One of the most cowardly things ordinary people do is to shut their eyes to facts.
Wednesday, January 26, 2022
Eyes wide shut
Sunday, January 23, 2022
Numbly Comfortable
If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair.
-C.S. Lewis
As the nation debates the history of racial bigotry in America, voices are raised in apprehension around the teaching of this history in schools. Some parents decry the attempts to instruct children in mistakes of the past; arguing that to convey the truth about white exploitation of people of color will make some uncomfortable.
Sacrificing truth for comfort teaches contempt for truth; scorning veracity to alleviate cognitive dissonance numbs the mind and spirit to the harsh reality of the pain caused by a callous indifference to the suffering of others. Humans tend to accept such unshared misery as normal; blaming the victims for their adversity. With this acceptance comes a diminished humanity; a wanton cruelty that numbs compassion.
In this state of disposable truth, nothing is strong; and the wishful thinking of the numbly comfortable leads to a despair of progress and improvement; a despair that ends in self destruction.
Thursday, January 20, 2022
Who's driving the bus?
When religion and politics travel in the same cart, the riders believe nothing can stand in their way. Their movements become headlong - faster and faster and faster. They put aside all thoughts of obstacles and forget the precipice does not show itself to the man in a blind rush until it's to late.
Jaime Escalante: You only see the turn, you don't see the road ahead.
Tuesday, January 18, 2022
Righteous wrong turn
God will not be used as a convenience. Men or nations who think they can revive the Faith in order to make a good society might just as well think they can use the stairs of heaven as a shortcut to the nearest chemist’s shop.
C.S. Lewis
In a society where convenience is worshiped, God becomes a tool to justify employing odious means toward loathsome ends. Sanctifying cowardice, hallowing hatred, glorifying violence; all are easily accepted underneath the shroud of a deity designed to serve the depravity of human desire. When Faith becomes subservient to sin, the best intentions lead ultimately to the stygian depths, and those who follow find themselves perdition bound. Let us ensure the path we follow is guided by love, humility and courage lest we make a righteous wrong turn.