As budget and bailout concerns capture the news and the public attention, the Department of Health and Human Services is quietly making plans to throw out the conscience rules that protect medical workers who refuse to perform medical procedures contrary to their moral convictions. 1.
Following Roe v. Wade in 1973, state and federal conscience clauses were enacted to protect health care workers who didn't want to perform abortions. Subsequent protections developed to protect reluctant health care workers from participation in euthansia and assisted suicide.
THE PROVIDER REFUSAL RULE
In August of 2008, the Bush administration proposed legislation that was enacted into law on inauguration day of 2009. The Provider Refusal Rule strengthened protections for doctors, nurses and workers in health care settings who refuse to provide a medical service because of moral convictions.
This legislation also protects healthcare providers from being involved in additional procedures, like sex change operations and assisted suicide, as well as vaccinations and family planning, if they are morally opposed to the procedures.2.
Pharmacists would also be protected from refusing to prescribe medicine, including the morning-after pill, if they opposed the prescription on moral grounds.
This bill does not violate the ability of a person seeking services to receive them from another source, but protects the conscientious medical decisions of professionals who object to particular services.
THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION PLANS TO RESCIND THE 'CONSCIENCE RULE'.
At the end of February 2009, President Obama, furthering his support for abortion rights, announced plans to roll back the conscience rules, stoking battles between abortion and right-to-life supporters.
Dr. Suzanne T. Poppema, board chair of Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health, praised Obama "for placing good health care above ideological demands."
However, Toni Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said "Protecting the right of all health-care professional's judgments based on moral convictions and ethical standards...is necessary to ensure that access to health care is not diminished, which will occur if health-care workers are forced out of their jobs because of their ethical stances. President Obama's intention to change the language of these protections would result in the government becoming the conscience and not the individual." 3.
COMMENTS ARE INVITED AND ENCOURAGED THROUGH APRIL 9, 2009.
Advocates on both sides, medical groups and the public are invited to contact the Department of Health and Human Services to make comments on this proposal through the first week of April to express their opinions about changes in the conscience clauses.
HISTORY OF MEDICAL CONSCIENCE
The Hippocratic Oath, which pertains to the ethical practice of medicine, has traditionally been taken by physicians and continues to be a sacred document among health care professionals.
"I will follow that system of regimen which, according to my ability and judgment, I consider for the benefit of my patients, and abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous. I will give no deadly medicine to any one if asked, nor suggest any such counsel; and in like manner I will not give a woman a pessary to produce abortion"... (from the Hippocratic Oath)
Hippocrates was a celebrated Greek physician in the 4th century BCE. Even then physicians were organized into a guild with regulations for training and a professional ideal of practice.
"CHURCH AMENDMENTS"
In the 1970's, conscience provisions contained in the Department of Health and Human Services directives collectively known as the 'Church Amendments' (42 U.S.C.&300a-7) were enacted in response to whether or not the receipt of federal funds required recipients to perform sterilizations or abortions.
Conscience provisions provide that:
* the receipt of government funds does not require that individuals or entities be involved in sterilization or abortion procedures if it would be contrary to religious beliefs or moral convictions.
* Entities receiving funds (grants, contracts, loans), including biomedical research entities, are prohibited from discriminating against any physician or health care personnel who refused to perform a lawful sterilization or abortion procedure based on religious beliefs.
* Entities receiving funds are prohibited from discriminating against any applicant for training or study because of the applicant's reluctance to participate in counseling or assistance in abortions or sterilizations based on the applicant's religious beliefs or moral convictions.
CONCERNS ABOUT GOVERNMENT TAKEOVER OF MEDICINE
When freedom of conscience is overruled by directives from govenment or a governing board, totalitarian regimes may command citizens to engage in atrocious behaviors in opposition to their own feelings of appropriate behavior.
THE NAZIFICATION OF MEDICINE
A tragic example was seen in Nazi Germany, where doctors were used to commit unspeakable horrors under the direction of the state.
Physicians were identified as 'servants of the state'. Personal responsibility for decisions was taken away from individual doctors and nurses. 4.
The overarching Nazi biomedical vision involved medicalized killing, killing in the name of healing for the good of the 'Volk'. Sterilization, mercy killing, euthanasia and destroying 'life unworthy of life' were seen as responsible medical practices.
In a period of 7 years, the Nazi holocaust eradicated an estimated 21 million people, many of whom were killed by medical doctors who had no voice or choice but to obey the directives of the state or lose their license. Those killed included the handicapped, children, aged, sick, ethnic groups, conscientious objectors, and any critics who opposed the Nazi agenda. 5.
MEDICAL KILLING IN AMERICA
Since the enactment of Roe v. Wade in 1973, over 49,500,000 legal abortions have been performed in the United States. Since the legalization of abortion, the pressures not to abort have been replaced by a multitude of social pressures encouraging abortion. Increasingly, accounts of research studies related to abortion and stress report that in many cases the choice to abort was not made by the woman but was forced upon her by husbands, parents, doctors, counselors, or friends. 6.
In 1994, Oregon voters approved a bill permitting terminally ill patients with less than six months to live to request and self-administer lethal doses of medicine. On March 5,2009, Washington State became the second state to approve this initiative, called the Death With Dignity Act.
Opponents of the bill contend that 'assisted suicide' is a more accurate description of this legislation. Kenneth Stevens, a Portland, Oregon radiation oncolgist said assisted suicide "is a reversal of the historic role of physicians as healers, as comforters, as counselors." 7.
FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE IS DEMOCRACY IN ACTION
The ability to act on personal and moral conscience is the foundation of our liberty and freedom. The right of individuals to speak up and act on the basis of their individual sense of moral rightness provides the checks and balances that protect us from the tyranny of totalitarian dictatorship.
The Obama administration is concerned that the Bush regulations could put in jeopardy family planning services and counseling for vaccines. The administration will review comments from the public before making a final decision.
Responsible citizenship requires that we speak out to make our concerns heard.
REFERENCES
1. Lewey, Noam. N. February 27, 2009."Obama administration may rescind 'conscience rule'.Washington Bureau. Chicagotribune.com.March 21, 2009.
2.Berger, Matthew. March 3, 2009. "Obama Plans to Rescind Healthcare 'Conscience Clause'. http://www.crosswalk.com/news/commentary/11600261. 3/21/2009.
3. Young, Saundra. March, 19, 2009. "White House set to reverse health care conscience clause'". CNN.com. Campbell Brown: No Bias. No Bull.
4.Lifton, Robert Jay. 2000. The Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide. Basic Books
5. Rummel, R. J. 1992. Democide: Nazi Genocide and Mass Murder. New Brunswick,NJ: Transaction Pub. http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/NAZIS.CHAP1.HTM.
6. Basu, Alaka Malwade(ed.) 2003. The Sociocultural and Political Aspects of Abortion:Global Perspective.Chapter 14.The Social Pressure to Abort. Praeger Pub.
7. Allen, Marshall. August, 2004. "Death Wishes". Christianity Today. Vol.48, No.8,page 24.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Euthanasia Comes to the United States
In 1994, the debate about end-of-life care changed drastically in the U.S. when Oregon voters approved the Death with Dignity Act. This bill permits terminally ill patients with less than six months to live to request and self-administer lethal doses of medicine. The ruling does not legalize euthanasia on demand. Only the terminally ill are covered. By 2006, 200 people had used this bill to take their own lives. 1.
On March 5th of 2009, the state of Washington will become the second state to enact into law the Death with Dignity Act, called initiative 1-1000. This law, labeled by opponents as the Assisted Suicide bill, was passed by 58% of the voters in Washington.
CONCERN ABOUT ABUSE
The Michigan Law Review analyzed ramifications of Oregon's law. In a legal paper, Dr. Herbert Hendin, psychiatrist and CEO/Medical Director of Suicide Prevention International, and Dr. Kathleen Foley, neurologist and professor at Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, "cited specific examples where opinions of patients' long-time attending physicians are ignored and doctors with only a smattering of familiarity with the patient write the prescription for the lethal dose of barbiturates." 3.
Another study by researchers at the Oregon Health and Science University showed that one-fourth of the people killed in Oregon by this procedure were depressed but received lethal drugs anyway.
DEPRESSION AND PAIN MANAGEMENT 4.
Respect for the dignity of life requires that we remove the reasons that people want to die.
Depression is a primary factor linked to assisted suicides. Depression is a condition that should be diagnosed and treated before suicide is considered. Many doctors, however, are often unable to diagnose the symptoms.
Patients often seek death as a relief from relentless pain. Yet with good medical care pain is almost always manageable. When pain is relieved, patients almost always regain their will to live.
LESSONS FROM HOLLAND'S MOVE TO EUTHANASIA
Before 1990, euthanasia and assisted suicide, although not officially legal, were well recognized as medical practices in the Netherlands.
A report(by van der Maas et. al) in the New England Journal of Medicine stated that for the years of 1990-1995, Dutch deaths that included medical intervention with the intent to end life involved 76% that did not involve an explicit patient request for death. Data for 1995 reported 13,919 deaths with clear patient request and 42,874 deaths with no clear patient request.
A bill was passed in 1999 to change the Criminal Code in order to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide, thus normalizing actions that were already in practice. 5.
