Truth and Injustice

Others,

Prepare for the search for truth with the love for it. If you don’t love it, you will not be prepared to suffer for it. You won’t care if you miss it. There is no one in the commonwealth of learning, who does not profess to be a lover of truth.

There is not a rational person who takes offense at being regarded as philosophical, yet there are not enough who love truth for justice despite the importance of it.

How is someone supposed to know what the love for truth is? There is one mark that does not err. Do not entertain any proposition with greater assurance than the proofs that it is built upon warrant.

John Locke had written: “Whatsoever credit or authority we give to any proposition more than it receives from the principles and proofs it supports itself upon is owing to our inclinations…” (“Concerning Human Understanding,” Ch. XIX, Of Enthusiasm, 1689)

The word “inclinations” is being used as a reference to the pride of prejudice. The inclination to discriminate against others is based on narcissism. It is the adoration of self expressed by Gilgamesh to his god: “You look like me.” The trouble is that anyone who does not look like “me” does not gain “my” support in the work of prosperity that operates under the provisions for the rule of law in the society of narcissists.

George Zimmerman claims that he killed Trayvon Martin in self-defense. He invoked the “Stand Your Ground” law that was passed by the Florida legislature in 2005. His proposition that he killed in self-defense suffers under the scrutiny of the evidence.

He called police to report someone as “suspicious.” He told the operator that he was going to investigate. He was advised that following was not necessary. He went out to confront the black youth against legal advice. He went out to confront him with a gun. He became an aggressor when he acted against legal advice. He was not on "his ground” when he left it. He was on public property.

Trayvon was walking home from the store. He had skittles and an iced tea. He was talking with his girl on the phone. He was wearing a “hoodie.” He pulled the hoodie up when he saw George Zimmerman coming in his direction. He wanted to avoid confrontation. He was not an aggressor. He was avoiding conflict.

What happened next has been obscured by Zimmerman’s attempts to justify the murder. Did Trayvon defend himself? If he did, he was within his rights to do so. He was “standing his ground.”

The fact remains however that the evidence to which Zimmerman points does not justify his claim for self-defense. The video of him at the police station does not show a bloody face.

It shows an officer wiping something off his hands onto his pants after handling the lower part of Zimmerman's jacket. It shows the officer looking at the back of Zimmerman’s head. He was looking at something, but it is evident that there wasn’t much to see. Grass stains are not in evidence. His head was not being pounded by Trayvon onto concrete. His life was not in danger. Lethal force was not justified as "self-defense."

George Zimmerman on Police Surveillance Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5OiLQjUcOU

The lead investigator wanted to arrest him on the charge of manslaughter, but the state’s attorney denied the charge. He asserted that there wasn’t enough evidence to hold him. He supported Zimmerman’s claim to self-defense even though the evidence didn’t support it. What supported the claim? Zimmerman’s word and his gun are the only justifications for invoking the “Stand Your Ground” law.

These justifications are false because they are insufficient. They were invoked by the state’s attorney despite the fact that Zimmerman was not standing his ground. Trayvon was on his ground whether he fought back or not. Trayvon was acting within his rights, but he did not have a gun. George had acted outside of the rights afforded by the protection of the law, but his gun is being used to justify the new “law.”

The decision of the state’s attorney needs to be overturned. George Zimmerman needs to be arrested. He needs to face trial for murder with second degree murder and manslaughter as secondary charges. The truth needs to be brought out to the public.  People should not be required to own a gun, so “we, the people” like Zimmerman have to claim that our ground is above the law.

Zimmerman has not been prosecuted by the state of Florida. Charges have not been filed. He has not been arrested. He is being defended by lies until he is prosecuted for his crime.

Here’s the difficulty with the attempt to annihilate anthropomorphism in order to correct Zimmerman’s rendition of Zarathustra. When anthropomorphic reflection is eliminated from faith, the belief that we can use truth for justice, we are left with the destruction of the hope that we can be elevated to the level of civilization that we can have as human beings.

When humanity is viewed as human, all too human, there are no goals for improvement. Human reality suffers from the default to historicism as the belief in destruction. Individualism reigns as all important in terms of who has accumulated the greatest wealth by playing outside of the rules for society. It is sheer insanity.

Human being requires aspiration to something better than the non-being of belief in destruction. Humanity maintains connection with divinity by faith. This faith is justified in justice with reasoning for truth:

“I am just the image of something so much greater.”

