Law and Religion in America

Too many of us Americans take the Bible and the Law too literally.

The Bible is a story, a wonderful story, the best ever written, but it's symbolic, and the authors never intended it to be taken literally! Jesus was an incredibly good guy, one whom all of us can and should emulate. I don't know whether he was a real person or not, and neither do you. But I don't need to know because I love his story so much that it doesn't matter. Because, as far as I can tell, Jesus was opposed to discrimination and prejudice of any sort, he loved his neighbors as much as himself, he even loved his enemies, and in his final words he even questioned God's support for him. (And so did Mother Theresa) WOW!

So really, how much, in the name of our "Christian" religions, are we Americans living out Jesus' teachings? Hmmm. Can we just humbly admit that we've got a long way to go, and leave it at that?

Likewise, the Law has been written over centuries in the context of its times, and yet we insist on trying to apply gone conditions to present day realities. Look at gun-control as just one example.

What nonsense!

Why do we human beings do this? Because it's easier, that's why. We aren't forced to think. Somehow thinking is too hard. We'd rather blindly follow rules that "somebody smarter than us has figured out".

Come on, America! We ARE the best and the brightest, but for too long now we've been playing dumb and it won't be much longer before China and India and the Europeans and the Brazilians outplay us and we end up losing this game. If you love history, you might recall the British Empire, the Spanish Empire, the Soviet Union, and all the Chinese dynasties. They were all great in their time, but now they're all dead. Why? Because they failed to keep up with changing realities and new world orders. They became rich and complacent and they mistook military might for real strength. Sound familiar?

America could be different, America could endure through the eons, and America should! But we're playing a totally dumb game.

John McCain and Sarah Palin are silly little people of no substance or character at a time when America is in decline. Neither of them has the intellect or the judgment to lead us to where we need to go. It's time to get real.

Get fit mentally, emotionally, and physically, and let's start competing again in the real world before it's too late. Your TV needs only two or three channels – PBS nightly and College Football Saturday. The rest is distracting and toxic.

The Bible and The Law were written by our forebears in their time. They are both magnificent works that we should continue to honor and that should guide us forever. But neither could possibly have been written to know the world we live in today, so far different from the world of their authors.

America must get real and get in the game.