In 1994, Herminia Dykxhoorn accompanied her father to Holland to visit his elderly siblings. She noted in surprise that in 30 years, Holland had moved from:
- assisted suicide
- to euthanasia of people who are terminally ill,
- to euthanasia of people chronically ill,
- to euthanasia for mental illness,
- to euthanasia for psychological distress or mental suffering;
and from voluntary euthanasia to involuntary euthanasia. 6.
BRINGING EUTHANASIA HOME
After visiting the Netherlands, pathologist, Dr. Jack Kevorkian was inspired to offer assisted suicide in the United States. In 1990, Dr. Kevorkian started his campaign claiming, "It's your life, it's your death; it should be your choice."
Kevorkian participated in at least 130 assisted suicides before being sentenced to a 10-25 year term in prison. Kevorkian left prison after serving eight years, promising not to help anyone commit suicide but also vowing to continue working for legalized assisted suicide. 7.
THE SLIPPERY SLOPE OF ASSISTED DEATH
Assisted suicide and euthanasia involves much more than a sense of compassion and relief from pain. It carries great potential for abuse. Voluntary suicide may insidiously become involuntary suicide.
Relatives may pressure elderly, terminally ill or disabled family members to end their lives if long-term care becomes burdensome. States may decree that life support is optional and health-care providers may cap or refuse benefits.
A chilling reason for choosing euthanasia is that it is cheaper than treatment. Insurance companies may conclude that funding assisted suicide is cheaper than funding a cure or supporting the disabled.
Advances in medical technology raise questions about how far we should go in preserving and protecting life. Emotionally charged debates between supporters of Death with Dignity and the Right to Life continue unabated as technology creates challenges to the meaning of preserving life or allowing, even hastening, death.
ARE THE RECENT ABUSES WITNESSED IN THE NETHERLANDS BEING REPEATED IN THE UNITED STATES?
REFERENCES
1. Veith, Gene Edward. Feb. 2006. "Life-changing decisions." World:26.
2. Ertelt, Steven. Feb.23, 2009.http://www.lifenews.com/bio2762.html.
3. Ertelt, Steven. Nov.5, 2008. http://www.lifenews.com/bio2617.html.
4. Gordon, Carrie. 1997. Prescribing Death. Focus on the Family. Colorado Springs,CO.
5. Imbody, Jonathan. Jan/Feb 2001. "deadly Diagnosis in the Netherlands." Family Voice:6-12.
6. Dykxhoorn, Herminia. 1999. "Euthanasia in the Netherlands." http:www.euthanasia.com/Netherlands.html. 2.4.2009.
7. Msnbc.com news services. June 1, 2007. "Kevorkian released from prison after 8 years." http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18974940. 2.4.2009.
On March 5th of 2009, the state of Washington will become the second state to enact into law the Death with Dignity Act, called initiative 1-1000. This law, labeled by opponents as the Assisted Suicide bill, was passed by 58% of the voters in Washington.
CONCERN ABOUT ABUSE
The Michigan Law Review analyzed ramifications of Oregon's law. In a legal paper, Dr. Herbert Hendin, psychiatrist and CEO/Medical Director of Suicide Prevention International, and Dr. Kathleen Foley, neurologist and professor at Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, "cited specific examples where opinions of patients' long-time attending physicians are ignored and doctors with only a smattering of familiarity with the patient write the prescription for the lethal dose of barbiturates." 3.
Another study by researchers at the Oregon Health and Science University showed that one-fourth of the people killed in Oregon by this procedure were depressed but received lethal drugs anyway.
DEPRESSION AND PAIN MANAGEMENT 4.
Respect for the dignity of life requires that we remove the reasons that people want to die.
Depression is a primary factor linked to assisted suicides. Depression is a condition that should be diagnosed and treated before suicide is considered. Many doctors, however, are often unable to diagnose the symptoms.
Patients often seek death as a relief from relentless pain. Yet with good medical care pain is almost always manageable. When pain is relieved, patients almost always regain their will to live.
LESSONS FROM HOLLAND'S MOVE TO EUTHANASIA
Before 1990, euthanasia and assisted suicide, although not officially legal, were well recognized as medical practices in the Netherlands.
A report(by van der Maas et. al) in the New England Journal of Medicine stated that for the years of 1990-1995, Dutch deaths that included medical intervention with the intent to end life involved 76% that did not involve an explicit patient request for death. Data for 1995 reported 13,919 deaths with clear patient request and 42,874 deaths with no clear patient request.
A bill was passed in 1999 to change the Criminal Code in order to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide, thus normalizing actions that were already in practice. 5.
In 1994, Herminia Dykxhoorn accompanied her father to Holland to visit his elderly siblings. She noted in surprise that in 30 years, Holland had moved from:
- assisted suicide
- to euthanasia of people who are terminally ill,
- to euthanasia of people chronically ill,
- to euthanasia for mental illness,
- to euthanasia for psychological distress or mental suffering;
and from voluntary euthanasia to involuntary euthanasia. 6.
BRINGING EUTHANASIA HOME
After visiting the Netherlands, pathologist, Dr. Jack Kevorkian was inspired to offer assisted suicide in the United States. In 1990, Dr. Kevorkian started his campaign claiming, "It's your life, it's your death; it should be your choice."
Kevorkian participated in at least 130 assisted suicides before being sentenced to a 10-25 year term in prison. Kevorkian left prison after serving eight years, promising not to help anyone commit suicide but also vowing to continue working for legalized assisted suicide. 7.
THE SLIPPERY SLOPE OF ASSISTED DEATH
Assisted suicide and euthanasia involves much more than a sense of compassion and relief from pain. It carries great potential for abuse. Voluntary suicide may insidiously become involuntary suicide.
Relatives may pressure elderly, terminally ill or disabled family members to end their lives if long-term care becomes burdensome. States may decree that life support is optional and health-care providers may cap or refuse benefits.
A chilling reason for choosing euthanasia is that it is cheaper than treatment. Insurance companies may conclude that funding assisted suicide is cheaper than funding a cure or supporting the disabled.
Advances in medical technology raise questions about how far we should go in preserving and protecting life. Emotionally charged debates between supporters of Death with Dignity and the Right to Life continue unabated as technology creates challenges to the meaning of preserving life or allowing, even hastening, death.
ARE THE RECENT ABUSES WITNESSED IN THE NETHERLANDS BEING REPEATED IN THE UNITED STATES?
REFERENCES
1. Veith, Gene Edward. Feb. 2006. "Life-changing decisions." World:26.
2. Ertelt, Steven. Feb.23, 2009.http://www.lifenews.com/bio2762.html.
3. Ertelt, Steven. Nov.5, 2008. http://www.lifenews.com/bio2617.html.
4. Gordon, Carrie. 1997. Prescribing Death. Focus on the Family. Colorado Springs,CO.
5. Imbody, Jonathan. Jan/Feb 2001. "deadly Diagnosis in the Netherlands." Family Voice:6-12.
6. Dykxhoorn, Herminia. 1999. "Euthanasia in the Netherlands." http:www.euthanasia.com/Netherlands.html. 2.4.2009.
7. Msnbc.com news services. June 1, 2007. "Kevorkian released from prison after 8 years." http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18974940. 2.4.2009.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Bias and Error in the Costly Death Penalty System
BIAS IN DEATH PENALTY SENTENCING
It is clear that there is much bias in the administration of the death penalty in America.1.
Poor minorities make up a large percentage of the death penalty cases. It is rare that a rich person will be sentenced to death.
Blacks are disproportionately represented on death row. This historical bias was demonstrated in 1965 by Donald Partington, a Virginia lawyer. He documented that between 1908 and 1963 2,798 men had been convicted for rape or attempted rape in Virginia. All of the 54 executed were black. The bias continues into the present.
Gender bias is also evident. Although women commit 11.6% of the murders, only 1.4% of death row inmates are women. This may be related to the severity and circumstances of the crime.
Where a person commits a murder affects their chances of being put to death. Extreme disparity is seen in execution data listed in Statistical Abstracts between 1977 and 2005. During this time period, 871 executions are listed as occuring in the United States. Six states were responsible for executing 72% of the total number. Southern states predominate in death penalty sentencing.
While:
- 23 states carried out no executions, and
- 7 states carried out no more than 1-3 executions,
- Texas carried out 313 executions,
- Virginia carried out 89,
- Oklahoma carried out 69,
- Florida carried out 57,
- Missouri carried out 61,and
- Georgia carried out 34.
ERROR IN DEATH PENALTY SENTENCING
The finality of the death penalty raises concern about errors in sentencing.
This concern became severe following exonerations based on DNA evidence of more than 200 prisoners, including prisoners on death row.
Jurisdictions across the country are enacting policy reforms to protect against wrongful convictions. Inmates in all but eight states are now given access to DNA evidence that may not have been available at the time of trial.
In a 2005 study, Professor Samuel R. Gross found that between 1989 and 2003, 340 prisoners, 95% convicted of murder and rape, had been exonerated. DNA evidence was used to exonerate 144 of these inmates.
False witness identificaton was involved in half of the murder convictions and 88% of the rape convictions.
Peter J. Neufeld, a co-director of the New York City-based Innocence Project said that the legislation resulting from DNA exonerations is "probably the single greatest criminal justice reform in the last 40 years." 2.
