Common Sense: The Right Mindset

By: Nathaniel Nelson

Posted: 4/7/05

04/07/05 - "There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily." - George Washington Letter to Edmund Randolph, July 31, 1795

The death of Terri Schiavo is a further development of the culture of death. This culture chooses not to distinguish right from wrong.

Mrs. Schiavo's death was tragic and cold. With her death, we have said those with a degeneration of physical and mental capabilities should be allowed to die. Actually, we have said that by not feeding them we will even assist them.

Furthermore, the argument has been lamely put forth claiming a person's right to decide. But, Terri's right to decide became Michael Schiavo's right to decide for her.

Those arguing to end Schiavo's and her family's suffering by letting her die willfully neglected the many unclear issues surrounding her final wishes, her husband's actions, the sworn testimony of medical staff and her original cause of collapse.

More importantly, they zealously overlooked the main issue - a helpless woman's right to life. The State, whose number one job is to protect citizens, did not do so. The actions taken against Schiavo were wrong.

Unfortunately, Schiavo was just one in the many examples of the current mind-set shift. Today, the social and political culture America created has overtaken itself.

Television is so powerful, comments and actions normally considered to be labeled sexual abuse in the workplace and court of law, are of common occurrence, even among children's shows.

While lobbying for AIDS prevention Americans continue to support the leading cause of AIDS - homosexuality. This support has become so strong, it has threatened to overtake history's most sacred institution - marriage.

Today, children are encouraged to explore their sexuality in and by any means. So what if a young girl gets pregnant? That's what abortion is for. If there's someone whose mental capacity prohibits their enjoyment of life, let's "pull the plug."

Proving we have lost our way, we allowed the Office of the President, the highest office in the world, to be desecrated by a man who explored his sexuality outside of marriage and then lied about it under oath.

Continuing the legacy of that Administration, Clinton's former National Security Advisor gets a slap on the wrist after intentionally stealing classified documents and lying about it under oath.

Sound familiar? Instead of condemning these actions, these "honest mistakes" are overlooked; all the while those condemning these actions are labeled "fanatics."

Standards of action and the sanctity of life are no longer respected. The notion of right and wrong is gone. Whereas once we universally labeled something as "right" or "wrong," we now say, "What's the big deal? There is no right. There is no wrong. Besides who are you to say?"

The big deal is that we are becoming a People who have lost truth. Culture is run amok with the perversion of life and death, and everything in between. Life, once precious and under the authority of the Higher Authority, is now merely a product of chance and random selection of evolution.

Under the guidance of reason and science, control has gone from God to Man. We are in the midst of the willful removal of God. As T.S. Eliot once wrote, "If you will not have God, (and he is a jealous God) you should pay your respects to Hitler or Stalin."

We are at a point where, as under the reign of Hitler, legality is trumping humanity (to use Falwell's words). Hitler operated through man-made law as he sent millions to their death. Among the Jews, Hitler eliminated anyone not of the Aryan race, including the mentally handicapped, considered to be a waste-an empty body taking up space. Sound familiar?

The only way to remedy the problem is to have the right relationship with what is true. Reason by itself is only a tool and should never trump truth. As Pope John Paul II claimed, truth transcends reason. We must guard ourselves from perverse reason and legality. Remember, reason and the law provided for slavery.

For my last column, I urge my readers to see through the illusions of society and to seek truth. The betterment of society can not come through reason and the law alone. Lives not laws need to be changed.