One group mourns, another rejoices. Opinions are written. Photojournalists take pictures. “Newstainment” talking heads keep the bases stirred up. The radical middle mulls over the latest distraction, event, catastrophe. No one, not a single person, understands the implications of what just happened. Maybe it is the soldier that set off the Boston Massacre prior to the War of Independence. Perhaps it is the emancipation of slaves. Who knew how reestablishing Israel in 1948 would affect world politics? Prohibition? Trade unions? The assembly line? Genetic mapping? The internet? Social media? War on drugs, social security and welfare?
Public policy and laws matter. They affect important decisions in our lives. Whether or not to marry based on economic factors because of public assistance or tax laws. What vehicles we drive. How we heat or cool our houses. The jobs we take and how much we get paid. There is not one aspect of our lives that are not affected by the laws of the nation in which we reside. Every law, every decision — they impact different groups of people in different ways. Hopefully, the goal is fairness and justice but even our best efforts, which happen too infrequently, fall short.
We have had 50 years of federally mandated legal abortion. No one knew where that would lead then. We do now. What we don’t know is what the next 50 years will bring. There are some that will claim to know, and general statements may be true or become true as time goes on. We need to be reminded that from a constitutional point of view, kicking the decisions back to the states is not a disaster. We will see the results of different laws in different states. The problem is there will be a lot of pain, hurt and damage done in the meantime.
I want to share a quote from Albert Einstein concerning the power unleashed by the atomic bomb. The situations are vastly different, but there are a couple of parallels that I think are of interest. When the bombs were dropped, some cheered and some wept. Some did both. It was deemed a necessary evil by the powers at that time. Innocents died. Consciences were seared. There are no painless ways to end a war. When we dropped the bombs, we had no idea what we were unleashing. The same could be said of many new technologies of war.
What societies do about unwanted or unplanned children is a gruesome study in ethics and morality. How different cultures have defined “personhood” is the same. In the case of our nation, these two concepts have become intertwined and highly politicized and emotional. Could they be anything else? Now, back to Einstein. I think he captures our national angst well and uses a currently relevant comparison. “But could not our situation be compared to one of a menacing epidemic? People are unable to view this situation in its true light, for their eyes are blinded by passion. General fear and anxiety create hatred and aggressiveness. The adaption to warlike aims and activities has corrupted the mentality of man; as a result, intelligent, objective and humane thinking has hardly any effect and is even suspected as persecuted (as unpatriotic),” Albert Einstein in a speech to the United Nations, Nov. 11, 1947.
Sometimes winning an argument, getting a law passed, or having a Supreme Court decision overturned is not what it first appears. No one knew the implications in 1973 for our nation. No one knows now. This is not a time for the winners to gloat. This is not a time for celebration. This is a time for reflection and prayer. This is a time for listening and compassion. Sometimes when you win — you lose. I think that was the case in 1973 and I think it may be the case now. This is not a matter of “for” or “against.” Such thinking is shallow, divisive and unsympathetic. Such thinking cuts off discussion and solutions.
Such thinking makes forgiveness and repentance impossible. Such thinking has landed us where we are right now. Of course, better behavior from men would change things. Of course, better spiritual development of our children would help. If we could stop incest, rape and the purity culture that sets kids up for trouble, using abortion as birth control, and poverty, things might change. Based on the entirety of human history, I am not hopeful this will happen any time soon.
What I pray for is that Christians would begin to act like Christians and offer forgiveness, peace and reconciliation. I pray for believers to stop cheering and look at those who are terrified and hurt right now. Be a source of love and hope. What have we done?
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