Friday, January 25, 2013

A Mirrored Chime

Some years ago, when our kids were teens, I wrote a song for a church musical. The song was called,
"Truth", and the opening lines went: "Truth twists in the wind, like a mirrored chime. Sun glints from the Truth side, and I lose my sight." It may have been a bit obscure, but I knew what I meant. There are so many issues that are hard to make sense of. What is truth? People become impassioned about their version of truth, to an extent that we as society can no longer be objective about the issue. We are blinded by the arguments themselves.
What is the truth about something as simple as a flu shot? Is it a huge cash cow for drug companies, perpetuated by fear marketing? Or is it a prudent preventative measure where the benefits vastly outweigh the risks?
How about gun control? What is the truth there? Can anyone really insist that limiting the availability of new assault weapons will stop the insanity of mass murders? Can anyone else really insist that we, as a people, have the God-given right to own such weapons? For me, the truth that keeps poking through all this is that we are missing the point of the tragedies. Someone has to be mentally ill to commit such murders. If we would address that, we would have no need for this divisive gun argument. The same is true about abortion. If we would seriously address birth control, abortion would not be the intensely hot topic that it is. But the moral indignation felt on both sides of these issues blinds us to the possible remedies. Moral indignation is in itself a blindness.
How can we be open minded to the truth when the adversaries on both sides are drawing lines in the sand, insisting we agree with them or burn in hell? I added the burn in hell part. No one really says that. But that is the implication. We will be turning our backs on our moral obligation as human beings if we agree with the other side. And both sides say it, loud and clear. I don't know who says it louder. I guess that depends on if you listen to CNN or FOX. Stop shouting! How can you listen for the voice of reason if you are shouting all the time!!! (Extra exclamation marks have been known to indicate printed shouting. Sigh.)

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