Social Hypocrisy

With revisions of history pressed upon the public, we forget that American native tribes sometimes played havoc upon one another before the Europeans arrived.  The tribes of South America murdered each other before the Spanish arrived, and often made the carnage a religious show.  Even the colorful Hawaiians, peaceful and gracious in story were warlike on occasion.  Similar conflicts but more sophisticated continue in our era with the vicious treatment that many Black Africans receive from Black Africans, or the brutality that is expressed between various Islamic groupings.  We may forget that men and women lost their heads (one belonging to the noble Sir Walter Raleigh) under Kings and Queens of England, and we remember the ugliness of Henry VIII who negotiated beheading for two of his wives.  (He was well informed about Christian life, but was cavalier about his beliefs and conduct.)  We are especially aware of contradictions in those groupings that become violent because of inter-cultural conflict about various matters of which each race is guilty for violating in a spirit of self-righteousness expressed in violence, looting and vengeful responses.  By far, the worst have been the wars between sophisticated modern nations of the world.

What is our point?  The point is that whether young or old, whether male or female, whether one race or the other, the tendency of mankind sinks to jungle concepts.  Not until awareness of responsibility under God can society expect that leaders or lay citizens act in wholly constructive ways.  The quickness of small- minded persons to cheat on everything from self, family and society will enlarge, if opportunity presents itself, to acts that can become monstrous.  When faulty persons are pushed they will react in even more unsatisfactory ways than that order which lends to problem-solving.  So a woman drowns her two infant children; a man beats his wife to death; and, even a child shoots his neighbor buddy from a bicycle.  A youngster strangled a child in Minnesota to sense how it would feel.  (These events were reported in recent news.)  Until we recognize that Christ strikes directly at all these problems when he strikes against the depravity of the human heart (all persons bearing the imperfect burden), we will never understand, and we press on.  Angry persons devise ways to bomb buildings, abuse others, or simply leave their families for selfish reasons.  It is to the matter of forgiveness and reconciliation that Jesus speaks – reconciliation with God, with oneself and with those related to persons needing forgiveness and reconciliation.  When Christian reconciliation takes place, as so many formerly troubled persons have confessed, the anger subsides, and love with joy finds a way into the context.  Affirmations for good emerge for respect, leadership and proper place in relationship with society.  For either gender to distract from the main point by accusing the other, for any race to accuse another and thereby wiggle away from self-duty, for those who lose their way by pointing yonder the way for others when neither this group nor the other has found the highway — this makes for tragedy for all.  As this page is being edited, an entertainer, having earned advanced educational degrees and pressing for better conduct among persons of his race, is presenting a tragic figure, not only from the numerous women who have alleged sexual abuse over a lengthy period of years from his long career, but because of the immense hypocrisy which will mark his life legacy.

Nations are caught in jealousies (apparent in the largest countries like India, Russia, China and the United States, and quite obvious in the excesses of military preparations), competition (intense for pride and materialism, but not registering for the poor and needy of the world), offenses like intolerance (religious offense leading to incarceration, even death), inability to adapt to mutual problems to solution (as in the contamination of air and water) – and the story may be extended.  Most people would like to find peace, with resources given to human needs, but neither the people nor the leaders appear able to find the course to neighborliness and service to one another.  Knowing the personal passions for peace in persons like Abraham Lincoln, William Jennings Bryan, Woodrow Wilson and others, yearning for mankind and that written on their faces, but unable in the places of power to achieve peace, we proceed on our weary way to repeat the errors of history.  The tools for achieving depraved purposes become increasingly effective.  Near and far, serious persons sense or feel catastrophe and endings.  Life vision fades for the people.