What you saw last week was a spectacle of ungodly behavior. We are tired of hearing the news. I, like many of you, was disappointed to see people trash their own city.
Ferguson is a symbol of what happens when a culture turns away from love to hatred. Families fall apart, values are not taught and then it becomes toxic.
I believe there are plenty of Christians who still live there, but we are witnessing anti-Christlike behavior on a major scale.
No matter how bad you think our system is, there is no excuse for breaking "The Ten Commandments"...and they are breaking plenty of them (stealing, coveting, taking the Lord's name in vain, and rejecting the command to love our neighbors as ourselves).
The more our society turns away from Christianity, the more we will see this kind of behavior. This statement cuts both ways...for the police as well as the citizens. If we want a more free and virtuous society, we must realize that our freedom is dependent on our virtue. It is far better for our police and citizens to treat each other with a higher level of honor and respect.
As a business owner, I can attest that the most satisfying relationships happen when we think more highly of each other and want to have a positive relationship with the other party.
Although it's possible for good parents to have prodigal children, when parents shield their children from any culpability for their behavior and model anti-civility and vulgarity, it's easier to understand the chaos being perpetuated.
Michael Brown's mother was using so much foul language, my innocent son in the other room overheard her and asked me, "Mom, are they speaking another language?" If this were my son who robbed a store, disrespected and fought with a police officer, finally ending in such a tragedy, I would be feeling embarrassed, not confrontational and accusatory. The more she talked about how angry she was, the more troubled I felt that she is unwilling to accept any responsibility for raising a juvenile delinquent. If her son learned communication skills and reasoning from his mother, no wonder he had trouble respecting authority.
So what is the answer? There is no solution short of retooling the next generation. I am glad my business is not in Ferguson, but if it were, I would not be rebuilding. This problem was created slowly by a cultural creep and won't go away without a long term commitment to raise the moral fiber of the next generation.
It's sad to think about letting a community go into tatters, but they went into moral tatters a long time ago. I watched the fire department walk off and let the place burn because people were shooting at them. In some respects, we need to let some situations go to preserve our own safety. For those who feel called to minister to these areas, I applaud them. However, we all need to be able to make sound and intelligent decisions before descending into anarchy and releasing more hatred.
One of many articles asks why the National Guard was standing down in Ferguson during the mayhem: As numerous businesses were being looted or razed Monday night, Ferguson Mayor James Knowles told the local Fox Affiliate: “I’ve requested the National Guard troops to come out from their command post to help restore order along the business district. We have not seen that … Those calls have gone unheeded at this point … We need to have the governor step up and give us the resources that he’s promised from the beginning. He said he would have a strong response. The resources necessary would be provided. They have not been provided so far.”
It was heartbreaking to watch fires burn out of control and fire hoses that were abandoned because shots were fired. Surely the fire fighters were depending on law enforcement to preserve their safety. When the law officers couldn't protect the fire fighters, they walked away from the fires and the bad element pushed even more evil on this community.
If I were a betting woman, I would guess some of the social engineers were hoping to burn down parts of Ferguson in hopes that the taxpayers will pay for it to be revitalized. Yet, the only way to revitalize a community is not with money, but with morals--- the people desiring a higher level of moral behavior. Otherwise, all the taxpayer money in the country will not prevent another crime infested tragedy.
On the radio this morning, I heard another announcement that the Small Business Administration is offering loans to the businesses that were harmed in Ferguson. This might sound like a great quick fix, but it won't solve their problems. What is needed is a change of heart.
Some people still think there is a difference between fiscal and social issues, but this serves as yet another example of how they continue in trying to lump these all together. Taxpayers are being asked to pick up the fiscal tab for social problems.
1 comment:
Well, she did.
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