#willful indifference

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For you put up with fools gladly, since you yourselves are wise! For you put up with it if one brings you into bondage, if one devours you, if one takes from you, if one exalts himself, if one strikes you on the face.

2 Corinthians 11:19-20

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The Uncaring

Even though I have experienced it for years, the callous disregard of our elected officials for those they supposedly represent still shakes my faith in humanity. It does not matter how egregious the instance of injustice brought to their attention, they are untroubled by any demands on their conscious.

Were they always like this? Is it a prerequisite of going into politics, or does the job with all its compromises, lies and half-truths corrupt them? Are they still loving wives, husbands, parents and they just compartmentalize their unconcern for other’s trauma?

Science has shown that our bodies react to being ignored in the same way they react to being physically wounded. Think of all the families of those people daily ground up in our criminal injustice system crying out for help from their legislators and governors, only to receive silence in return. They are slowly being drowned in indifference.

“Indifference is the sign of sickness, a sickness of the soul more contagious than any other.” Elie Weisel

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The Refuge of Lies

Verse after verse in the Bible tells us how the God of heaven and earth abhors lies and falsehoods. Even more verses tell us that He is a God of truth. Whatever He says stands firm to the end of time. He will always keep His word.

But, at least in this country, we are losing our respect for the truth. We accept blindly the statements of those we believe in and never take the time to check the facts from other sources. It is as if we prefer the comfortable lie, to the disturbing truth. This is nothing new: The German people turned a blind eye to Hitler’s outrages lies. Stalin’s entire regime of terror was established and sustained through deceit.

We must do the hard work of investigating what we hear. Yes, we may find out things we would rather not know. But that has to be better, than to be taken for a fool.

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(via Donald Trump became president of the United States of Men today | Will Bunch - Philly)

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Judgment

I have experienced second hand the terrible consequences of our “eye for an eye” criminal justice system. I have experienced first hand the willful indifference of our legislators, courts, and governors. And though this has devastated me, it has also taught me to a valuable lesson: Don’t judge anyone.

 Now when I am tempted to pass judgment on anyone, I try to remember two things. The first is a quote by F. Scott Fitzgerald: “Whenever you feel like criticizing any one . . . just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.” And I am sure he is not just considering monetary advantages. There are the advantages of a mind that works the way it should, of an adequate education, and an upbringing that set them on the right path. I am fortunate to have received all three.

 The second thing I try to remember is a question I ask myself: “What do you want, mercy or justice?” Since what I choose for others is what I choose for myself, believe me, I want mercy.

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Reaping the Whirlwind

Over 2.2 million people are currently in prison in this “land of the free.” But these people do not exist in a vacuum. It is estimated that 2.7 million children in the United States have a parent in prison or jail, or 1 in every 28. Then there are the parents of those incarcerated and their brothers and sisters. These are millions of people carrying terrible burdens of sorrow, finical hardship, and social disruption.

We also have the estimate that 5.1% of all persons in the U.S. will spend some time in prison during their lifetimes. Which means many millions will be released into a society that does not want them around.

And what might happen with many millions of people suffering from desperation, helpless rage, and legislative indifference? I think they might turn to anything that would lessen their pain. I think they might turn to alcohol or drugs. So, while the experts franticly search for the causes of our present opioid crisis, they would do well to consider mass incarceration as a major contributor.

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Religion is fertile ground for self-deception. Believers, for instance, are tempted to deceive themselves about the reality of evil. Tragic horrors in life challenge our faith in a good and powerful God. The horror itself demands to be known as evil, and it is, for a moment. Then fear crowds out the thought that evil can really exist where a good and powerful God is in charge of one’s life. We “know” that it is evil; but we refuse to know it. So we call it a “blessing in disguise”—an “apparent evil” that one day will be seen as a God-given reason for greater heights of praise. Thus, we deceive ourselves when we refuse to look evil in the face and call it real, horrible, and against the will of God.

Lewis Smedes