Down the street from our condo, there's a business. On the porch of that business - the one facing a well-travelled street - is a sign that prohibits loitering except on business and warns the premisis is protected by the police. O.K. so far? Sure, except for the fact that the business is a church, the Church of Christ, as a matter of fact, and the "porch" is the entrance to this house of worship. So what's the beef?
I seem to recall somewhere that the same Christ mentioned in the church's name told his followers, "Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me." What on earth could He have been thinking of?
It's not that the church hasn't got a perfect right to keep the bums off the porch - it has. But to try to pass this off as anything resembling Christian is laughable. I feel this is typical of the kind of hypocrisy that's becoming the standard of religious, political and economic life in the United States. I'll try to illustrate:
In Oregon, a teacher can get into really serious trouble for omitting the Pledge of Allegiance in his or her classroom. Fine. But when was the last time you read a poll of Americans showing how many really think everybody in this country gets an equal shot at justice? How about you? Do you think Charlie Sheen or Lindsay Lohan is treated the same as Joe Doakes or Jane Doe? Does the rich man get the same treatment as the poor one? And speaking of treatment, how about medical care? So, if we really don't have liberty and justice for all in this country, why make the kids keep saying it, especially when a lot of them think it's baloney because of what they hear at home or experience in real life?
When we shot Osama bin Laden, reports say he was unarmed and not offering resistance. Are we sorry he's dead? No! But to say he was brought to justice may have been true in John Wayne movies, but not according to the U.S. Constitution. Blasting an unarmed man through the head is not exactly in the jurisprudence rulebook, except after things like a trial and a verdict. If dumping a guy in the ocean after killing him is part of our foreign policy, why not be honest enough to say so?
Does anybody still think we went into Iraq because we wanted to bring the country democracy?
I don't think we're doing the country any favors by lying to its citizens. We're grown-ups, gentlemen. We can appreciate the reasons for political assassinations, regime changes, tax dodges and fibbing politicians if we can get in exchange honesty and clarity. Tell us the truth and let us decide how we want our country run. Can the crap, friends. If we're too deep in debt to afford that new television, tell us how stupid it is to buy it. If we need more revenue, tell us we have to pay more taxes. Just make sure it's all of us that are paying them.
Just don't treat us like babies.