Transforming our country

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It seems to me that this country is undergoing a major transformation – changes that affect us in many, many ways. New interpretations of laws and long – held practices along with recently identified doctrines and ideologies are emerging and are having extraordinary consequences. Here are a couple of examples.

Some of us older folks who took a once-required course known as “Civics” in high school may recall the Declaration of Independence. Probably its most famous and often quoted sentence was, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Well, that was then, this is now. A modern version reads something like this: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that those individuals known as undocumented immigrants are authorized by government officials, both elected and appointed, with certain government-guaranteed and taxpayer-financed Rights; that among these are Life, Liberty, Happiness, food, shelter, medical care, education, freedom from deportation, sanctuary from arrest, and the privilege of suing the government if these rights are not provided.”

Think this is fantasy? Well, according to news reports a number of “undocumented immigrant mothers with children” who flooded this country last summer are seeking millions of dollars in damages from the government alleging they and their children received “inadequate medical care and suffered psychological damage” while being “unlawfully” detained. Who’da thunk it?

OK, what else is going on? Well, a modern version of “original sin” is being preached from pulpits, written about by columnists, reported by the news media, and cited by politicians as the foremost cause of our country’s problems. But putting this idea into perspective requires an overview of “sin” so here goes.

“Sin” has been around for as long as society – even the most primitive ones.

In general sin is an act regarded as a transgression, a violation of some religious or moral principle – especially when such is willful or deliberate. Historically, sins have usually been kinda categorized into those of “commission” , that is, doing something that should not be done, and of “omission”, that is not doing something that should be done. For example, violation of the “Thou shall not” provisions of The Ten Commandments, such as committing murder, adultery, theft, and bearing false witness, were considered sins of “commission” whereas failure to carry out “thou shall,” obligations such as honoring one’s parents and worshiping only God, were sins of “omission.” Got the idea?

Early Christian theologians were apparently not satisfied with this division of sins and came up with the concept of “original” sin. Its essence is that humanity is born into a state of sin so all humans are sinful by nature, collectively guilty of this sin, and there is no escape, only repentance. Well, there is now a modern version.

The “new” original sin is known as “racism,” defined as discrimination or hatred based on race, and applies only to the White/Caucasian population of this country. Yep, according to this doctrine “all and only” White/Caucasian folks in this country, regardless of geographical location, ancestry, education, or any other factor, are by nature “racists” who routinely demonstrate their racism whether purposefully or inadvertently.

On the other hand non-White/Caucasian folks are immune to this sin of racism and therefore cannot commit racists acts or make statements or observations that could be considered racist in nature. As one catchphrase puts it, “All Whites are racists; all racists are White.” That explains why a White cop fatally shooting an innocent unarmed young Black man is a racist act while a Black cop fatally shooting an innocent unarmed young White man isn’t.

There are lots more aspects of this transformation of our country. One such is the revelation that untold generations of societies around the world, including ours, have been deluded by the erroneous belief that marriage is a union only between a man and a woman. That misconception has now been discredited and corrective measures are being taken to ensure punitive measures will be taken against those who persist in resisting this reform. Quite a change, huh?

Well, there’s lots more “transformation” coming ranging from amnesty for millions of “undocumented immigrants” to the closing of coal-using power plants, foundries, steel mills, and such. But that’s what voters were promised and that’s what we’re getting. At least that’s how it seems to me.

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By Bill Taylor

Bill Taylor, a Greene County Daily columnist and area resident, may be contacted at [email protected].

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