Sunday, on the way up to Lambeau Field to watch that debacle of a Packer game, the car ride discussion somehow turned to this new thuggish rage among the young, particularly the gang affiliated: Knockout. Apparently, the “game” involves sneaking up on or backtracking silently to a completely random, unsuspecting and unrelated victim and hitting the person one time in the head so hard that they are immediately knocked out. Many of these ambushes are specifically carried out in view of a public security camera or are videoed by some of the accomplice thugs in the pack. Go to YouTube and you can find more examples than you’d ever care to see. What a despicable violation of a person’s being and sad reflection of the perpetrator’s sick soul!
Having been “jumped” once myself as a teenager by a gang of thugs (luckily I was able to escape with minimal injuries, though one of the thugs was not so lucky), the revelation of this “game” struck me as worse than appalling. And these random, senseless and life-changing acts of violence apparently are not confined to gang territories or “bad” areas of big cities. Some of these attacks occurred in malls of a similar demographic make up as Mayfair or Brookfield Square. My wife and I found this fact REALLY SCARY! But why?
Because of our expectation of Moral Character.
When we assign the “bad” or “good” designation to a section of the city or a shopping mall, we are really referring to the anticipated moral character of the individuals that reside there or we anticipate encountering. What really protects your right to exist, to stay alive or go somewhere without being abducted? Police? A concealed weapon? I don’t think so. It is the moral character of all of the other people we encounter that either makes us safe against or vulnerable to violence.
In order for violence to occur, some individual MUST CHOOSE to transgress upon another person. The other day an older gentleman remarked to me,“If everyone followed the Ten Commandments we wouldn’t need any police or all of these laws.”
That man could not be more correct. And he wasn’t Catholic (like me) nor even a professed Christian.
Free Will, the essence of our soul, the gift from God which makes us human, separates us from the animal kingdom. The Founding Fathers meant specifically our gift of free will when stating in the Declaration of Independence “All men are created equal.” Endowed with unique gifts, skills and dispositions that make us more or less capable to adapt to our environment or economic circumstances, none of us can ever be “equal” in these aspects, the economic sense. And we would never want to be. Commerce can only occur if economic differences exist among us. But ALL of us have an equal ability to embrace or reject God.
We see that security cannot be guaranteed by more police, the TSA, strip searches, limiting the size of women’s handbags at Packer games or mandated concealed carry. When people embrace the moral code of the Ten Commandments, the Bible and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, our security IS guaranteed. Similarly, these same principles create respect, admiration and cooperation between individuals in their efforts and ideas to satisfy their basic needs and creative desires. This mystical consequence of the use of free will to provide products and services within the context of God’s Law we call Free Enterprise. The results of Free Enterprise we call Prosperity.
Prosperity can only occur when a person’s property is respected. Stealing and lying (fraud) will destroy it. How long did it take Arthur Anderson to disappear as the largest accounting firm in the USA after its Enron shenanigans came out? What really makes areas north of Delmar Avenue in St. Louis “bad” or “poor,” when right across the street to the south you have the complete reverse? St. Louis University, a Catholic Jesuit institution, is nearby. All the areas around it, which used to be considered “bad,” are flourishing. Could the reason be more obvious?
Ask someone seeking to hire an employee to cite their three most important criteria every candidate must meet (besides passing a drug test). Here’s what I’ve found:
1) Moral Character (Integrity)
2) Work Ethic
3) Willingness to learn new things
Notice a specific technical skill of educational degree IS NOT included. So I believe we can conclude that no one wants to hire a liar or a thief, a lazy bum, know-it- all or someone stuck in the past. Without ALL THREE of these attributes, you will never have a job. Does anyone think this may have something to do with the 90 million workforce eligible people not employed today?
Liberals and other Leftist aver that economic circumstance leads to moral decay, that crime and misery comes from being poor. But nothing could be further from the truth. The failure of the Left’s War on Poverty has proven unequivocally that poverty, crime and lack of personal security are symptoms of moral depravity. Change the moral character of the neighborhood, and you will see a direct effect on the prosperity and security of the neighborhood. The Delmar Divide in St. Louis testifies to this fact every day. The Catholic Bishop’s would do better to infiltrate the neighborhoods north of Delmar proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ than writing to congressmen in Washington DC chastising them for scaling back the growth of the Foodstamp program.
Some anti-religious people claim that the Ten Commandments (or God’s Law) confine personal liberty. My personal experience and a good dose of common sense leads me to conclude the exact opposite. The Ten Commandments along with the Bible and life example of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Gospels provides the roadmap to utilize God’s powerful but very dangerous gift of free will. Use free will properly, according to God’s Law, and you will be happy. Can anyone seriously argue that keeping your life free from lies and deceit, envy, anger, vanity and coveting doesn’t make you a happier person? Is someone who has engaged in extramarital affairs having had children better off? Thats a pretty complicated lifestyle, not to mention the destructive impact such behavior surely has on someone perceived to be committed to raising a family.
No, God’s Law may be limiting, but certainly not confining. God’s Law liberates the spirit within us to use our other God- given talents in our pursuit of happiness, helping all kinds of other people we meet along the way to find theirs.