Troy Anthony Davis has become synonymous with error in the death penalty system. Davis was sentenced to die in 1991 after being convicted of killing a policeman, despite lack of physical evidence. Since the trial seven of the nine witnesses came forward to say that they were coerced by police into identifying Davis as the gunman.
Amnesty International, death penalty abolition groups and thousands of concerned individuals, including President Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict XVI, and Bishop Tutu, have challenged the perceived injustice.
Davis was granted a stay on his scheduled execution while the U.S. Supreme Court considered his petition. The court declined to hear the case. Another execution date was set that was stayed by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Georgia.
Davis continues to wait and still faces execution. 3.
THE DEATH PENALTY IS COSTLY IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE
Concerns about the death penalty go beyond moral and emotional injustices. The death penalty is an expensive cost to the taxpayer compared to a sentence of life without parole.
The Dallas Morning News, in 1992, reported that "a death penalty case costs an average of $2.3 million, about three times the cost of imprisoning someone in a single cell at the highest security level for 40 years." 4.
Other states report similar extreme costs for the death penalty system. In 2007, California reported that it costs an additional $90,000 a year per inmate to confine an inmate on death row as opposed to those sentenced to life without parole. With California's death row population of 670, that accounted for $63.3 million annually. 5.
Richard C. Dieter, Executive Director of the Death Penalty Information Center,testified that death penalty cases require more time to prepare, more pre-trial motions filed, more experts hired, twice as many attorneys for the defense, more quizzing in jury selection, two trials conducted (for guilt and sentencing), and a series of appeals that come after conviction.6.
In 2000, the U.S. prison population reached 2 million prisoners, up from 1 million in 1995. The U.S. Justice Department reported that 461 of every 100,000 Americans were serving a prison sentence of at least one year.
C. M."Marty" Lensign, warden at Louisiana's Elayn Hunt Correctional Center, noted that cost effective alternatives were not sought because the incarceration business had a financial interest in perpetuating itself. He said, "We've used prison beds to stimulate the economy...In other words, it's an industry." 7.
RETHINKING THE DEATH PENALTY
Considering the bias, error and cost involved in administering the death penalty, there are many questions to be pondered.
The death penalty is viewed by some as a deterrent to future crime, but this is not generally supported by data. Conclusions from many studies show that the opposite is true. States that carry out higher numbers of executions actually have higher murder rates.
Supporters argue that "therapeutic vengeance" brings peace of mind and closure to victims or relatives of the crime. Others contend that laws and objectivity, not emotion, should control the process of justice. 8.
Texas is responsible for over 30% of the executions in the U.S.
A former district attorney of Bexar County, Texas, Sam Millsap, recognizes the fallibility of the death penalty system, saying that an honest assessment of the problems is overdue.
Millsap concludes,"When it comes to human life, a system that gets it right most of the time should not exist at all." 9.
REFERENCES:
1. Henslin, James M.2007. Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach. Boston:Allyn and Bacon:175-177.
2. New York Times. October 1, 2007. "DNA exonerations lead to key policy changes throughout the US". DPIC.http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/federal-executions-19270-2993.2/11/2009.
3. Lajoie, Ron. Winter, 2007. "Troy Davis' Day in Court". Amnesty International:6.
AIUSA. Winter 2008. "Letter from Death Row." Amnesty International:7.
4. Texas Death Penalty Education and Resource Center. Feb. 13, 2009. "Costs".
http://texasdeathpenalty.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=39<em=62.
5. DPIC. February 13,2009. "Financial Facts About the Death Penalty".
http://wwwdeathpenaltyinfo.org/costs-death-penalty.
6. Ibid.
7. Katz, Jesse. Feb. 19,2000. "U.S. prison population reaches 2 million mark." San Antonio Express News:16A.
8. Parrillo, Vincent N. 1999. Contemporary Social Problems. Boston:Allyn Bacon:133-134.
Sullivan, Thomas J. 2000. Introduction to Social Problems. Boston:Allyn Bacon:324
9. Millsap, Sam. Dec. 13, 2008. "Death penalty system fatally flawed." San Antonio Express News:8B.
It is clear that there is much bias in the administration of the death penalty in America.1.
Poor minorities make up a large percentage of the death penalty cases. It is rare that a rich person will be sentenced to death.
Blacks are disproportionately represented on death row. This historical bias was demonstrated in 1965 by Donald Partington, a Virginia lawyer. He documented that between 1908 and 1963 2,798 men had been convicted for rape or attempted rape in Virginia. All of the 54 executed were black. The bias continues into the present.
Gender bias is also evident. Although women commit 11.6% of the murders, only 1.4% of death row inmates are women. This may be related to the severity and circumstances of the crime.
Where a person commits a murder affects their chances of being put to death. Extreme disparity is seen in execution data listed in Statistical Abstracts between 1977 and 2005. During this time period, 871 executions are listed as occuring in the United States. Six states were responsible for executing 72% of the total number. Southern states predominate in death penalty sentencing.
While:
- 23 states carried out no executions, and
- 7 states carried out no more than 1-3 executions,
- Texas carried out 313 executions,
- Virginia carried out 89,
- Oklahoma carried out 69,
- Florida carried out 57,
- Missouri carried out 61,and
- Georgia carried out 34.
ERROR IN DEATH PENALTY SENTENCING
The finality of the death penalty raises concern about errors in sentencing.
This concern became severe following exonerations based on DNA evidence of more than 200 prisoners, including prisoners on death row.
Jurisdictions across the country are enacting policy reforms to protect against wrongful convictions. Inmates in all but eight states are now given access to DNA evidence that may not have been available at the time of trial.
In a 2005 study, Professor Samuel R. Gross found that between 1989 and 2003, 340 prisoners, 95% convicted of murder and rape, had been exonerated. DNA evidence was used to exonerate 144 of these inmates.
False witness identificaton was involved in half of the murder convictions and 88% of the rape convictions.
Peter J. Neufeld, a co-director of the New York City-based Innocence Project said that the legislation resulting from DNA exonerations is "probably the single greatest criminal justice reform in the last 40 years." 2.
Troy Anthony Davis has become synonymous with error in the death penalty system. Davis was sentenced to die in 1991 after being convicted of killing a policeman, despite lack of physical evidence. Since the trial seven of the nine witnesses came forward to say that they were coerced by police into identifying Davis as the gunman.
Amnesty International, death penalty abolition groups and thousands of concerned individuals, including President Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict XVI, and Bishop Tutu, have challenged the perceived injustice.
Davis was granted a stay on his scheduled execution while the U.S. Supreme Court considered his petition. The court declined to hear the case. Another execution date was set that was stayed by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Georgia.
Davis continues to wait and still faces execution. 3.
THE DEATH PENALTY IS COSTLY IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE
Concerns about the death penalty go beyond moral and emotional injustices. The death penalty is an expensive cost to the taxpayer compared to a sentence of life without parole.
The Dallas Morning News, in 1992, reported that "a death penalty case costs an average of $2.3 million, about three times the cost of imprisoning someone in a single cell at the highest security level for 40 years." 4.
Other states report similar extreme costs for the death penalty system. In 2007, California reported that it costs an additional $90,000 a year per inmate to confine an inmate on death row as opposed to those sentenced to life without parole. With California's death row population of 670, that accounted for $63.3 million annually. 5.
Richard C. Dieter, Executive Director of the Death Penalty Information Center,testified that death penalty cases require more time to prepare, more pre-trial motions filed, more experts hired, twice as many attorneys for the defense, more quizzing in jury selection, two trials conducted (for guilt and sentencing), and a series of appeals that come after conviction.6.
In 2000, the U.S. prison population reached 2 million prisoners, up from 1 million in 1995. The U.S. Justice Department reported that 461 of every 100,000 Americans were serving a prison sentence of at least one year.
C. M."Marty" Lensign, warden at Louisiana's Elayn Hunt Correctional Center, noted that cost effective alternatives were not sought because the incarceration business had a financial interest in perpetuating itself. He said, "We've used prison beds to stimulate the economy...In other words, it's an industry." 7.
RETHINKING THE DEATH PENALTY
Considering the bias, error and cost involved in administering the death penalty, there are many questions to be pondered.
The death penalty is viewed by some as a deterrent to future crime, but this is not generally supported by data. Conclusions from many studies show that the opposite is true. States that carry out higher numbers of executions actually have higher murder rates.
Supporters argue that "therapeutic vengeance" brings peace of mind and closure to victims or relatives of the crime. Others contend that laws and objectivity, not emotion, should control the process of justice. 8.
Texas is responsible for over 30% of the executions in the U.S.
A former district attorney of Bexar County, Texas, Sam Millsap, recognizes the fallibility of the death penalty system, saying that an honest assessment of the problems is overdue.
Millsap concludes,"When it comes to human life, a system that gets it right most of the time should not exist at all." 9.
REFERENCES:
1. Henslin, James M.2007. Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach. Boston:Allyn and Bacon:175-177.
2. New York Times. October 1, 2007. "DNA exonerations lead to key policy changes throughout the US". DPIC.http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/federal-executions-19270-2993.2/11/2009.
3. Lajoie, Ron. Winter, 2007. "Troy Davis' Day in Court". Amnesty International:6.
AIUSA. Winter 2008. "Letter from Death Row." Amnesty International:7.
4. Texas Death Penalty Education and Resource Center. Feb. 13, 2009. "Costs".
http://texasdeathpenalty.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=39<em=62.
