Monday - June 06, 2005

Modern Dilemna

hen you read the tribute below to the brave men who stormed the beaches of Normandy in 1944, you may notice a common link in all the parts of the post. From the first-hand accounts of the American soldiers to Shakespeare’s account of the Battle Of Agincourt to Ronald Reagan’s “Boys Of Pointe Du Hoc” speech, they all share a common thread .... you are reading the words of men with moral clarity.

They understood the difference between right and wrong, good and bad. They knew evil when they saw it and they struggled against it, in its many forms. The American soldiers who fought their way ashore on June 6, 1944 were scared to death. Who wouldn’t be with bullets and bombs flying through the air all around you and determined men directing that fire straight at you? What drove those men forward, as Reagan asked? He understood the answer, just as he understood the men he was talking to. It was a clarity of vision and a worldview that is rapidly disappearing from the world today.

Today’s modern culture is being subverted by another concept that is the opposite of moral clarity. It is something called moral relativism. Here is a short definition of the term:

Moral relativism is the view that ethical standards, morality, and positions of right or wrong are culturally based and therefore subject to a person’s individual choice. We can all decide what is right for ourselves. You decide what’s right for you, and I’ll decide what’s right for me. Moral relativism says, “It’s true for me, if I believe it.”

Moral relativism has steadily been accepted as the primary moral philosophy of modern society, a culture that was previously governed by a “Judeo-Christian” view of morality. While these “Judeo-Christian” standards continue to be the foundation for civil law, most people hold to the concept that right or wrong are not absolutes, but can be determined by each individual. Morals and ethics can be altered from one situation, person, or circumstance to the next. Essentially, moral relativism says that anything goes, because life is ultimately without meaning. Words like “ought” and “should” are rendered meaningless. In this way, moral relativism makes the claim that it is morally neutral.

In my view, this is like saying that we will make up the rules as we go along and each of us is entitled to define right and wrong as we please. You see it every day in our modern world. The so-called “Liberal Left” has slipped comfortably into this attitude and is trying to convince the rest of us to abandon centuries of tradition, laws, ethics, morals and principles that have assisted man in the steady climb up out of the swamps of anarchy and animal behavior. The concept of civilization beckons us to shed our egocentric views and agree on common rules of society that benefit everyone and society as a whole.

The struggle to shed our bestial nature and learn to cooperate with one another has had many setbacks in the course of thousands of years. It has not been an easy battle to get where we are today. The greatest setbacks have occurred when we lapse into moral relativism and stop agreeing on what is “the right thing to do”. There cannot be a hundred different versions of “right” and a hundred different versions of “wrong” any more than someone can be said to be “almost a virgin”.

I will not delve into the subjects of abortion, war, homosexuality or slavery. To me, they are all wrong. They are to be avoided and prevented, if possible. On the other hand, this is not a perfect world .... yet. Neither am I perfect - not by a long shot. I do, however, have a mental vision of what is right and what is wrong. This vision is the result of centuries of experimentation by the human race, recorded in countless history books, religious texts and laws. I cannot cloud that vision by ignoring certain aspects of any of them.

When I see a culture overseas that (a) declares itself the only true religion, (b) declares other religions’ practitioners should be destroyed, (c) kills innocent human beings for no reason other than pure bloodlust, (c) subjects its people to cruel dictatorships and mass murders, and (d) refuses to accept any of the common rules of civilized behavior .... I know I am looking at wrong.

When I see a group of people in this country who (a) believe the Constitution can be bent almost to the breaking point to suit their agenda, (b) believe children in the womb have no rights whatsoever, (c) believe a homosexual lifestyle is “natural”, and (d) believe the only way to get others to agree with them is to cloud our vision of right and wrong and ignore common sense .... I know I am looking at wrong.

There is absolutely no difference between Adolph Hitler and Osama Bin Laden or Saddam Hussein. They are all wrong. There is absolutely no difference between the Nazis of 1944 and the Wahabbi Muslims of 2005. They too are wrong. The boys who stormed the beaches of Normandy sixty-one years ago know what I mean. It is a pity that their children grew up to know what they did but neglected to learn why they did it ....

“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great Pillars.”

George Washington
September 19, 1796
Farewell Address To The Nation

Posted by The Skipper     on 06/06/2005 at 11:15 AM   
Filed Under: • Democrats-Liberals-Moonbat Leftists • History •  
• Comments (19) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

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Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:

1. Keep a firm grasp of Right and Wrong
2. Stay involved with government on every level and don't let those bastards get away with a thing
3. Use every legal means to defend yourself in the event of real internal trouble, and, most importantly:
4. Keep talking to each other, whether here or elsewhere

It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

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