Monday, January 31, 2005
Worth the Worry...
Last week some of us got worried for a short period that new laws in Illinois might grant the government the power to force churches to hire homosexuals. Thankfully, it turned out not to be true.
Then comes this article about a woman being legally persuaded to become a prostitute. (HT: WSJ - BOTW -- who thinks it might be a urban legend. I can't figure out how to confirm or deny the story without more international phone calling than I am willing to do.)
Regardless of whether government, here or in Germany or anywhere else for that matter, is forcing repugnant morality on the governed, it is clear that we are worried about it - generally a sign it might happen, if not now, sometime in the foreseeable future.
I think the time is upon us where political involvement for the morally definite (Christians -- for example) is not an option.
A democratic society is a delicate balance of authorities, governmental, corporate, religious, and personal. When that balance becomes upset, we need to work to restore it or we run the risk of having the society collapse.
Clearly there is a fear that government is gaining too much power over the moral and religious realms. Fortunately, in a democracy, we can enter the government and back it off. Difficult and, to some, odious as that may be, it is a far cry better than letting the government drive us into these kinds of situations.
Then comes this article about a woman being legally persuaded to become a prostitute. (HT: WSJ - BOTW -- who thinks it might be a urban legend. I can't figure out how to confirm or deny the story without more international phone calling than I am willing to do.)
Regardless of whether government, here or in Germany or anywhere else for that matter, is forcing repugnant morality on the governed, it is clear that we are worried about it - generally a sign it might happen, if not now, sometime in the foreseeable future.
I think the time is upon us where political involvement for the morally definite (Christians -- for example) is not an option.
A democratic society is a delicate balance of authorities, governmental, corporate, religious, and personal. When that balance becomes upset, we need to work to restore it or we run the risk of having the society collapse.
Clearly there is a fear that government is gaining too much power over the moral and religious realms. Fortunately, in a democracy, we can enter the government and back it off. Difficult and, to some, odious as that may be, it is a far cry better than letting the government drive us into these kinds of situations.