5. DPIC. February 13,2009. "Financial Facts About the Death Penalty".
http://wwwdeathpenaltyinfo.org/costs-death-penalty.
6. Ibid.
7. Katz, Jesse. Feb. 19,2000. "U.S. prison population reaches 2 million mark." San Antonio Express News:16A.
8. Parrillo, Vincent N. 1999. Contemporary Social Problems. Boston:Allyn Bacon:133-134.
Sullivan, Thomas J. 2000. Introduction to Social Problems. Boston:Allyn Bacon:324
9. Millsap, Sam. Dec. 13, 2008. "Death penalty system fatally flawed." San Antonio Express News:8B.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Freedom of Choice Divides the Nation
When Roe v. Wade was enacted in 1973 the U.S. engaged in a massive social experiment that the country was not ready for. Abortion became one of the most explosive, bitter and divisive conflicts on the American landscape.
The terminology used to discuss the issue has been crucial. Initially the terms pro-abortion and anti-abortion were used by the media to discuss the positions of the opposing sides. However, each side sought to use more positive images to package their viewpoints. Those supporting abortion rights favored the term pro-choice in support of a woman's right to control her body. Those opposed to abortion favored the term pro-life in support of the rights of the unborn child. 1.
The positions are emotional extremes with little room for compromise. The nation became torn and continues to be divided. In a 2003 Gallup survey, 47 percent of adults claimed to be pro-choice, while 46 percent claimed pro-life. 2.
SOCIAL PRESSURES TO ABORT
Since the legalization of abortion in the United States the pressures not to abort have been replaced by a multitude of social pressures encouraging abortion.
Industrialized countries now favor lower fertility. A woman may be discouraged from bearing a child by family or friends. Increasing data document that in many cases the choice to abort was not made by the woman but was forced upon her.
The Elliott Institute catalogs and examines the after effects of abortion, focusing on stress experienced by women. They report, "Pressures to abort can come from husbands, parents, doctors, partners, counselors or close friends and family. They may threaten or blackmail a woman into abortion...Coercion can escalate into violence." 3.
An abortion security guard testified that women "were routinely threatened and abused by the boyfriends or husbands who took them to the clinics to make sure they underwent their scheduled abortions. 4.
Research by Rue et. al. studied the relationship between induced aborton and traumatic stress. In a study of 548 women (331 Russian and 217 American) they noted that 64% of women who aborted felt pressured by others; 54% were unsure of their decisions; 67% received no counseling beforehand; 87% received inadequate counseling; 79% were not told about alternatives; 31% had health complication afterwards; and 65% of the American woman suffered multiple symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorders with 14% meeting all of the diagnostic criteria for post traumatic stress disorder. 5.
THE POLITICAL PROCESS UNFOLDS
Because abortion is intimately related to the value and meaning of human life and family, the disputes became acrimonious. A struggle ensured for political control over circumstances under which an abortion could be obtained. States became active in seeking to manage and control the circumstances surrounding abortion.
States Limit Abortion Practices
In January of 2009, the pro-choice Alan Guttmacher Institute summarized the laws that had been passed by states "limiting whether, when and under what circumstances a woman may obtain an abortion". 6.
*38 states require an abortion to be performed by a licensed physician.
*36 states prohibit abortion after a specified point in pregnancy, most often fetal viability, except to protect a woman's life or health.
* 14 states prohibit 'partial-birth' abortion.
* 32 states and the District of Columbia prohibit the use of state funds for abortion.
* 4 states restrict coverage of abortion in private insurance plans.
* 46 states allow individual health care providers to refuse to participate in abortion.
* 43 states allow institutions to refuse to perform abortions.
* 17 states mandate that women be counseled in regard to the purported link between abortion and breast cancer (6 states), the ability of the fetus to feel pain (8 states), mental health consequences (7 states) or the availability of ultrasound (6 states)
* 24 states require that a woman wait a specified period of time, usually 24 hours, between counseling and procedure.
* 34 states require parental involvement in a minor's decision to abort. 22 states require one or both parents to consent, while 10 require that one or both be notified.
Federal Protection for the Unborn/Born Alive Child
* The Born Alive Infant Protection Act, enacted into law in 2002, states that any baby born alive is legally a person and entitled to medical care. Failure to provide it is a crime.
* The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, enacted into law in 2003, prohibits a late-term abortion called partial-birth abortion.
* The Unborn Victims of Violence Act ,enacted into law in 2004, was the first recognition of federal legal rights for an embryo or fetus as a person separate from the woman. This Act made it a separate federal crime to harm a fetus during and assault on the mother.
THE FREEDOM OF CHOICE ACT (FOCA)
This Bill was introduced in April of 2007 but failed to be reported to a committee.
The Freedom of Choice Act "declares that it is the policy of the United States that every woman has the fundamental right to choose to bear a child; terminate a pregnancy prior to fetal viability; or terminate a pregnancy after viability when necessary to protect her life or her health. It prohibits a federal, state, or local governmental entity from denying or interfering with a woman's right to exercise such choices..."
The Freedom of Choice Act was sponsored in the Senate by Senator Barbara Boxer and co-sponsored by 19 co-sponsors, including then Senator Barack Obama.
On July 17, 2007, Senator Obama spoke to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. He said, "The first thing I'd do as president, is sign the Freedom of Choice Act." 7.
In discussing the Freedom of Choice Act, Brad Mattes, executive director of Life Issues Institute, said, FOCA "is a dangerous bill that President Barack Obama has promised to sign...FOCA... would kick to the curb every protective law that has been passed by Congress, state legislatures, or local communities." 8.
MORAL AND LEGAL AMBIGUITY
When does life begin and who should decide? Legal and moral ramifications lie at the core of decisions about abortion. Women, especially young women, are left in a state of ambiguous concern as to the value of the life of their developing child.
Although abortion became legal in the United States in 1973, Time magazine reported in January of 2003 that "53% of women between ages of 18 through 39 say they consider abortion an act of murder." Results of a TIME/CNN poll reported that 60% of 1,010 adult Americans agreed that it is "too easy for women today to get an abortion." 9.
The Alan Guttmacher Institute, Planned Parenthood's research affiliate, reported that since 1973 the total abortions in the U.S.through 2007 exceeded 49 million, 550 thousand.10.
The Freedom of Choice Act would create extreme and divisive moral confusion in our country.
A "NO" vote to FOCA is the wisest choice.
REFERENCES:1.
Craig, Barbara Hinkson and David M. O'Brien. 1993. Abortion and American Politics. Chatham House:Chatham, New Jersey.
2. Pisano, Marina. "Roe v. Wade at 30". San Antonio Express News. Jan. 20, 2003:1A.
3. Elliott Institute. After Abortion.org. Facts Sheets & Healing: The unChoice.com. 2/3/2009.
4. McQuarrie, Brian. "Guard, clinic at odds at abortion hearing." Boston Globe, April16, 1999.
5. Elliott Institute. After Abortion.org. Facts Sheets & Healing:The UnChoice.com.
Rue, V.M., P.K. Coleman, J.J. Rue, and D. C. Reardon. "Induced abortion and traumatic stress: a preliminary comparison of American and Russian Women." Medical Science Monitor. Sept. 23, 2004. Oc:10(10):SR5-16. E-pub.
6. Guttmacher Institute. "State Policies in Brief:An Overview of Abortion Laws".
www.guttmacher.org. January 1, 2009.
7. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Jan. 30, 2009. "Freedom of Choice Act."
http://wn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_Choice_Act.
8.Butts, Charlie. Jan. 28, 2009. "The fight against FOCA begins."
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Printer.aspx?id-399060.
9. Tumulty, Karen and Viveca Novak. January 27, 2003. "Under the Radar-Thirty years after Roe v. Wade." Time. Vol. 161. No. 3:38-41.
10. National Right to Life. http://www.nrlc.org/ABORTION/facts/abortionstats.html.
2/2/2009.
The terminology used to discuss the issue has been crucial. Initially the terms pro-abortion and anti-abortion were used by the media to discuss the positions of the opposing sides. However, each side sought to use more positive images to package their viewpoints. Those supporting abortion rights favored the term pro-choice in support of a woman's right to control her body. Those opposed to abortion favored the term pro-life in support of the rights of the unborn child. 1.
The positions are emotional extremes with little room for compromise. The nation became torn and continues to be divided. In a 2003 Gallup survey, 47 percent of adults claimed to be pro-choice, while 46 percent claimed pro-life. 2.
SOCIAL PRESSURES TO ABORT
Since the legalization of abortion in the United States the pressures not to abort have been replaced by a multitude of social pressures encouraging abortion.
Industrialized countries now favor lower fertility. A woman may be discouraged from bearing a child by family or friends. Increasing data document that in many cases the choice to abort was not made by the woman but was forced upon her.
The Elliott Institute catalogs and examines the after effects of abortion, focusing on stress experienced by women. They report, "Pressures to abort can come from husbands, parents, doctors, partners, counselors or close friends and family. They may threaten or blackmail a woman into abortion...Coercion can escalate into violence." 3.
An abortion security guard testified that women "were routinely threatened and abused by the boyfriends or husbands who took them to the clinics to make sure they underwent their scheduled abortions. 4.
