The Long and Winding Road

They say that the two things you are not supposed to talk about are politics and religion.  First off, I believe that they are wrong.  Second off, here we go.

Politics is a Greek word “politikos” meaning of, for, and relating to citizens. And Wiki says that politics is “achieving and exercising positions of governance-organized control over a human community.”  Politics is the manner in which humanity is governed.  There are many kinds of political systems.  A republic, a democracy, socialist, monarchy, a dictatorship.  But they all determine and decide how we should live.  It affects everyone who lives under such rule.

Religion is a person beliefs and worship.  The definition is “people’s beliefs and opinions concerning the existence, nature, and worship of a deity or deities.  They are personal beliefs or values that someone lives by.

So, now that we have got that out of the way, it seems to me that politics and religion pretty much affect our lives as humans.  Everybody lives under some type of government and everybody lives under their own personal beliefs or values. 

It seems, in that sense, all of us are involved, and if we refrain from speaking politics and religion, then the only thing left to discuss is the weather.  How trivial and stale is that?  Boring.  Pardon me if I do not play along but I am quite capable of discerning the weather by myself.  If I need to know, I will step outside, and figure it out.  Sunny, windy, rainy, cold, snowy, stormy.  Yeah, I got this one.

Society, the ones based upon politics and religion, can be weak or strong.  They can show off the best of humanity, or sadly, the worst.  Great ones, ones with morals and good values, and those that tend to last, are those that display the following trait.  But first. . .

Our church went to a senior assisted living facility for our annual Christmas caroling and gift giving program.  We have been doing it for a few years now.  We arrive right after lunch as the residents are still in the cafeteria.  As I peer into the faces of thirty or forty people who are advanced in age and need some sort of help with their daily routine, I see not who they used to be, but all I notice is weakness.

For most of them, they are close to the end of their journey, and their contribution level to the rest of society is miniscule.  Now, before you begin to throw stones at me, hear me out.  There are societies and movement who see no value or purpose in the weak.  I am reminded of the former Colorado governor who said that the elderly, if they have a terminal illness have "a duty to die and get out of the way.  Let the other society, our kids, build a reasonable life." He is now 78.  I wonder how he is feeling.

I am getting to know a fifteen year old boy who has huge disabilities and his mental age may be around three. And he needs help with a lot of things and his parents will be caring for him all of their lives.  What will his legacy be?

Recently another country’s government voted 50-17 to extend euthanasia to children with disabilities in certain circumstances.  It also extends the right to request euthanasia for adults with dementia.  Many people call this the right to die.  It is a hot topic currently and there are those on both sides of the issue.  But the thing that both sides can agree on is that death is involved.

I’m a life guy.  M preference when it comes to hard choices is to side on the side of life.  I’m really not for the death of anyone, be it the unborn, children with disabilities, the elderly, and those in prison.  I’m just not.  I know all of the arguments on all of the issues concerning all of the sides, and I certainly haven’t had to personally wrestle with them in the midst of the circumstance, so my thoughts have yet to be tested, but that is where I stand.

But back to the trait that societies who possess them tend to last.  It is not how strength is dealt with; rather it is how those who are the weakest in society are dealt with and how they are treated.  Are they cared for?  Are they treated with respect?  Are they protected since they cannot protect themselves?  Do we see their value to exist?

When a society begins to discount life that seems useless, wasted, or a strain on the status quo, that society is destined to deteriorate.  All are valuable.  All have worth. All contribute.  And we must care.   Even if it means more work for us.  Even if it costs us something, so be it.  He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother.