduction in the need for social services to help mothers care for unplanned children. Instead, the whole span of reproductive management has come under attack, with abortion being made into the crux of the issue, instead of sex education. Rather than dealing with the causative factors making abortion more prevalent (rape & incest, poor family planning, lack of sex education, inadequate access to birth control), those who would seek to eliminate it concentrate solely on the procedure itself, instead of its place in the grand scheme.

Take oil. For close to a century now, our insatiable need for energy has been fed by a non-renewable source, oil. While abundant energy on a titanic scale pours down upon us every day, we harness our industrial might, our societal growth, and our military muscle to the yoke of a resource we can no longer control. The sources of oil within our political control our limited, and even if we were to drill in every forest, nature preserve, and sea bed within our grasp, we would find little enough, to quench our insatiable thirst. This leaves us vulnerable to the machinations of other groups and countries; do you remember the oil embargo of the early 70's? Even then, when our consumption was nowhere near the peaks it is at today, we were vulnerable. At that moment, we could have diverted our appetite away from fossil fuel, toward clean and renewable energy. The Space Age had given us the solar cell, but rather than pick it up and run with it, we continued to guzzle gas. Our foreign policy, our political will, and our place in the world has been shaped by a resource we can no longer dominate. We have lost our view of the big picture, and left ourselves vulnerable to dictators and terrorists, rather than making renewable energy a matter of national security, as well as environmental policy.

Take poverty. Despite decades of declaring "war" on it, poverty is even more prevalent now than it was in the days of The Great Depression. While the country's economic power continues to increase, and our influence in the world rises, we continue to neglect our own people, relegating whole swathes of our society to a miserable life of deprivation, disease, and despair. The average American is too easily subject to the vagaries of a system whereby those in power become more powerful at the expense of decent, hard-working, tax-paying people, without paying their proper due. So many groups pour so much effort into "saving" things, or "preserving" things, and yet they walk by people who are hungry, homeless, and without hope. How can we talk of our greatness on the one hand, while we continue the policies that keep so many of our citizens bereft of the basic necessities for a decent life? We are only as strong as the weakest among us, and sadly, there are so many who are too weak to fight, too weak to dream, too weak lift themselves up from the mud. Some would dismiss them, claim they should "think more positively," "work harder," or "stop living off my dime," but they would be missing the bigger picture: that we are a nation, a people, brought together to provide mutual support, and charged by our founders to provide for the common good.

Take any polarizing issue, and you will see that it is generally part of a tableau, a small part of a grand production. While it is always easier to live with blinders, to see only that which is before us, it is our duty to look back at what we've done, and look ahead to what we must do, and strive to reconcile where we are as part of the greater scheme of life. Like it or not, we, humanity, are all in it together. What affects one of us, affects all of us, in the end. Like the butterfly, whose flapping of wings brings about additional perturbation of the atmosphere, so each of us adds to the general course of human events through our action, or inaction. If we are to finally grow as a species, then we must accept that life is far more than the sum of its parts. We must look to the broad scope of humanity, and work toward a greater good for all.

Taxation With Representation

If the Founding Fathers were irked at the idea of having to pay taxes to The Crown without fair representation in Parliament, just imagine how they would feel now. The government they worked so hard to put together has taken the idea of taxation and turned it on its head. While I'm sure they would agree that tax revenue collected by the Federal government was to be used for the good of all Americans, I don't think they'd be too pleased with how that is accomplished and how the money is apportioned.

I am sure they would see the Democratic point of view, which says that the money needs to be spent towards the general welfare, to ensure that no American should suffer through life with a lack of food, shelter, and education. I am also sure they would see the Republican side of the equation. Government must do these things effectively, efficiently, and above all, with as little cost to the citizen as possible. Large government benefits no one if its size is not a function of what it does but how it does it.