Research by Rue et. al. studied the relationship between induced aborton and traumatic stress. In a study of 548 women (331 Russian and 217 American) they noted that 64% of women who aborted felt pressured by others; 54% were unsure of their decisions; 67% received no counseling beforehand; 87% received inadequate counseling; 79% were not told about alternatives; 31% had health complication afterwards; and 65% of the American woman suffered multiple symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorders with 14% meeting all of the diagnostic criteria for post traumatic stress disorder. 5.
THE POLITICAL PROCESS UNFOLDS
Because abortion is intimately related to the value and meaning of human life and family, the disputes became acrimonious. A struggle ensured for political control over circumstances under which an abortion could be obtained. States became active in seeking to manage and control the circumstances surrounding abortion.
States Limit Abortion Practices
In January of 2009, the pro-choice Alan Guttmacher Institute summarized the laws that had been passed by states "limiting whether, when and under what circumstances a woman may obtain an abortion". 6.
*38 states require an abortion to be performed by a licensed physician.
*36 states prohibit abortion after a specified point in pregnancy, most often fetal viability, except to protect a woman's life or health.
* 14 states prohibit 'partial-birth' abortion.
* 32 states and the District of Columbia prohibit the use of state funds for abortion.
* 4 states restrict coverage of abortion in private insurance plans.
* 46 states allow individual health care providers to refuse to participate in abortion.
* 43 states allow institutions to refuse to perform abortions.
* 17 states mandate that women be counseled in regard to the purported link between abortion and breast cancer (6 states), the ability of the fetus to feel pain (8 states), mental health consequences (7 states) or the availability of ultrasound (6 states)
* 24 states require that a woman wait a specified period of time, usually 24 hours, between counseling and procedure.
* 34 states require parental involvement in a minor's decision to abort. 22 states require one or both parents to consent, while 10 require that one or both be notified.
Federal Protection for the Unborn/Born Alive Child
* The Born Alive Infant Protection Act, enacted into law in 2002, states that any baby born alive is legally a person and entitled to medical care. Failure to provide it is a crime.
* The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, enacted into law in 2003, prohibits a late-term abortion called partial-birth abortion.
* The Unborn Victims of Violence Act ,enacted into law in 2004, was the first recognition of federal legal rights for an embryo or fetus as a person separate from the woman. This Act made it a separate federal crime to harm a fetus during and assault on the mother.
THE FREEDOM OF CHOICE ACT (FOCA)
This Bill was introduced in April of 2007 but failed to be reported to a committee.
The Freedom of Choice Act "declares that it is the policy of the United States that every woman has the fundamental right to choose to bear a child; terminate a pregnancy prior to fetal viability; or terminate a pregnancy after viability when necessary to protect her life or her health. It prohibits a federal, state, or local governmental entity from denying or interfering with a woman's right to exercise such choices..."
The Freedom of Choice Act was sponsored in the Senate by Senator Barbara Boxer and co-sponsored by 19 co-sponsors, including then Senator Barack Obama.
On July 17, 2007, Senator Obama spoke to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. He said, "The first thing I'd do as president, is sign the Freedom of Choice Act." 7.
In discussing the Freedom of Choice Act, Brad Mattes, executive director of Life Issues Institute, said, FOCA "is a dangerous bill that President Barack Obama has promised to sign...FOCA... would kick to the curb every protective law that has been passed by Congress, state legislatures, or local communities." 8.
MORAL AND LEGAL AMBIGUITY
When does life begin and who should decide? Legal and moral ramifications lie at the core of decisions about abortion. Women, especially young women, are left in a state of ambiguous concern as to the value of the life of their developing child.
Although abortion became legal in the United States in 1973, Time magazine reported in January of 2003 that "53% of women between ages of 18 through 39 say they consider abortion an act of murder." Results of a TIME/CNN poll reported that 60% of 1,010 adult Americans agreed that it is "too easy for women today to get an abortion." 9.
The Alan Guttmacher Institute, Planned Parenthood's research affiliate, reported that since 1973 the total abortions in the U.S.through 2007 exceeded 49 million, 550 thousand.10.
The Freedom of Choice Act would create extreme and divisive moral confusion in our country.
A "NO" vote to FOCA is the wisest choice.
REFERENCES:1.
Craig, Barbara Hinkson and David M. O'Brien. 1993. Abortion and American Politics. Chatham House:Chatham, New Jersey.
2. Pisano, Marina. "Roe v. Wade at 30". San Antonio Express News. Jan. 20, 2003:1A.
3. Elliott Institute. After Abortion.org. Facts Sheets & Healing: The unChoice.com. 2/3/2009.
4. McQuarrie, Brian. "Guard, clinic at odds at abortion hearing." Boston Globe, April16, 1999.
5. Elliott Institute. After Abortion.org. Facts Sheets & Healing:The UnChoice.com.
Rue, V.M., P.K. Coleman, J.J. Rue, and D. C. Reardon. "Induced abortion and traumatic stress: a preliminary comparison of American and Russian Women." Medical Science Monitor. Sept. 23, 2004. Oc:10(10):SR5-16. E-pub.
6. Guttmacher Institute. "State Policies in Brief:An Overview of Abortion Laws".
www.guttmacher.org. January 1, 2009.
7. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Jan. 30, 2009. "Freedom of Choice Act."
http://wn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_Choice_Act.
8.Butts, Charlie. Jan. 28, 2009. "The fight against FOCA begins."
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Printer.aspx?id-399060.
9. Tumulty, Karen and Viveca Novak. January 27, 2003. "Under the Radar-Thirty years after Roe v. Wade." Time. Vol. 161. No. 3:38-41.
10. National Right to Life. http://www.nrlc.org/ABORTION/facts/abortionstats.html.
2/2/2009.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Strength To Love
Today, Martin Luther King Day of 2009, is a momentous occasion as we look forward to tomorrow when Barack Obama, the first African American president, will take the oath of office as the 44th president of the United States. Obama will be using the same Bible used by the 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, at his inauguration in 1861.
The American promise of equality and freedom rings true as people of all races gather on the Washington Mall from all over the country and the world to prepare for the inauguration of President Obama.
The gathering is reminiscent of and a consequence of the orderly demonstration of 250,000 people who gathered on the Washington Mall over 45 years ago on August 28th of 1963 for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. It was here that the historic, I Have a Dream speech, was delivered by Dr. King as he stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
His speech, replayed in full over CNN news today, spoke of the future struggle for justice. He warned that the struggle would be hard and many would be imprisoned for their efforts. However, Dr. King said, "We must not be guilty of wrongful deeds, not drink from the cup of bitterness and hatred"...but rather move in the "high plain of dignity and discipline...meeting physical force with soul force.".
DIGNIFIED AND NON-VIOLENT
Dr King, other black ministers and leaders of the civil rights movement were insistent that the demonstrations for freedom would be controlled, orderly, dignified and non-violent. People who could not accept this condition were asked to leave. The strength, discipline and determination of these demonstrators spoke to the hearts of many Americans as they watched with horror on television the attacking dogs, water hosings and imprisonment of the demonstrators.
This powerful strength to love, in spite of past and present violence against them, was a convincing factor that led to the passage of the civil rights act of 1964 and the voting rights act of 1965.
The determination and ability of black leadership to speak truth to love laid the foundation of a a just society for all people.
As a Baptist minister at the Ebenezer Baptist church in Atlanta, Dr. King held firm to the teachings of Jesus. In 1963, he published a book of his sermons entitled Strength to Love.
The remaining portion of this entry will honor Dr. King's wisdom by presenting excerpts from one of his sermons entitled "Loving Your Enemies".
LOVING YOUR ENEMIES
from: Strength to Love. by Martin Luther King, Jr. 1963. Philadelphia: Fortress Press. pgs. 49-57.
Probably no admonition of Jesus has been more difficult to follow than the command to "love your enemies". Some have sincerely felt that its actual practice is not possible...Others, like the philosopher Nietzsche, contend that Jesus' exhortation to love one's enemies is testimony to the fact that the Christian ethic is designed for the weak and cowardly, and not for the strong and courageous. Jesus, they say was an impractical idealist...
Jesus is not an impractical idealist: he is the practical realist.
I am certain that Jesus understood the difficulty inherent in the act of loving one's enemy. He never joined the ranks of those who talked glibly about the moral life...
HOW DO WE LOVE OUR ENEMIES?
First, we must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive... Forgiveness does not mean ignoring what has been done or putting a false label on an evil act. It means, rather, that the evil act no longer remains as a barrier to the relationship. Forgiveness is a catalyst creating the atmosphere necessary for a fresh start and a new beginning.
Second, we must recognise that the evil deed of the enemy-neighbor, the thing that hurts, never quite expresses all that he is. An element of goodness may be found even in our worst enemy...
Third, we must not seek to defeat or humiliate the enemy but to win his friendship and understanding...
Every word and deed must contribute to an understanding with the enemy and release those vast reservoirs of goodwill which have been blocked by impenetrable walls of hatred...
LOVE IS AGAPE
Love is something much deeper than emotional bosh... An overflowing love which seeks nothing in return, Agape, is the love of God operating in the human heart. At this level, we love not because we like them... we love the person who does an evil deed, although we hate the deed that he does.
How can we be affectionate toward a person whose avowed aim is to crush our very being and place innumerable stumbling blocks in our path?...
When Jesus bids us to love our enemies he is speaking of Agape - understanding and creative, redemptive goodwill for all.