Civil Twilight – Human
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_Xqd059Q5Q&feature=related 

Occupy justice for Trayvon Martin,

Steve K.

Correction

Others,

Occupy correction.

4 Correction; from Ps.51

The day is coming.
Government will be fair.
The house
will form resolutions.
The senate
will promote equity.
Debate will be used
to formulate fairness into law

Prior agreement had been formed
for deliverance from slavery.
Slavery was made illegal.
Cruelty was reduced in punishment.
Correction became the object of the law,
but injustice had not been changed into justice.

The government will be
for the people.
The law will be with us.
It will be written in our hearts.
We will be responsible
for liberty with justice
for all.

Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your love and your power.
Forgive all that is forgivable.
Help me to correct that which
needs correction.

I know that I have transgressions.
Sin has clouded my power.
I have sinned against you
when I have harmed others.

History shaped my birth.
Inequity created injustice.
Injustice conditioned outcomes.

Behold, you look for truth deep within me.
You will help me to understand wisdom.
You will let your will be done.

Purge me from my sin. I will be purged.
Wash me. I will be clean.

Let me hear of joy and gladness.
This broken body will rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my transgressions.

Create a clean heart in me, O God.
Renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not from your presence.
Take not your Spirit from me.

Give me the joy of your saving help.
Sustain me with your holiness.
I will not favor either the rich
or the poor.

Jesus did not proclaim himself as Christ.
He was glorified by his sacrifice
and the divinity of his person.

He did not call for an army.
He did not seek to overthrow the emperor
or the king by force of arms.

He allowed himself
to be put to death
for the love of God.
He suffered crucifixion
for redemption from injustice.
He became a priest forever
according to the order of Melchizedek.
His death redeemed human nature
for the government of justice in the world.

Nature’s God rules providence
with provisions for peace, prosperity, liberty
and justice. Basic needs will be satisfied
in accordance with the rules
for safety and health.
Happiness will be enjoyed
by those who show respect
for human rights.

(Jer.31:31-34; Ps.51:1-13; Hebrews 5:5-9)

The list is growing. Harold Simmons, Sheldon Adelson and Foster Friess can be added to the Kochs and Murdochs as members of the ”elite” who are promoting elitism based on their possession of wealth.

Harold Simmons on Obama
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/22/harold-simmons-obama_n_1371642.html

Obama is not a socialist. Socialism controls business with a single party system. People who support programs for people in a democracy are not socialists. Social programs are a means by which reparations are affected to correct the excesses of capitalism. They help to correct the unfair advantage that has been afforded to the wealthiest.

Florida has seen the ravages of elitism in action for the last ten years. Money paid for the redistricting that favored the votes from the wealthy. A two for one majority was installed that serviced the “spending cuts” for social programs in the state. Spending cuts ran unopposed for the duration.

High stakes testing had been introduced to “reform” education. Public outcry against the FCAT held it in check for five years.  The value of the test as a measure of performance kept it intact, but the high stakes aspect was allowed to run its course after a show had been made of correcting some schools that were struggling.

Fifteen schools were closed in Pinellas County alone. How is this associated with elitism? The money was released from public service so the wealthy could charge more for products and services. The tax cuts were touted as a benefit to the public, but the cost of living went up along with the prices for property insurance. Sadly, they have no intent to stop cutting. They are still trying to unfairly redistrict the voting for the advantage of the wealthy.

Elitism has taken its toll on the economy. Poor people suffer more in general, but there is a larger percentage of racial minorities among the poor. Elitism contributes to racism.

Elitists wreak havoc on the justice system as well.

Trayvon Martin was a young American. He was unarmed. He was walking home from the store with skittles, iced tea and a cell phone. He was shot by a man who called the police and reported him as “suspicious.” It was called an act of self-defense by the shooter, but it was assault with a deadly weapon.

The police have not arrested the man who acted as the shooter even though he had pursued the youth. Florida statutes have been cited to defend him. They just don’t fit the case.

George Zimmerman was driven by the dark urge to take the law into his own hands. Favor for increasing the wealth of the wealthy made competition for limited resources more pronounced at every level of the economy. His sense of competition and justice was clouded and misdirected by racism.

Justice for Trayvon has not been served. No charges have been filed.

Trayvon Martin Tragedy
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/23/slain-teens-friends-say-h_n_1376135.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl11%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D146280

President Obama said that he thinks of family when he thinks of Trayvon. He could have been his son. I think of black friends, family who have had black friends and black students in the schools where I work.

