Showing posts with label Tennessee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tennessee. Show all posts

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Should We Be Blogging About Whether We Should Be Talking About Piers Morgan Bringing Alex Jones on Television

The Sandy Hook tragedy has led to much bickering, arguing, and a general opportunity for Americans to express their opinions.  But a person has to ask themselves if the opinions they are expressing are "good-natured".

Every time a disaster falls, Americans feel the urgent need to enact new legislation.  After 9/11 we were rushed into the Patriot Act, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Iraq War.  Now after the Sandy Hook tragedy many states are passing gun control legislation (see link Gun Control Bills Flood Statehouses.., ) and there has been talk of a national ban on "military-style assault rifles".  Are we a people prone to panic?  Why is it that it takes a national tragedy to produce such an urgent need to enact change?  When is the last time that something good happened that put a fire into the people?

Certainly there are special interests capitalizing on the events of the Sandy Hook tragedy as a means to enact push forward gun control legislation.  It is difficult to deny that this also happened after 9/11.  Of course there is not a lot of mention of the purpose of the 2nd amendment- the citizenry has a right to protect itself against an oppressive government.   For this reason it is contrary to the notions of liberty  to talk of banning "military-style assault rifles" for all but the military.  Many of you who are reading recognize this truth.

I grew up in a small rural community, where there was constant talk of the government "taking away our guns".  I recognize their sentiment and agree that the government should not take them away.  That is not to say that we should have guns or use them, or more importantly, we need not be passionate about guns.  "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also".

It does not appear that the federal government will be a leader in world peace.  They are not going to give up using their weapons.  The citizens of this country need to do that.

We should not ban assault weapons, we should just not use them.  Jesus said, "Do not resist an evil person".

Great things can happen.  Believe in those things. 

Great things can happen.  Believe in those things. If you believe you have something to say that expresses the will of God, then you need to express it.  This is not easy.  In finding a way to articulate a message in a way that people can understand and receive it can be a painful process.  It can take hard, hard work.  But the more you work, the easier it gets.

Friday, July 24, 2009

We Have Forgotten

People seemed to believe in God a lot more in years past than they do now, especially in America. Why is this? Some may argue that humans have gotten smarter. Some may say we no longer need God because we have natural explanations for the things that we once attributed to God.
But, as a believer in God I see different reasons why the belief in God is less prominent and important in humans’s lives than it once was.
No longer are we exposed to the beauty of God’s creation daily. Growing up one is lucky to see the beautiful night sky as God created it without the obscuration of night pollution. How many people take time to watch the sunset?
We are growing more and more isolated from nature. Nature is where one can find the beauty of God’s creation. In ancient times people interacted much more with the natural world. This may mean going to the sea to fish everyday and being exposed to the sounds of the waves. This may mean picking grain in the field all day while feeling the wind on one’s face. It may mean a lot of things. But today, in America and elsewhere our time spent with the natural enviornment is growing smaller and smaller.
We have our comfortable homes. Sidewalks. Roads. Concrete. Shopping malls. These things can make for a dull existence. Instead of spending each day outside surrounded by nature and God’s beautiful creation we are spending our moments driving down the road surrounded by billboards. We spend our time walking through department stores or sitting in offices.
Some may claim that society is degrading morally because there is not enough religion. But the lack of religion in our lives is not the problem itself, it is the result of a deeper problem. What the problem is is debatable, but regardless I believe that (save the moral degradation argument for later) the lack of religion in the lives of Americans is not a problem in itself but is a result of our way of life. The cause of moral degredation is not a result of the loss of religion, they are both results of the same problem. We have forgotten how to live well.
In order to be happy as a nation and a people we must return to a simpler life. We must return to a life in which we are exposed to the natural world everyday. Humans are a part of nature and to be separated from nature has only caused us suffering.
We must abandon our hectic way of life spurned by desire and return to peaceful living. Instead of going to work only for ourselves everyday we must form communities where each person is dependent upon the other.