Same as the old boss after all

“How can you write about Neil Sedaka and being silly when there’s a war going on?” I heard the voice from a little corner of my consciousness, but the death of Neil Sedaka was on my mind Saturday, so I wrote about him for Sunday, and Mary and I were silly on Sunday, and I preferred to write about that for Monday.

I have little to add regarding the latest war against Iran anyway. The great battle in this world is not left versus right, but the state versus the individual. The left favors one version of an all-powerful state, and the right favors another version, but neither side is particularly interested in protecting individual rights.

And war is the state’s favorite tool. The left is criticizing the right-handed president’s war actions, but it had no problem when a left-handed president took similar actions. This president has said a lot of pretty things about ending wars, but in the end it’s another case of “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.”

As a result I have little to say about the war against Iran. War is a function of the state, and I have no interest in the state except to find ways to reduce its size and power. Peace, on the other hand, takes concerted efforts by individuals, one individual at a time.

And so I offer, once again, my Declaration of Peace, from this individual to each individual I meet.

A Declaration of Peace

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary to step back and ask, “What in the world are we doing?” and consider a different approach, it behooves us to explain what in the world we are doing, and why.

These truths ought to be self-evident — that all humans are created equal, endowed by our Creator with rights that are certain and unalienable, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness — but then governments are created to tinker with those rights, to abridge those rights, and eventually to trample those rights.

Ostensibly governments are created to do those things that individuals cannot do, but there are many acts that individuals will not do and should not do, and they are no less heinous when committed in the name of government, and among these are theft, extortion, blackmail, and murder.

As a free and independent human, therefore, I declare that I am at peace with my fellow humans and that I will not initiate violence against them. This I pledge by my life, my fortune (such as it is) and my sacred honor, so help me God.

Share the light

“Yes, but how can you turn your back on the darkness in this world?” one might ask. “We have a responsibility to shine a light on the awfulness everywhere.”

It’s a compelling question. There is awfulness everywhere, and so many people’s solutions seem to be to create awfulness of a different sort. That way lies darkness, it seems, no matter which way one turns.

“Rage, rage, against the dying of the light.” Yes, that’s from a poem about death, but when you look too long into the darkness, it does seem that so much is dying.

That’s why it feels so radical to shine a light on the light.

Everywhere you turn, you may find sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies and the like.

Adjust your attitude just a hair, and everywhere you look you may find love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

And I dare say you will find these things in greater abundance, because as much as we are drawn to the darkness, in the light we find what we desire in our heart of hearts.

These are the two choices we have every day — light and dark; good and evil, as it were. I find when I reach for the light and when I reach for the dark, the feelings that arise as I write are remarkably different. The light feels like freedom. The dark feels like slavery.

If the choice is freedom or slavery, I firmly believe most people choose freedom. That is why I choose to share the light; that is why I am hopeful; that is why I choose to live in the light rather than rage, rage — because dawn always comes to chase away the darkness.

(I plagiarized part of this blog post. You may find the original text in Paul’s letter to the Galatians; scholars have marked the passage as Chapter 6, verses 13 through 26.)

Renewal and revival

Of course posting my thoughts about this week’s political events started a fight. That seems to be the point of politics — fighting.

I surrender. No one will change their mind based on anything I say or write anyway. I’m going to do what I’ve said I wanted to do over and over again: I’m going to turn off the news. It’s all lies and jests anyway, and a person hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest. Yes, I just quoted a folk song; there’s more truth in a bit of music than in the daily wrestling match among fighters who purport to run our lives.

I’m not interested in fighting. Never have been. Violence is for cowards.

Every so often I break my vow to stay away from politics and write about love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. I always regret the lapse. My words are misunderstood, assumptions are made about things I didn’t say, and it’s all just sad. Today I renew my vow.

Dark forces are afoot, and they like it when we are angry with each other and find reasons to hate. No more. There is too much beauty in this world to dwell in darkness.

I can’t promise never to breach the subject again. After all, I am a loathsome sinner like everyone else.

But I will try to remember that here, I aim to bring encouraging words to a discouraging world. The battle is a daily one, and actually, I fall into the trap when I think of it as a battle.

It’s a surrender. When one surrenders to the Holy Spirit, the result is the fruits of the Spirit, which I listed above.

Let’s get on with seeking love, joy, peace, and the rest. It’s healthier all around.