Healing won’t be affected if nothing is done to correct the wrong that was done. As the song says,

“These wounds won’t seem to heal.
This pain is just too real.
There’s just too much that time cannot erase.”

Evanescence – My Immortal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wquqZkFPNFE&feature=fvwrel

Justice is the remedy for injustice. George Zimmerman needs to be put on trial for murder.

Another black teen, Nicholas Lindsey, was convicted of first degree murder in a case where he was acting in self-defense. A report from the trial said that Nicholas had shot first. This says that the situation had rapidly degenerated into an engagement where Officer Crawford had drawn his weapon and was aiming to shoot Nicholas.

Nicholas Lindsey found guilty of first degree murder.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/closing-arguments-underway-in-nicholas-lindsey-trial/1221486

Another black youth had been killed by a police officer for evading arrest not long ago. The release of important information regarding the case was repressed from release. Officer Crawford looked like a racist cop.

Occupy correction. Take responsibility for justice. Cry out against injustice. Work for improvement in your state of being.

Steve K.

Good Works For Grace

Others,

The debate between advocates for grace and good works has endured throughout time. The belief that we are saved by grace however does not rule out the role of good works in the development of moral character.

The Apostle Paul suffered much for his faith. He worked hard. He also felt compelled to warn people against doing what he had done. Good works in accordance with the law are not for the destruction of the offender. The law is for the correction of offense.

Good Works for Grace

Fm Ps.107

We give thanks to you LORD, for you are good.
Your mercy endures forever.

Let all those whom have been redeemed proclaim
that we have been redeemed from the hand of adversity.

The LORD gathered us from all lands;
from the east, west, north and south.

Some were fools. We rebelled foolishly.
We were afflicted because of our sins.

We had abhorred the rules for health and safety.
Death drew near to the door.

Then, we cried out in our trouble.
We were delivered from our distress.

You sent forth your word and healed us, LORD.
You saved us from the grave.

We give thanks for mercy with power;
the wonders done with light and thunder.

We offer a sacrifice with thanksgiving.
We sing of your acts with shouts of joy.

We are what we have been made to be;
created in Christ Jesus for good works;
which God had prepared beforehand
to be our way of life.

The Son of Man has been lifted up
to share the gift of eternal life.

(Ps.107:1-3,17-22, Eph.2:10, Jhn.3:14)

Syria has a constitution. Islam is not promoted as the state religion. Why are they not the “darlings” of the western world? They have a single party government. There is one majority party with a number of lesser parties that don’t have enough representative power to correct the errors associated with the abuse of majority authority.

They don’t recognize freedom of speech as a human right. Protest is being treated as a mortal threat to the state. This is the reason that they are suffering turmoil. Syria needs a bill of rights.

Sec. Kofi Annan's participation in the promotion of settlement for the UN is important. Even if Assad is driven out, nothing will have been accomplished if he is replaced by another dictator. The social contract of the government with the people is the critical issue. The state has to represent human rights or it is not serving the purpose for government.

Car Bombs in Damascus  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/17/syria-car-bombs-damascus_n_1355312.html

If we don’t end war, we have no purpose.

Thirty Seconds to Mars – This is War
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zcps2fJKuAI&feature=related

When the darkness of chaos appears to be firmly in control, many of us look for light to provide guidance. Oscar Hendrix captured a picture of the appeal for direction. He saw Jesus in the light of Christ.

Man sees Jesus in the Sky
http://www.baynews9.com/content/news/baynews9/news/article.html/content/news/articles/bn9/2012/3/11/jesus_cloud_gets_peo

The Son of Man has been lifted up to share the gift of eternal life! (John 3:14)

Occupy good works for grace,

Steve K.

The Vineyard

Others,

The USA had been a bastion for human rights and a haven for the prosperous. Now it is steeped in deep debt and awaits deliverance from economic hardship.

The following re-write is an appeal for the restoration of national integrity.

Please Restore the Vineyard fm.Ps.19

Restore us, O God of Hosts.
Show the light from your sun
and we will be saved.

You brought a vine out from a land of cruelty.
You prepared the vineyard for growth.
The earth is the work of your hands.
The heavens have declared your handiwork.
You cast out those that enslaved people.

One day tells its tale to another.
One night imparts knowledge to the other.
Although time has no words or language;
the message has gone to the ends of the world;
the sound has gone out to all lands.

