Opinion
LION AND THE LAMB: Who are the lions and wherefore the lambs?
A summer Sunday morning in Tennessee is to some persons a glimpse of heaven and a gift from God. Others see such mornings as the product of billions of years of astrophysical and geological change and evolution. Blackberries are ripening. Wisps of fog cling to the shoulders of the Crab Orchard mountains. Pastures are dotted with sleek cattle and proud horses. Bells peal from churches scattered throughout the countryside and in the towns and villages of this green land we call home.
Many of those making their way to church believe the earth and the firmament were created in only a few days by a supernatural being that man resembles. Time begins for them only a few centuries before the ancient Greeks invented democracy and shepherds tended sheep around primitive villages. Many among the believers streaming toward churches are suspicious of education, progress, modern conveniences and independent thought. God did it. That is enough for them to know and to make them attempt to impose their beliefs on their fellow humans. Others, who may or may not be making their way to churches, believe that our universe is not understood well enough for us to be so certain. Most would argue that we who have lived in this and in the previous century have been privileged to exist in the best of times. They applaud astrophysics, microbiology, and quantum mechanics because they know such things contribute (yet sometimes threaten) progress for the human spirit. That knowledge makes us no less small, weak and insignificant in a universe with billions of suns.
Hanging over us all is the specter of death and the likelihood of destruction of our world. Church leaders assure their flocks that if they behave in certain ways, say certain things and hold tight to their faith then they shall be saved and taken up into the heavens to forever live with their creator and rejoin loved ones in a wondrous paradise. They are uneasy with anyone who has not come to the same conclusions and who does not send prayers heavenward at every opportunity. Others believe that it is up to humans to make life better for all because that is the rational way to preserve civilization. They are often concerned less about personal salvation and the afterlife than about preserving this world for the time we are here so that those who follow can build on what the ancestral generations accomplished.
Sometimes the lions can lie down with the lambs, but when the nation changes leaders, when a church changes its pastor, when families split, when cultures clash or one country’s ambitions do not mesh with another’s then the primitive urge to dominate and control appears with an arrogance of certainty. Hatred and distrust boil up from our primordial roots and we rise to fight for what we think is true, no matter if ours is a duplicitous cause with no evidence. That is why the human race may well extinguish itself before a natural disaster or a bad mood on the part of God does the job for us. Neither religion nor rationality stand much chance in the face of human foibles and powerful forces we cannot control. Humans aspire to domination and recognition. The deep earth grumbles. Germs grow. Asteroids zoom toward us. We want to be safe and right, but our real job should be to not let the vagaries of life diminish our time here and keep us from learning and living in awe and wonder at the fact, or illusion, of existence. We shall not soon solve the great mystery. Meanwhile, a smaller but more pressing mystery faces us each day. In this squabbling world will humans learn to live and work together against common problems that threaten us all, the poor and the powerful alike, and all our brief moments in the sun?
- Opinion
-
-
RANDOM THOUGHTS: Allergies, head injuries and history
Several weeks ago I wrote about my unpleasant experience with bedbugs. That column brought a suggestion from a reader plagued by allergies.
-
LION AND THE LAMB: Technology can be used to bring justice
The use of video cameras has increased greatly over the last several years. Families use them to record special events and celebrations. Banks, stores, museums, schools, and police departments use them for surveillance purposes. Baseball and soccer teams use them for instant replay.
-
WE THE PEOPLE: Congressmen are living in the ‘60s
This month Congress again failed to extend unemployment benefits while authorizing another $30 billion for the Afghan war before recessing for July 4th election campaigning, apparently their primary job.
-
STUMPTALK: The minimum wage increase
How did the most recent progressive backed minimum wage increase work out for everyone? The progressive elitist and their union friends thought it was a great idea.
-
Editorial: Don't let intimidation keep you from voting
Tennesseans by nature and by history are independent and this flows over into the voting habits of the majority of Cumberland Countians. While we exist under a two party system, the "yellow dog Democrats" and the "dye-in-the-wool" Republicans are in the minority.
-
Lion and the Lamb: Life, not money, real threat in Gulf
For the last three months many people around the world have been watching with trepidation the unfolding drama in the Gulf of Mexico. As increasing numbers of oil-coated birds, fish, and animals lost their lives and humans lost their livelihood, would BP be able to stem the powerful natural forces it had unleashed? As Naomi Klein wrote, "The hole at the bottom of the ocean is more than an engineering accident or a broken machine. It is a violent wound in a living organism."
-
Random Thoughts: Dare to make a difference
Consumer issues discussed from a woman’s point of view began in 1955 with a monthly column in "Good Housekeeping" magazine written by Charlotte Montgomery. But that was only the beginning.
-
We the People: Media consumer? Caveat emptor!
Recently, a Chronicle contributor lamented the quality of today’s news media. Perhaps the problem is not the news media, but its consumers. News media is probably no more or less honest and forthright than ever.
-
Stumptalk: A philosopher king fails again
In Plato’s Republic, Socrates describes his utopian state, one ruled by a philosopher king who knows and understands the Ideal, and who can as a result discern truth better than ordinary citizens and is therefore more qualified than anyone else to rule.
-
SMALL TOWN GIRL: I’m happy being a non-girly girl
I look forward to spring and summer for really only one reason — the warmer weather means I can eschew socks, chuck my clunky winter shoes in the closet and break out the sandals!
- More Opinion Headlines
-
RANDOM THOUGHTS: Allergies, head injuries and history