WHY SHOULD WE LOVE OUR ENEMIES?
The first reason is fairly obvious. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars...
Another reason why we must love our enemies is that hate scars the soul and distorts the personality... Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes that personality and eats away its vital unity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true.
...Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend. By its very nature, hate destroys and tears down; by its very nature, love creates and builds up.
Love transforms with redemptive power.
The American promise of equality and freedom rings true as people of all races gather on the Washington Mall from all over the country and the world to prepare for the inauguration of President Obama.
The gathering is reminiscent of and a consequence of the orderly demonstration of 250,000 people who gathered on the Washington Mall over 45 years ago on August 28th of 1963 for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. It was here that the historic, I Have a Dream speech, was delivered by Dr. King as he stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
His speech, replayed in full over CNN news today, spoke of the future struggle for justice. He warned that the struggle would be hard and many would be imprisoned for their efforts. However, Dr. King said, "We must not be guilty of wrongful deeds, not drink from the cup of bitterness and hatred"...but rather move in the "high plain of dignity and discipline...meeting physical force with soul force.".
DIGNIFIED AND NON-VIOLENT
Dr King, other black ministers and leaders of the civil rights movement were insistent that the demonstrations for freedom would be controlled, orderly, dignified and non-violent. People who could not accept this condition were asked to leave. The strength, discipline and determination of these demonstrators spoke to the hearts of many Americans as they watched with horror on television the attacking dogs, water hosings and imprisonment of the demonstrators.
This powerful strength to love, in spite of past and present violence against them, was a convincing factor that led to the passage of the civil rights act of 1964 and the voting rights act of 1965.
The determination and ability of black leadership to speak truth to love laid the foundation of a a just society for all people.
As a Baptist minister at the Ebenezer Baptist church in Atlanta, Dr. King held firm to the teachings of Jesus. In 1963, he published a book of his sermons entitled Strength to Love.
The remaining portion of this entry will honor Dr. King's wisdom by presenting excerpts from one of his sermons entitled "Loving Your Enemies".
LOVING YOUR ENEMIES
from: Strength to Love. by Martin Luther King, Jr. 1963. Philadelphia: Fortress Press. pgs. 49-57.
Probably no admonition of Jesus has been more difficult to follow than the command to "love your enemies". Some have sincerely felt that its actual practice is not possible...Others, like the philosopher Nietzsche, contend that Jesus' exhortation to love one's enemies is testimony to the fact that the Christian ethic is designed for the weak and cowardly, and not for the strong and courageous. Jesus, they say was an impractical idealist...
Jesus is not an impractical idealist: he is the practical realist.
I am certain that Jesus understood the difficulty inherent in the act of loving one's enemy. He never joined the ranks of those who talked glibly about the moral life...
HOW DO WE LOVE OUR ENEMIES?
First, we must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive... Forgiveness does not mean ignoring what has been done or putting a false label on an evil act. It means, rather, that the evil act no longer remains as a barrier to the relationship. Forgiveness is a catalyst creating the atmosphere necessary for a fresh start and a new beginning.
Second, we must recognise that the evil deed of the enemy-neighbor, the thing that hurts, never quite expresses all that he is. An element of goodness may be found even in our worst enemy...
Third, we must not seek to defeat or humiliate the enemy but to win his friendship and understanding...
Every word and deed must contribute to an understanding with the enemy and release those vast reservoirs of goodwill which have been blocked by impenetrable walls of hatred...
LOVE IS AGAPE
Love is something much deeper than emotional bosh... An overflowing love which seeks nothing in return, Agape, is the love of God operating in the human heart. At this level, we love not because we like them... we love the person who does an evil deed, although we hate the deed that he does.
How can we be affectionate toward a person whose avowed aim is to crush our very being and place innumerable stumbling blocks in our path?...
When Jesus bids us to love our enemies he is speaking of Agape - understanding and creative, redemptive goodwill for all.
WHY SHOULD WE LOVE OUR ENEMIES?
The first reason is fairly obvious. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars...
Another reason why we must love our enemies is that hate scars the soul and distorts the personality... Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes that personality and eats away its vital unity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true.
...Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend. By its very nature, hate destroys and tears down; by its very nature, love creates and builds up.
Love transforms with redemptive power.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Vast Conclusions from Half Vast Data
Recently a group of scientists, science teachers, and interested Texans went before the Texas State Board of Education and "pleaded with the 15 member board not to confuse public school children with a watered-down teaching of evolution by requiring teachers to teach its weaknesses or limitations".
This month the State Board of Education will take a preliminary vote on "new science curriculum standards that will dictate new science textbooks for the state's 4.5 million students".
Steven Schafersman, president of 'Texas Citizens for Science' told the board, "Scientists want to get rid of this weaknesses wording...Scientific theories don't have weaknesses."
Paul Kramer, a Texas engineer, countered this argument. He presented names of 700 scientists from around the world who doubt the claims for random mutation and natural selection. Kramer said that restricting debate is out of place in a free society. He said, "It smacks of oppression and tyranny and reminds us of another darker time in Germany where brown shirted, black-booted thought police burned books and crushed any free debate."
Educators around the United States watch closely to see the direction Texas moves because their decisions on controversial issues influence the content of books. 1.
SCIENTIST PRIESTS?
In the late 1960's Spencer Klaw examined the organization of the scientific community and scientific research in the United States. He concluded that "Science has become a form of established religion and scientists its priests and ministers." 2.
This conclusion was prophecied in the early 1800's when Auguste Comte, a French social thinker who was greatly concerned by growing social problems, contended that social relationships and society operate by laws that could be discovered through the application of scientific principles. He believed that 'scientist priests' could use the methods employed by the natural sciences to discover the natural laws of social relationships. These discovered laws would be used to develop a planned socialist society for the benefit of mankind that would replace the religious view of society based on the revelation of God's will. 3.
WAYS OF KNOWING
The world we live in is largely an unknown entity. We give meaning and understanding to the world around us through subjective experience, traditional authority, mystical understanding, and reasoned logic.
Increasingly, however, these personal ways of knowing are being supplanted by science, a systematic method that bases knowledge on observation of information that can be verified with our senses,
In the 1700's, the Age of Enlightenment ushered in an era of progress through science with an emphasis on human reason and scientific discovery. Only that which could be observed and verified scientifically was considered meaningful. Supernaturalism was viewed as outdated by the intellectuals of the time.
THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD
The scientific method is one mode of obtaining understanding about the world around us. Science is a way of generating and testing the truth of statements.
The process of scientific investigation attempts to overcome personal bias and preference by a reliance on an objective analysis of facts systmatically collected.
The scientific method consists of two processes: theorizing and research based on observable (empirical) information.
THE RESEARCH PROCESS 4.
* The process begins by defining the problem to be examined.
* Literature is reviewed which describes previous studies that have been done on the problem.
* A theory, which is a framework suggesting how two or more variable factors are related to each other, is developed.
* Through a process of logical deduction, an hypothesis is developed that predicts how one variable will affect or change another. An hypothesis is an If-Then statement. If (this) occurs then (that) will occur.
* A research method is developed to determine what data are to be collected and how they will be sampled and analyzed.
* The observations of the data are collected.
* The sample measurements are summarized.
* Generalizations are drawn from the conclusions as to whether the hypothesis was confirmed.
* The theory is confirmed or revised, depending on the results of the research.
QUESTIONS TO ASK OF RESEARCH
The value of research depends on accurate measurement of variables, a well drawn sample, and objective analysis of data.
Before the results of a scientific study are accepted as valuable, questions should be considered.
* What definitions were used to define the variables that were measured?
* How were the variables measured?
* Why was the research carried out?
* What were the motivations of the researchers?
* Who sponsored the research?
* What were the qualifications of the researchers?
* How large was the sample of observations and how was the sample drawn?
* Where was the sample drawn?
* When was the study done?
* Were all of the results considered in the conclusions?
CONCERNS WITH ADVOCACY RESEARCH
When a researcher studies a problem with an 'ideological imperative', politically acceptable findings may become more important than the quality of the research.
Research studies are often used to raise public consciousness toward acceptance for
a political agenda or to develop scientific legitimacy for social programs.
The temptation may be to distort the results by using only a portion of the data that supports the agenda or to widely over generalize the results to imply 'all' when only 'some' is appropriate.
SCIENTISM
Science, unfortunately, can be and sometimes is misused for political agendas. Merriam Webster defines scientism as "an exaggerated trust in the efficacy of the methods of natural science applied to all areas of investigation (as in philosophy, the social sciences, and the humanities)". 5.
Pbs.org. discusses scientism in this way. "Unlike the use of the scientific method as only one mode of reaching knowledge, scientism claims that science alone can render truth about the world and reality... Scientism sees it necessary to do away with most, if not all, metaphysical, philosophical, and religious claims, as the truths they proclaim cannot be apprehended by the scientific method. In essence, scientism sees science as the absolute and only justifiable access to the truth. 6.
AGAINST METHOD
Paul Feyerabend, professor of philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley, in his book, Against Method, contends that progress in science has not been made by following the scientific method. He notes that the gathering of facts are biased and distorted by theories and that the observation of facts are distorted by selective perception and prejudice.
Feyerabend observes that the scientific process is full of sordid personal controversy that comes closer to mob psychology than methodology.