A pavilion has been set for the sun in the deep.
Light comes forth like a bridegroom from his chamber
Illumination rises like a champion to run his course.

The course is run from the uttermost edge
and runs to the end of the heavens.
Nothing is hidden from its brilliant radiance.

The law of the LORD is perfect.
It revives the soul.
It gives wisdom
to all who need it.

You will not make any false gods.
You will not abuse the name
of the LORD your God.
Remember to worship together.
You will work for six days,
but preserve time for holiness.
Honor your father and mother
that your generation may live long
in the land in which you live.
You will not murder. You will not commit adultery.
You will not steal. You will not bear false witness
against your neighbor. You will not covet another’s property.

Love God. Love others. Then you will love yourself.
Keep yourself from sin to keep yourself from crime.
Care for those who need it. Love your enemy.
Hate violence and deception
or you will never progress in justice
or find justice in progress.

The commandments of the LORD are just.
They give joy to the heart and insight to the mind.
They make the vine take root.

The vine took root. It grew.
The tendrils stretched out along the rivers
and reached down to the sea.
The mountains were covered by its shadow;
The towering trees by its shade.
The land was filled with fertility.
Justice was the fruit of immortality.

The landowner leased the vineyard to tenants.
When the harvest time had come
he sent messengers to collect
the profit from its produce.

One was beaten.
One was stoned.
Another was killed.
He sent his son
hoping for respect.

The tenants seized the son,
cast him out of the vineyard
and killed him.

Now the walls of the vineyard
have been broken down.
The wild boar has ravaged the earth.
The beasts of the forest have eaten their fill
of our fruit. Injustice has established inequity.
Inequity has caused strife among the people.

What will the owner of the vineyard do to the tenants?
He will take it away from them and give it to people
who will produce the fruit of justice.

Turn now, O God of hosts, look down from heaven.
Behold this vine in your vineyard.
Preserve what your hands have planted.
Tend to the growth of the garden.
Restore our faith.

Your judgments are true and righteous
O LORD, our strength and redeemer.
They are more desirable than gold
and sweeter by far than honey.

Let the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart,
be acceptable in your sight,
O LORD God of hosts.

(Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20; Psalm 19, Psalm 80, Matt.21:33-46)

Our nation is the vineyard. Our vineyard is a broken mess, but there are places that are more broken than us. They are lacking a constitution, a bill of rights and good representation as the elements of the social contract known as government.  Their leadership is not for the people.

What are we to do with the leaders of such places? Call for reform. Negotiate for change in political structures with diplomacy. Only use the military to protect human rights.

Senator John Kerry on U.S. Involvement in Syria
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIWLXs9WLvk

Each of us is an image of the broken mess. Each of us has the potential to become a beautiful thing.

Can you make this broken mess into a beautiful thing?

Heather Williams – Beautiful Thing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzgxLhXkLEA

Please restore each with the restoration of all.

Steve K.

Leadership

Others,

Leadership is not usually defined as leading others to rejoice. Nevertheless, the pursuit of happiness is regarded as the unity for human rights. Well-being assumes provision for basic needs.

The following link connects to a story about a Gallup poll that questioned people in the US about the following categories of happiness: emotional health, life evaluation, work environment, physical health, healthy behaviors, and basic access to services.

Happiness
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/28/happiest-state-well-being-united-states-gallup_n_1304448.html#s730213&title=Lowest_WellBeing_1

Leadership includes leading others to happiness.

Leadership fm Ps.22

Praise the LORD, offspring of justice.
Stand in awe, children of competition.
Give glory, guardians of grace.
Be thankful, friends of faith.

God, you do not abhor the poor in their poverty.
You do not hide your face from them.
When they cry to you, you hear them.

My praise is for you in the assembly;
I will fulfill my promise in the presence of those
who show their respect for you.

The poor will eat and be satisfied.
Those who seek you will give thanks:
“May your love live forever!”

All the ends of the earth will turn to God.
All the families of the nations will show honor.

Leadership belongs to you, LORD;
You lead the nations.

All those who sleep in the earth, honor you.
All who go down to the dust, fall for you.

My soul will live for you.
My descendents will serve you.
They will be known as faithful.

They will make known to the unborn
the saving deeds that have been done.
God, you are my God.

=================

The music video “Happiness” by Goldfrapp shows a guy who is hopping around in a white suit. The white rabbit seems to be too happy for his own good. This is an exercise in contrast. Is the hoppy fellow leading others to share or is he only concerned with his emotional state as opposed to that of others? Watch the video to see what you think.

