It ought to be obvious, but is not. It ought to be true, but is not so easily decided. These are two statements that seem that've no place in our society, in this age of indecision, confusion, mixed sentiment and bias.
What is right and wrong? There is no answer because opponents and proponents each push an agenda that leaves no directly tangible answer, at least not on a societal level. Take abortion as an example. Pro-life is absolute, Pro-choice is absolute. Even cases where a pregnancy arose from rape garners much debate on the subject of aborting the resulting fetus. Is it alive? When does life begin? Should a victim of rape have to carry the resulting baby to term? What is fair? What is right? Without the perspective of objectivity one cannot make a rational decision because subjectively everyone is right and wrong at the same time.
What is the baby born grows up to be a beloved actress on par with say Meryl Streep? What if the genes of the rapist contaminate the nature of the baby? How would you know? And what of faith? Would God forgive an abortion or expect the faithful to at least carry it to term and give it up for adoption? I remember in the movie "Ghandi" when during the civil conflict between Muslims and Hindus, a Hindu man approaches the now starving, anti-war fasting Ghandi to confess his sin of killing the parents of a small Muslim boy and how God will condemn him to Hell. Ghandi tells him "I know a ways out of Hell," and says he must raise the boy as his own, however he must raise him as a Muslim, not as a Hindu.
We like to say that things are, or should be, obvious, but to whom? Like truth, we look for universal truths in a world where only subjective truths hold as valid. The problem is that we cannot run society on subjective truths and as a result we find disappointment when such obvious truths like the guilt or innocence of a prisoner is at stake. We often are in dismay as a contrary verdict is pronounced, shaking our faith in a legal system which seems arbitrary at times despite its complexity.
And even the Declaration of Independence states " We hold these truths to be self-evident..." when in fact there are so many Concstitutional Ammendments to imply that those truths may not have been so evident after all.
And finally, at the end of the day, when we face our maker, or nothing at all, depending upon what you believe, we may learn that there were no truths, only pieces of enlightenment, and only faith to interpret and determine a subjective fate, a way to govern our own lives rather than wishing a standardized set of rules to be imposed in society as a whole.
We live in the "...land of the free and the home of the brave," only to find that last week the President signed into law an act that allows for unlimited detention of Americans merely on suspicion of terrorism, and without cause or due process of law. That is hardly based on Democracy, although is now obviously true. Sadly.
MisterWriter
