I think that the left and some right liberals (libertarians et al) tend to want to use the government to assuage their broken consciences. As I mentioned in my posts about the problem of evil, we have what I believe is an innate feeling of oughtness. Not just about the world but about ourselves. Both the OT and NT tell us that the law is written on our hearts. Everyone knows they are a sinner. Having some authority above them give its blessing to their sin makes them feel better.
Why for example do homosexuals, the vast majority of whom are non-monogamous, do not want families (as sick as that is) not settle for being merely left alone, but desperately want the State to marry them? I can totally understand that they want to not be criminally prosecuted for their sins. I cannot understand, outside of my present point, why they care so deeply that the State provide its imprimatur of acceptance to their lifestyle.
Perhaps so much the same for prostitution, drug and other behavior crime advocates. Obviously there is an element there of just wanting to avoid arrest etc. But I think they are also motivated by a desire to feel as though their errant behavior is legitimate. After all, we implicitly understand, like it or not, that the gov't is a sovereign authority.
That to me is just about how much power WE, the people, give to the government as well as the media. The same government that punks and activists hate and want to overturn is the VERY SAME government they desperately want acceptance from. An odd paradox, indeed. If the government says it's okay, somehow it DOES make the common guy think it's acceptable and even Right. But that's because WE give the government that power and importance.
ReplyDeleteSame with media. You always hear minority groups say there's not enough of "their kind" on TV, because they are correct that our perception of equality is dictated by the acceptance of that group in film or TV, which has taken over the poets of Yester-year, also known as the days of Yore, in morality tales that dictate Mores.
Will and Grace and Ellen did A LOT to change many Americans ideas on homosexuality as the example you brought up, and definitely helped to shift "the freaks" to those who DON'T agree with that lifestyle. Just being on TV makes a group feel legitimized, and government recognition does the same.
Outcasts claim to love being different, but in the end, they all want to be loved, it's just a shame that instead of going to God for that love, they go to empty things like the media to gain that acceptance or the government to feel Right. But the media and government will never fill a hole where your soul has ingrained that a thing is right or wrong no matter the social mores of the Society around you, answering to a Goodness set in stone by God from the beginning of time.
That is why I feel that everyone really just wants to be loved. Punks and anarchists and activists really want to be loved. They act ridiculous and are very brash because they seek validation and acceptance. They are really not any different than anyone else. That is why when I started to become disillusioned with my punk and activist subculture, I saw that we were not any different than the people that we hated and despised. And as a Christian I see this even more. We are all born of sin. Punks and activists wear their uniforms (just as do the jocks and religious folks they hate) and in the end they want to be just as popular as the other folks. It is jealousy and it's inherent. It's a result of our culture of entitlement. We think we deserve everything and everyone we want. I say this because I thought this and I still struggle with this.
ReplyDeleteJust read The Screwtape Letters and see a lot of yourself or your friends (both old and new).
I feel soo much of our culture is based on shame. I watched Dr. Phil the other day and it had parents who were allowing their children to pick their gender at an early age. There were people from Focus on the Family and some other Christian therapist there and they were getting shot down left and right by the audience, because their advice on having more prominent males in the house, being a good parent, etc. was seen as an affront. The parents who were struggling with this (and I know they are) were I felt coming on Dr. Phil to be validated for allowing their children to be this way. It really made me upset and hurt. The parents attacked the Christian therapists (who were only giving a different perspective, I think fairly) and it was really sad. This is the broken world that we live in. Again, it's having stuff on TV that's edgy and that the culture won't stand up to anymore. As Christians we need to be in the culture but not of it. It's a very tricky walk to walk, but it's what Christ did.