Goldfrapp – Happiness
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnHlGONToIc

It could be said that he shares joy with others. The act of sharing generates gladness in others.

Occupy the happiness of human rights.

Steve K.

Infusion

                             

Others,

Click on the link below to witness a rare moment! The tornado represents communication with heaven. The rainbow is the promise of a brighter future.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/02/24/rainbow-meets-tornado-in-colorado-sky_n_1298717.html

It is interesting to note that a tornado starts as a cylinder of cold air that rolls along a plain until a warm updraft kicks it upright into the familiar funnel. The tornado is formed under a super cell of clouds. It is a just a vortex of air until the funnel sucks some cloud down to the ground.

Natural disaster is dialog with God as the Creator. Nature has some forces that are larger than life. Walk with humility when you take the time for this talk.

Infusion fm. Ps.25

I lift up my soul to you, O LORD.
I put my trust in you, my God.

Do not let me be humiliated.
Don’t let my enemies beat me.
Let those who look to you escape shame.
Let the extremists be disappointed by their schemes.

Show me your way, O LORD.
Teach me your paths.

Lead my in your truth.
Teach me to be constructive in production.
You gave me the ark of my salvation.
I have trusted in you in adversity.

Remember your compassion and love.
They extend from before the beginning
to after the end.
They are infused throughout time.

Do not remember the sins of my youth.
Forgive my transgressions.
Remember me according to your love;
for the sake of your goodness.

You are gracious and upright.
You teach sinners that there is redemption
with repentance.
You guide the humble into goodness.
You teach your way to those who seek
your guidance.

The paths of the LORD are love and faithfulness.
Keep the covenant and share your testimonies.

=========================

Human being is not God, but we have the capacity to allow the uncreated energies of divine being to work through us by infusion with faith. Human being can be infused with divine energy.

Democracy was initiated by Pericles and Protagoras in Athens in direct relation to the Persian threat to the Greek homeland. After Alexander the Great led the coalition of Greek states in the expedition against Persia (336 BCE), Athens defaulted to traditional government under various empires.

See the First Peloponnesian War
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pericles

Democracy was to resurface as a political theory with the help of John Locke during the constitutional monarchy (1688 CE).

The aristocracy had been regarded as possessing the divine right to rule during an absolute monarchy.  The king had been appointed and ordained by God to rule. The belief in the divine right of kings was promoted to reduce the competition for the position of leadership for the kingdom. This did not stop competition. There were certainly cases where it only heightened the struggle to obtain the power associated with the absolute monarchy.

The Royal Acts of Supremacy (1534, 1559) were enacted to give the king authority over the Church of England.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acts_of_Supremacy The separation of Church and State leadership as affirmed by the different offices of the pope and the king was denied by the acts. The primary justification for the acts was that the pope had grown too powerful as a political figure.

John Locke presented his advocacy for the social contract of a government based on human understanding in the seventeenth century, over a hundred years after the second act of supremacy. If the pope had grown to be too powerful before the act, the king or queen of England had grown to be too powerful after it. This growth did not go unchallenged.
Parliament had been started with the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215. This was the start of democratic monarchy. The Glorious Revolution of 1688 established a constitutional monarchy. It was the revolution that had allowed John Locke to return to England.

This was the political background that led Locke to question traditional revelation. This questioning would eventually lead to greater regard for biblical criticism. A rudimentary form of questioning was established when Locke criticized traditional revelation.

He argued that there is greater certainty with propositions knowable by reason than by traditional revelation. Certainty regarding the measure of triangles was compared to certainty regarding the story of the flood in the bible:

“The like holds in matter of fact, knowable by our senses; v.g. the history of the deluge is conveyed to us by writings, which had their original from revelation: and yet nobody, I think, will say he has as certain and clear a knowledge of the flood as Noah that saw it; of that he himself would have had, had he then been alive and seen it.” (“Concerning Human Understanding,” Ch.XVIII, S.4, John Locke, 1688)

Biblical criticism now regards the story of the flood in the bible as a modification of the Sumerian legend. The point regarding the importance of sensory perception however, still stands. Human understanding uses sensory perception for reasoning based on facts and the rules for reasoning.

The criticism of traditional revelation did not eliminate the question regarding the role of natural disaster in nature. Drought is another form of disaster that played a prominent role in the story of the conflict between Elijah and the prophets of Baal under King Ahab.