He concludes that theories in science prevail not because they convince their opponents, but because they overpower them.
He believes that the search for truth must encompass a pluralistic methodology, including that of art, philosophy, religion and politics, because only a method that encourages variety is humanitarian. 7.
SEPARATION OF STATE AND SCIENCE
Feyerabend states, "As the accepting and rejecting of ideologies should be left to the individual, it follows that the separation of state and church must be supplemented by the separation of state and science, that most recent, most aggressive, and most dogmatic religious institution. Such a separation may be our only chance to achieve a humanity we are capable of, but have never fully realized". (pg. 295).
REFERENCES
1. Scharrer, Gary. "Scientists Speak up for Evolution". San Antonio Express News. November 20, 2008:B1.
2. Klaw, Spencer. The New Brahmins, Scientific Life in America. NY: William Morrow and Company, Inc. 1968:12.
3. Macionis, John J. Sociology: The Basics. Upper Saddle River, NY: Prentice Hall. 1997: Chapters 1 and 4.
4. Wallace, Walter. The Logic of Science in Sociology. Chicago: Aldine Press:1971.
5. Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary. Merriam Webster, Inc. Springfield, Mass. 1988:1051.
6. http://www.pbs.org/faithandreason/gengloss/scism-body.html. 1/11/2009.
7. Feyerabend, Paul. Against Method. Thetford, Norfolk, Great Britain: The Thetford Press Ltd. 1975.
This month the State Board of Education will take a preliminary vote on "new science curriculum standards that will dictate new science textbooks for the state's 4.5 million students".
Steven Schafersman, president of 'Texas Citizens for Science' told the board, "Scientists want to get rid of this weaknesses wording...Scientific theories don't have weaknesses."
Paul Kramer, a Texas engineer, countered this argument. He presented names of 700 scientists from around the world who doubt the claims for random mutation and natural selection. Kramer said that restricting debate is out of place in a free society. He said, "It smacks of oppression and tyranny and reminds us of another darker time in Germany where brown shirted, black-booted thought police burned books and crushed any free debate."
Educators around the United States watch closely to see the direction Texas moves because their decisions on controversial issues influence the content of books. 1.
SCIENTIST PRIESTS?
In the late 1960's Spencer Klaw examined the organization of the scientific community and scientific research in the United States. He concluded that "Science has become a form of established religion and scientists its priests and ministers." 2.
This conclusion was prophecied in the early 1800's when Auguste Comte, a French social thinker who was greatly concerned by growing social problems, contended that social relationships and society operate by laws that could be discovered through the application of scientific principles. He believed that 'scientist priests' could use the methods employed by the natural sciences to discover the natural laws of social relationships. These discovered laws would be used to develop a planned socialist society for the benefit of mankind that would replace the religious view of society based on the revelation of God's will. 3.
WAYS OF KNOWING
The world we live in is largely an unknown entity. We give meaning and understanding to the world around us through subjective experience, traditional authority, mystical understanding, and reasoned logic.
Increasingly, however, these personal ways of knowing are being supplanted by science, a systematic method that bases knowledge on observation of information that can be verified with our senses,
In the 1700's, the Age of Enlightenment ushered in an era of progress through science with an emphasis on human reason and scientific discovery. Only that which could be observed and verified scientifically was considered meaningful. Supernaturalism was viewed as outdated by the intellectuals of the time.
THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD
The scientific method is one mode of obtaining understanding about the world around us. Science is a way of generating and testing the truth of statements.
The process of scientific investigation attempts to overcome personal bias and preference by a reliance on an objective analysis of facts systmatically collected.
The scientific method consists of two processes: theorizing and research based on observable (empirical) information.
THE RESEARCH PROCESS 4.
* The process begins by defining the problem to be examined.
* Literature is reviewed which describes previous studies that have been done on the problem.
* A theory, which is a framework suggesting how two or more variable factors are related to each other, is developed.
* Through a process of logical deduction, an hypothesis is developed that predicts how one variable will affect or change another. An hypothesis is an If-Then statement. If (this) occurs then (that) will occur.
* A research method is developed to determine what data are to be collected and how they will be sampled and analyzed.
* The observations of the data are collected.
* The sample measurements are summarized.
* Generalizations are drawn from the conclusions as to whether the hypothesis was confirmed.
* The theory is confirmed or revised, depending on the results of the research.
QUESTIONS TO ASK OF RESEARCH
The value of research depends on accurate measurement of variables, a well drawn sample, and objective analysis of data.
Before the results of a scientific study are accepted as valuable, questions should be considered.
* What definitions were used to define the variables that were measured?
* How were the variables measured?
* Why was the research carried out?
* What were the motivations of the researchers?
* Who sponsored the research?
* What were the qualifications of the researchers?
* How large was the sample of observations and how was the sample drawn?
* Where was the sample drawn?
* When was the study done?
* Were all of the results considered in the conclusions?
CONCERNS WITH ADVOCACY RESEARCH
When a researcher studies a problem with an 'ideological imperative', politically acceptable findings may become more important than the quality of the research.
Research studies are often used to raise public consciousness toward acceptance for
a political agenda or to develop scientific legitimacy for social programs.
The temptation may be to distort the results by using only a portion of the data that supports the agenda or to widely over generalize the results to imply 'all' when only 'some' is appropriate.
SCIENTISM
Science, unfortunately, can be and sometimes is misused for political agendas. Merriam Webster defines scientism as "an exaggerated trust in the efficacy of the methods of natural science applied to all areas of investigation (as in philosophy, the social sciences, and the humanities)". 5.
Pbs.org. discusses scientism in this way. "Unlike the use of the scientific method as only one mode of reaching knowledge, scientism claims that science alone can render truth about the world and reality... Scientism sees it necessary to do away with most, if not all, metaphysical, philosophical, and religious claims, as the truths they proclaim cannot be apprehended by the scientific method. In essence, scientism sees science as the absolute and only justifiable access to the truth. 6.
AGAINST METHOD
Paul Feyerabend, professor of philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley, in his book, Against Method, contends that progress in science has not been made by following the scientific method. He notes that the gathering of facts are biased and distorted by theories and that the observation of facts are distorted by selective perception and prejudice.
Feyerabend observes that the scientific process is full of sordid personal controversy that comes closer to mob psychology than methodology.
He concludes that theories in science prevail not because they convince their opponents, but because they overpower them.
He believes that the search for truth must encompass a pluralistic methodology, including that of art, philosophy, religion and politics, because only a method that encourages variety is humanitarian. 7.
SEPARATION OF STATE AND SCIENCE
Feyerabend states, "As the accepting and rejecting of ideologies should be left to the individual, it follows that the separation of state and church must be supplemented by the separation of state and science, that most recent, most aggressive, and most dogmatic religious institution. Such a separation may be our only chance to achieve a humanity we are capable of, but have never fully realized". (pg. 295).
REFERENCES
1. Scharrer, Gary. "Scientists Speak up for Evolution". San Antonio Express News. November 20, 2008:B1.
2. Klaw, Spencer. The New Brahmins, Scientific Life in America. NY: William Morrow and Company, Inc. 1968:12.
3. Macionis, John J. Sociology: The Basics. Upper Saddle River, NY: Prentice Hall. 1997: Chapters 1 and 4.
4. Wallace, Walter. The Logic of Science in Sociology. Chicago: Aldine Press:1971.
5. Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary. Merriam Webster, Inc. Springfield, Mass. 1988:1051.
6. http://www.pbs.org/faithandreason/gengloss/scism-body.html. 1/11/2009.
7. Feyerabend, Paul. Against Method. Thetford, Norfolk, Great Britain: The Thetford Press Ltd. 1975.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Imagine No Religion. Impossible!
The weeks before Christmas are a beautiful and magical time in our homes and communities. The rich and mellow carols of peace and goodwill echo in the streets, in the churches and over the media. Sharing, caring and giving are spread throughout the land.
However, in driving home the other day here in San Antonio, Texas I saw a large elaborate billboard that said, "Imagine No Religion". The billboard, promoted by the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) out of Madison, WI, is being placed in cities across the country. The FFRF, an association of atheists and agnostics, was formed in 1978 to promote freethought and to keep state and church separate. 1.
It is impossible to 'imagine no religion'. All persons and groups develop meaning systems that guide their decisions and behaviors which they then pursue with religious fervor.
In 1933, The Humanist Manifesto, contending that spiritual reality, worship, and prayer were false hopes, outlined the blueprint of faith for what they outlined as religious humanism based on science. 2.
In 1966, Anton Szandor LaVey contended that "The Church of Satan will be the pivotal point for an acknowledged belief system of the 21st Century". 3.
These religious faith systems, without any challenge or criticism, have become deeply involved with the state.
Nazism, Stalinism and Maoism were certainly organized as religions.
IMAGINE NO GOD!
THE POWER OF GOD PROTECTS FROM THE POWER OF THE STATE
When FFRF asks us to 'Imagine no religion' they are in reality asking us to imagine that there is no God, no higher power, no spiritual reality, or moral authority to which we are accountable, no reality or rightness that exists beyond human ability to manipulate or manage.
The attempt to remove the concept of God from our society raises deep and legitimate fears related to individual integrity, freedom and survival.
Faith in spiritual reality and authority is the sole liberating force which can supply freedom and integrity to individuals. Rights endowed by the state can be retracted by the state. Rights endowed by a Creator are beyond manipulation.
