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Unless They Change What is Within Their Hearts

As I write this, a parade of scandal and corruption and bloodshed moves across my TV screen. The leaders of our culture, the most materially rewarded, the admired, those who demonstrate our concept and understanding of success in life, those at the highest levels of influence and power and access, are shown to be cheats, liars, and thieves. An ancient institutionalized moral voice is revealed to be a nest of pedophiles and those who would cover their actions, all the while claiming to represent God. An American citizen or two sit incommunicado in government accommodations with no access to family, friends, or legal representation. A supposed ally encroaches on another people in a clearly colonialist venture (using weapons we supply), and then thumbs their nose at our President when he says "Withdraw!" and our President bows down, continuing policies based upon religio-mythic fantasies, not on what is truly fair and just. And the world sees Black Smoke rising over Bethlehem. A new word enters the discourse-- "blowback"-- taken from a page of the FBI-CIA dictionary of jargon, "When Thugs We Like Go Bad." The government is growing-- establishing the uncomfortably-named "Homeland Security" office (Were the Native Americans asked about that? I'm sorry, but it has very creepy paterland overtones for me.), and perhaps a toll-free hotline for you, your delivery company, and your letter carrier to call and report "suspicions" should your neighbors smell funny. As said, its hard to get accurate information these days. Journalists don't seem to be allowed any where anymore, and they don't seem to be complaining about that. Uber alles anyone? "Those who trade freedom for security deserve neither."

We need a special federal law to protect whistle-blowers. What is a whistle-blower? Someone who enjoins what is right, and forbids what is wrong. It is terrifying that no one else will protect them. Will we Americans call ourselves "good" when this is the reality? For you see, the Kenneth Lays of the world do not just wake up one day and decide to cheat, lie and steal. They practice it for years, decades, and while they practice they pass by hundreds, thousands of people on their way to the top. It is highly probable that many of them realized these future CEOs were corrupted and corrupting, but did nothing. It is also highly probable that at least a few confronted these future leaders and were crushed, losing jobs, perhaps being set-up, slandered and vilified, unsupported by their fellow employees. That's why we need a special whistle-blower law. And that is a very, very sad, scary and dangerous moral-ethical place for a people to be.

In the aftermath of 9-11 I would ask people who claimed to be Christian, "What would Jesus do?" And more specifically, what would Jesus have been doing in these decades since World War II? I've not gotten an answer. Or rather, the answers I've been offered certainly gave every appearance of being anti-Christ.

We've gotten ourselves into a big mess. We are in a crises of global proportions. Americans, as the most powerful and free people ever to have existed, are saddled with a grave responsibility. Perhaps it is more responsibility than an infant nation-- barely born-- can handle. But only we have the power, the influence, the "can do" attitude to truly move all of humanity forward to a better life. Not by force, not by imposition or compulsion, not by military means, not by relationships of convenience with the thuggish and corrupt, but by good example. Principled example. Perhaps we are not up to the challenge of leading humanity, particularly if we, as a nation and as individuals, are unable or unwilling to act according to principles-- not convenience-- at all times. It is particularly true that it is in difficult times and when crises descend upon us that we discover how principled-- or unprincipled--we really are, both as individuals and as a nation.

We were supposed to be a light on a hill.

Jesus said we would know his followers by their love.

God says in the Qur'an that the condition of a people will not be changed until they change what is in their hearts, and that we are to always stand for justice, for what is right, even if that means standing against our own tribe, group, corporation, community, family, self.

And God knows best about all of this.

© 2002 Jeremiah D. McAuliffe, Jr.
This article may be used for non-profit purposes, without any editing, with proper attribution, and with notification to the author.

Jeremiah can be reached through http://www.ampcast.com/jeremiah

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