The Real Enemy: Absolutism

That lyric has sung in my head since I first heard it on my mother's original Broadway cast soundtrack of Rogers and Hammerstein's "South Pacific". It reminds me again and again how easy it is to teach people to be enemies. We Americans are being taught daily that certain cultures, certain countries, certain ways of thinking are "evil" and that we have a duty to defeat them.

Certain people who get a lot of press tell us we have a moral obligation to force Democracy and Christianity on others. They say we should be morally outraged when insurgents try to stop an occupying force from advancing in their country, when same sex couples seek the same legal rights as heterosexual couples, when some would put the well-being of air-breathers and water-drinkers ahead of corporate profits, or when a husband acts on the wishes of his brain-damaged wife by allowing her to die.

Still others say we should be morally outraged when picketers make it uncomfortable for women seeking abortions to access clinics, when we inflict exit exams on students, or when some suggest that affirmative action may be backfiring at times.

Well, I am morally outraged that anyone presumes to tell me what should outrage me morally. It's a free country, thank God, and people can tell me anything they want to, and I am free to accept or reject it. So far. I think that's changing, and I am morally and patriotically outraged at the misinterpretation of both scripture and founding papers to justify morally outrageous claims and actions.

Let me tell you that anyone who claims to have absolute truth on their side is someone I instantly dismiss as radical and incapable of independent thought. Islamic extremists strapping bombs to themselves and Christian extremists waving signs that say "God Hates Fags" are in the same camp, as far as I'm concerned. God is neither Republican nor Democrat. God is not Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist or anything else. God is God. Period.

We, on the other hand, are human. We are fallible. We are prone to the various deadly sins. We can be influenced. We can be mislead.

There are countless enemies to fight: ignorance and haughtiness, poverty and greed, violence and pacivity, indolence and workaholism... The list is endless, but real solutions are elusive. Why? I think it's because we've got too many absolutists in power.

There are those who not only believe whole-heartedly that the world is going to end in a cataclysm called Armageddon, but who also have the fantastic hutzpah to suggest that they are ordained to help it come about, and soon. Those who believe the end is near don't have any reason to responsibly manage resources both God and man made.

Others believe that such biblical rantings are complete tripe, that there need not be an Armageddon, that there will be no second coming of Christ, and that the world can last forever if we just take proper care of it. Those who believe there is no divine presence have the fantastic hutzpah to suggest it's all up to us mortals to make sure life on this planet continues indefinitely.

Both camps see an ultimate fight between good and evil, whether they call it that or not, each failing to recognize that in their absolute certainty they themselves embody the most dangerous evil of all.

There's a third camp. It's a big one -- huge, actually. It's inhabited by people who know how to compromise; who know how to listen to diverse views without getting huffy. The vast majority believe in God, trust in God, turn to God, and still use their seat belts. It's the common sense camp. This is a place where you hear Christians say things like, "The end was supposed to be near 2,000 years ago, and we're still here, so we'd better assume we'll still be here 2,000 years from now and plan accordingly." "The tribulation and the second coming are daily events in the lives of those who suffer and are reborn in the spirit." "The message of Christ is to love one another -- to care for the widows and orphans, the sick and the old, the poor and the lost."

So, kill 'em with kindness. If they attack you because they're hungry, retaliate with food. Jesus said those who live by the sword will die by the sword. That wasn't his way of giving permission to return fire. Asking ourselves "What would Jesus do? is a fair measure for our actions. Would Jesus bomb Iraq? Somehow I doubt it. Would Jesus drill in the Arctic? Nah. Would Jesus approve of putting assault weapons in the hands of the masses? That's hard to imagine. Would he remove a feeding tube? In some cases, I honestly think he would.

You can disagree, of course. That's the beauty part of living in a free society. I get to say what I think and you get to consider me a moron. You can even call me a blasphemer. It doesn't make it so, of course, but you can say it as much as you like.