Human Nature Hasn't Changed Much in 2300 Years

Alexander the Great died in 323 BC, after conquering most of the Middle East and Eastern Europe.  In doing so, he attempted to destroy the cultures and religions that resisted, and replace them with the Greek language, religion, and customs.  About this time, an unknown author wrote the Book of Wisdom which was to become part of the Old Testament.   Sunday’s reading from Wisdom recounts the persecution of those who opposed the adoption of Greek paganism:  “The wicked say, ‘Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us, he sets himself against our doings, reproaches us for transgressions of the law… Let us see whether his words be true; let us find out what will happen to him.  For if the just one be the son of God, God will defend him and deliver him from the hands of his foes.  Let us condemn him to a shameful death, for according to his own words, God will take care of him.”  (Wisdom 2: 12,17,20)  People who insisted on adhering to their faith in One True God, were dealt with severely by the Greek and later Roman overlords.  These words of scripture are eerily prophetic about the life and death of Jesus.  They also describe the persecution going on in the Middle East and Africa where Christians are tortured, beheaded, pillaged, and run out of their homes and country, fleeing for their very lives, rather than abandon their faith. 

Alexander, and later the Roman emperors and statesmen, lusted for power and control over all people.   Sunday’s second reading from the letter of St. James, describes what happens when human ambition is driven by the passion to control and exercise power.  “Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice.  Where do the wars and where do the conflicts come from?  Is it not from your passions that make war among your members?  You kill and envy but cannot obtain, you fight and wage war.”  (James 3:16, 4:3)  This quote describes the polarization and outright hatred that makes up the political landscape of America today.  Those in power, in both parties, seem more intent on retaining and gaining power, than ensuring the common good which is supposed to be their charge.  Blinded by political ambition, many on the Left refuse to confront the truth and consequences of their political agenda.  Rather than acknowledge the harvesting of body parts from aborted babies, even those born alive, they seek to discredit the authenticity of the recent videos, while refusing to even consider the heinous acts they are determined to defend.   Many on the right refuse act on measures aimed at addressing our monstrous national debt, for fear of losing votes based on polling data.  Republicans, despite majorities in both houses of Congress, refuse to take action against violations of first amendment rights, breaches of immigration laws, and even violations of Obamacare, which the President has unilaterally amended at least a dozen times without benefit of congressional approval.

So immersed in their political ambitions that they cannot discern the truth, and lacking the courage to stand up for what is truly right and just, it’s no wonder career politicians are being rebuked, and the political outsiders are faring so well in the recent polls and debates.   What’s at stake here is nothing less than the basic freedoms we take for granted, the security of our nation, and the economic disaster that looms if we fail to address our mounting debt and lethargic economy.  On one hand we have Progressives who insist that we should continue to expand government and dole out more money for free college education, and more welfare to ‘correct income inequality’, including people who have entered our country illegally, and higher minimum wages.  They insist on this and make it sound compassionate, despite hard evidence that there is no earthly way we can pay for all this without racking up trillions more in debt and hastening an economic disaster.  Study after study demonstrates that increasing the minimum wage will cause at least 500,000 workers to lose their jobs, and millions more will be reduced to part time employment and simultaneously lose their benefits.  College tuition has risen at least twice as fast as the CPI for the past decade and student loans amount to more than $1 Trillion, eclipsing even credit card debt.  Putting that on the taxpayer’s tab will only serve to magnify our debt problem, without addressing the underlying causes for the inordinate increases in the cost of education.  Extending legal status to 11 million illegal immigrants will immediately give them access to social security numbers, welfare benefits, and earned income tax credits, gorging our already bloated national budget and putting downward pressure on low wage jobs that minimum wages are trying to boost.  Carbon credits will very clearly cause the cost of energy production to rise, and in doing so inflate the cost of virtually all goods sold.  The environmental agenda is openly one of slowing down economic growth by removing money that should be invested in capital, and handing it over to the government at the very time we need to boost productivity, not dampen it.    To accomplish all this, the current Administration has been publishing approximately 76,000 pages of new rules and regulations with little or no congressional oversight, every year since taking office. 

Despite these inconvenient facts, all well-documented by our governments’ own auditors, economists, and analysts working at the GAO, OMB, BLS, and CBO, the Left presses on, hoping the general public will be so ill-informed that they fall for the emotional appeal for more free stuff and cleaner air, heedless of the terrible consequences.  And Republicans sit by idly, passing few, if any laws restricting this government overreach.  It’s time to wake up America; time to reclaim our government and take it out of the hands of career politicians.  It’s time to restore Liberty and government of the people, by the people, and for the people, not government for the sake of politicians.