POWER TO CONTROL
Power is the ability to compel the will and action of another through influence, physical force, or intimidation. To gain total control rulers must control the authority structure, the distribution of rewards and punishments, and the surveillance mechanisms of society.
Dictators who seek to gain total control must eliminate alternatives which are beyond their ability to manipulate.
Social moral authority
In a discussion of the sources of moral authority in a sociology class, I mentioned The Ten Commandments as basic to Judeo/Christian moral understanding. A Muslim student in class raised his hand to correct me, saying "The Ten Commandments are basic to Judeo/Christian/Islamic moral understanding".
In our society, The Ten Commandments, The Sermon on the Mount, and the Declaration of Independence have been accepted as directives, truths, and inalienable rights endowed by the Creator.
Religious humanism, as outlined in The Humanist Manifesto, declares that modern science makes unacceptable inalienable human values.
The removal of The Ten Commandments from the foundation of our court system seeks to remove from our society faith in a transcendent authority and higher source of moral rightness beyond the state.
The radio commentator Dennis Prager said, "I regard the demise of Christianity in America (as a) nightmare - and I say that as a believing, religious Jew... The battle is no longer Jew versus Christianity, but Jew and Christian versus secular nihilism." 4.
Social Control
Social power requires control over the rewards that motivate people to strive and the punishments that deter. The rewards most available to managerial distribution are money, status and prestige.
Transcendent religions, however, maintain that the most desirous rewards relate to spiritual integrity rather than the transient rewards of personal gain.
Persecution for righteousness sake is the refining fire of the soul and 'great is your reward in heaven'. Attempts at coercion, harassment and intimidation lose their power to destroy, oppress and compel.
Social Surveillance
Control requires surveillance. In a nation that trusts in the all-seeing eye of a just God, control is maintained by bringing individuals into awareness of the expected and appropriate spiritual and social behaviors. People are then expected to control their own behaviors in light of this knowledge. With the elimination of the concept of God new types of surveillance must be used to ensure compliance with appropriate social norms.
STEPS TOWARD TOTAL POWER
Total power is not power for the 'good of the people' but rather power to determine what the people shall perceive as their good. It is the power to define or rather redefine right and wrong.
Transcendent religions which remove this authority from would be dictators must be destroyed by them.
A series of steps is used to de-program a society from the concept of spiritual authority, reward, and surveillance.
The first step is toleration. The word is used not as respect for religious seeking and diversity, but rather is used to imply endurance.
The second step is ridicule in the form of sarcasm, cartoons, and mocking caricature.
The third step is oppression. This includes deliberate obstruction through such avenues as economic sanctions and exclusion from the roles of social status, prestige and responsibility.
The fourth step is persecution and consists of physical harassment and removal and destruction through brainwashing or death
The most necessary step, however, is control over the shaping process of the children. Total control must be gained over the process whereby people learn to assign legitimate authority, reward, and surveillance.
VULNERABLE TO OPPRESSION
With the removal of the concept of spiritual reality and rightness, individuals are left ultimately vulnerable to being controlled (and crushed) by the capricious distribution of rewards and punishment.
The courage to dissent, the courage to live authentically, the courage to stand alone for what you believe to be right can only be born of the assurance that the ultimate rewards of personal integrity will surpass the immediate punishment.
The society that is unable to grant inalienable value, liberty and integrity to individuals cannot be good for the people.
REFERENCES:
1. Freedom From Religion Foundation. 12/18/2008. http://www.ffrf.org.
2. Humanist Manifesto I. The New Humanist. Vol. VI. No.3 (May/June) 1933.
http://www.jcn.com/manifestos.html.
3. Bugbee,Shane and Amy Bugbee. "The Doctor is in...MF Magazine.No.3.1997.
http://www.churchofsatan.com/Pages/MFInterview.html.
4. Laconte, Joe."The battle to define America turns violent". Christianity Today. Vol. 37. No. 12 (Oct 25) 1993:76.
However, in driving home the other day here in San Antonio, Texas I saw a large elaborate billboard that said, "Imagine No Religion". The billboard, promoted by the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) out of Madison, WI, is being placed in cities across the country. The FFRF, an association of atheists and agnostics, was formed in 1978 to promote freethought and to keep state and church separate. 1.
It is impossible to 'imagine no religion'. All persons and groups develop meaning systems that guide their decisions and behaviors which they then pursue with religious fervor.
In 1933, The Humanist Manifesto, contending that spiritual reality, worship, and prayer were false hopes, outlined the blueprint of faith for what they outlined as religious humanism based on science. 2.
In 1966, Anton Szandor LaVey contended that "The Church of Satan will be the pivotal point for an acknowledged belief system of the 21st Century". 3.
These religious faith systems, without any challenge or criticism, have become deeply involved with the state.
Nazism, Stalinism and Maoism were certainly organized as religions.
IMAGINE NO GOD!
THE POWER OF GOD PROTECTS FROM THE POWER OF THE STATE
When FFRF asks us to 'Imagine no religion' they are in reality asking us to imagine that there is no God, no higher power, no spiritual reality, or moral authority to which we are accountable, no reality or rightness that exists beyond human ability to manipulate or manage.
The attempt to remove the concept of God from our society raises deep and legitimate fears related to individual integrity, freedom and survival.
Faith in spiritual reality and authority is the sole liberating force which can supply freedom and integrity to individuals. Rights endowed by the state can be retracted by the state. Rights endowed by a Creator are beyond manipulation.
POWER TO CONTROL
Power is the ability to compel the will and action of another through influence, physical force, or intimidation. To gain total control rulers must control the authority structure, the distribution of rewards and punishments, and the surveillance mechanisms of society.
Dictators who seek to gain total control must eliminate alternatives which are beyond their ability to manipulate.
Social moral authority
In a discussion of the sources of moral authority in a sociology class, I mentioned The Ten Commandments as basic to Judeo/Christian moral understanding. A Muslim student in class raised his hand to correct me, saying "The Ten Commandments are basic to Judeo/Christian/Islamic moral understanding".
In our society, The Ten Commandments, The Sermon on the Mount, and the Declaration of Independence have been accepted as directives, truths, and inalienable rights endowed by the Creator.
Religious humanism, as outlined in The Humanist Manifesto, declares that modern science makes unacceptable inalienable human values.
The removal of The Ten Commandments from the foundation of our court system seeks to remove from our society faith in a transcendent authority and higher source of moral rightness beyond the state.
The radio commentator Dennis Prager said, "I regard the demise of Christianity in America (as a) nightmare - and I say that as a believing, religious Jew... The battle is no longer Jew versus Christianity, but Jew and Christian versus secular nihilism." 4.
Social Control
Social power requires control over the rewards that motivate people to strive and the punishments that deter. The rewards most available to managerial distribution are money, status and prestige.
Transcendent religions, however, maintain that the most desirous rewards relate to spiritual integrity rather than the transient rewards of personal gain.
Persecution for righteousness sake is the refining fire of the soul and 'great is your reward in heaven'. Attempts at coercion, harassment and intimidation lose their power to destroy, oppress and compel.
Social Surveillance
Control requires surveillance. In a nation that trusts in the all-seeing eye of a just God, control is maintained by bringing individuals into awareness of the expected and appropriate spiritual and social behaviors. People are then expected to control their own behaviors in light of this knowledge. With the elimination of the concept of God new types of surveillance must be used to ensure compliance with appropriate social norms.
STEPS TOWARD TOTAL POWER
Total power is not power for the 'good of the people' but rather power to determine what the people shall perceive as their good. It is the power to define or rather redefine right and wrong.
Transcendent religions which remove this authority from would be dictators must be destroyed by them.
A series of steps is used to de-program a society from the concept of spiritual authority, reward, and surveillance.
The first step is toleration. The word is used not as respect for religious seeking and diversity, but rather is used to imply endurance.
The second step is ridicule in the form of sarcasm, cartoons, and mocking caricature.
The third step is oppression. This includes deliberate obstruction through such avenues as economic sanctions and exclusion from the roles of social status, prestige and responsibility.
The fourth step is persecution and consists of physical harassment and removal and destruction through brainwashing or death
The most necessary step, however, is control over the shaping process of the children. Total control must be gained over the process whereby people learn to assign legitimate authority, reward, and surveillance.
VULNERABLE TO OPPRESSION
With the removal of the concept of spiritual reality and rightness, individuals are left ultimately vulnerable to being controlled (and crushed) by the capricious distribution of rewards and punishment.
The courage to dissent, the courage to live authentically, the courage to stand alone for what you believe to be right can only be born of the assurance that the ultimate rewards of personal integrity will surpass the immediate punishment.
The society that is unable to grant inalienable value, liberty and integrity to individuals cannot be good for the people.
REFERENCES:
1. Freedom From Religion Foundation. 12/18/2008. http://www.ffrf.org.
2. Humanist Manifesto I. The New Humanist. Vol. VI. No.3 (May/June) 1933.
http://www.jcn.com/manifestos.html.
3. Bugbee,Shane and Amy Bugbee. "The Doctor is in...MF Magazine.No.3.1997.
http://www.churchofsatan.com/Pages/MFInterview.html.
4. Laconte, Joe."The battle to define America turns violent". Christianity Today. Vol. 37. No. 12 (Oct 25) 1993:76.
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