All that said, I'm sure the Founding Fathers would look upon the current system and see that it is a shambles of their original model. No doubt they would be horrified at the inefficiency and waste inherent in the current budgeting process. What would have them no doubt even more perplexed is how so much of the money is being misspent and misused. Despite representation, it is as if the whims of Congressmen are more important than the needs of the people.

For the American Republic to work, it must provide equal access to all, access to those things that are the fundamental right of citizens: health care, food and shelter, education. It must provide defense of the nation without becoming embroiled in every petty foreign war. It must show other nations through deeds and words, how the lamp of democracy may be lit by the people of a nation. Mostly, each and every citizen must do their share, whether they would agree with the policies of the government or not. Elections are held to give the citizenry a chance to change the course of the nation when they feel it is headed towards the shoals.

For all of this to work, the sweat of the American brow must not be spent perpetuating the same tired policies based on self-aggrandizement, appeasement, and chest-thumping. The taxes we pay must come with their own price tag: the promise by all our legislators that they will treat them with care, will portion them out to provide for all, and will ensure our safety and security, all this without the rancor and partisanship that has so mired us in the mud for so long. Perhaps it is too much to ask, but ask for it we must, each and every time we pay our taxes or go to the ballot box. We must hold those we elect to represent us to the highest standard, until it becomes clear to the establishment in Washington, D.C. that they work for us.

Tis' The Season

His name was Jdimytai Damour, he was 34, and you probably do not know who he was, because he was not famous, not a spokesman for anything, not a politician, sports star, or celebrity. He was a big man -- 270 pounds -- and everyone who knew him liked him.

And he died.

He did not die the heroic death of a firefighter struggling to save people from a burning building, or that of a soldier fending off the enemy while his comrades were evacuated to safety. He did not even die the regrettable death of Sean Bell, in a hail of police bullets.

He was trampled. Crushed. Crushed by an insensitive human mob, bent on getting the best holiday deal on toys, TVs, or clothing. A tsunami of humanity, surging into a Valley Stream, NY Wal-Mart as if they were an infantry division hitting the beach at Normandy. And in the end, Jdimytai Damour was a casualty, along with human decency and intelligence.

We sit in the economic crisis strangling this country precisely because of the rampant consumerism that brought about this tragedy. The desire of the masses to possess the latest and greatest merchandise led to the overspending of credit, the purchasing of homes beyond the means of money, and the attempt to spend money that did not exist, in the form of home equity. People have been told repeatedly, daily, by Madison Avenue, that they must possess more and better things.

And this striving for the latest and greatest has overwhelmed the spirit of the season we are now in, a season which creeps closer and closer to Summer as every year passes. The lessons of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and even the Winter Solstice have been swept under the rising tide of holiday sales and bargains galore. In a time of need, when families are watching their greatest asset, their homes, being taken from them, when job cuts leave many on unemployment, unable to pay their bills, and when the need for charity is at its greatest, thousands line up outside stores at obscene hours of the day, all to pinch pennies on gifts for themselves or others. Pennies which do not find their way into the coffers of the charities that could so desperately use them.

While not all people ascribe to Christianity as their belief system of choice, it is interesting to note that Christmas is the celebration of the birth of a man, the Son of God for those who believe, who preached a simple message: we are all in this together. We must reach out to each other, help each other, no matter who we are or what our place in life. We can gain great peace in knowing that we have striven to not only help ourselves, but our fellow human beings. We must come together, and we must be willing to put all differences aside, for the greater good. Also interesting to note that he died at the hands of his fellow men, as was ordained, in order to hopefully save their souls.

Jdimytai Damour's death cannot be said to be as dramatic as that of Christ, but it should carry no less powerful a message. If a man's life must be forfeit, let it be for the good of all, rather than a mere pittance for a few. Let us choose to be better than mere rabble. Let us take the energy of our lust for goods, and turn it to a lust for good. Let us be pained when we cannot help others in their hour of need. When anyone falls, let a hundred hands reach out to pull that person up. Though we may have little money to give, let us give as much of ourselves as we can. Perhaps if we do these things, there can be some redemption for this man's pointless death.