If monarchy was dependent upon the fertility of the earth for the crop cycle to produce food for the military, then a drought provided a strike against the god of fertility. It provided motivation to pray to the Creator for guidance.

While Elijah, King Ahab and the prophets of Baal are regarded as historical figures, the slaughter of the prophets of Baal is thought to be metaphorical. The destruction of the leadership of another religion offends the law to not kill. No religion however should be presented as the only legal religion for the state. Religion is the citizen’s choice.

The UK is a parent country to democracy in the US. It has become apparent that the parent needs to document that freedom of religion is a human right in the constitutional monarchy. The acts of supremacy need to be counteracted. The law needs to recognize that the archbishop of Canterbury is the leader of the Church of England.

Water plays an important role in hydration as a basic need. We need water as much as crops need rain. The fundamental need for love is compared to the need for rain in the Selena Gomez song called, “A Year Without Rain.”

Selena Gomez – A Year Without Rain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8uPvX2te0I

She sings that “A day without you is like a year without rain.”

Democracy needs your participation to work.
Occupy democracy by watching current events.

Freedom of religion needs you to be free.
A day without you is like a year without rain.

Steve K.

Meritocracy

Occupy the meritocracy of democracy!

Others,

Consider the case of a disease that not only threatened to kill many, it threatened to kill all. The Black Death killed 1.5 million out of 4 million people in England between 1348 and 1350. There was no medical knowledge of the disease. It was not known how to treat it at the time.

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/black_death_of_1348_to_1350.htm

Was the plague a curse from God? Was it punishment for sin? What caused the disease? From where did it come?

The outbreak of the Black Death actually started in China in the 1330’s. It was transported to Europe by Italian merchant ships that arrived in Sicily in October of 1347.

http://www.themiddleages.net/plague.html

Boccaccio recorded the symptoms: “The first signs of the plague were lumps in the groins or armpits. After this, livid black spots appeared on the arms, thighs and other parts of the body. Few recovered. Almost all died within three days, usually without any fever.”

Medical inquiry has to evaluate relevant evidence. Questions regarding God’s role are set aside to favor the investigation of the relation between physical symptoms and causality. Theology can interpret findings after a cause has been identified and a treatment has been devised.

What were the people of England to do? Suppose they knew that the disease started to rampage after a ship had landed from Italy? Should they assume biological warfare? Should they send an army to Italy; then on to China? Would that cure the disease?

It became apparent to objective observation that it was fleas from rats that started the contagion. The rats had climbed onto the ships that sailed from China to Italy; then from Italy to England. It was then spread by close contact with other humans.

http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/plague.htm

What could be done? It was the lack of community sanitation and the close living quarters that provided a favorable environment for the disease to spread. Garbage was not taken to public landfills. Bodily waste was not disposed away from the household. The unsanitary conditions were favorable for the rats that harbored the fleas that spread the contagion.

The cure for the time was environmental. They didn’t come up with an inoculation that cured the disease. They had to change the living conditions. Community and household sanitation had to be improved to the extent that the rats would not have such a happy home.

This was a time in history where Europeans were coming closer to understanding the microbial causes of disease. The fleas on the rats were the vectors for the disease, but it was some invisible microbe that caused it.

The environment established by humans was favorable to the communication of the pathogenic microbe, so improvement of living conditions would come to provide a preventative measure.

Did everyone respond objectively to the plague? Albert Camus, a writer associated with existential philosophy, wrote a novel called “The Plague” that evaluated the social situation. He used it to comment on the German occupation of France; an occupation that had only recently ended.

The leadership of the time was sectarian. They supported state religion. They called it Christianity. They said that the disease was a punishment from God. They used it to control the population by frightening it into submission. They tortured suspects. They killed people who were not Christian. Quarantines of infected communities and the documentation of physical conditions were the only effective actions applied by the government.

http://www.enotes.com/plague

The central character, Dr. Bernard Rieux, heroically applies objective inquiry into finding a treatment for the malady. Ultimately, the plague ends on its own despite the lack of medical knowledge. The torture and execution of suspects would prove to be criminal. The plague would eventually come to serve as an argument for public sanitation. 

A movie called “Black Death” was released in 2010. It is set in England during and after the period of affliction. A friar is called to investigate reports of resurrected bodies in a town in the country. He is sent with an envoy of knights appointed by the bishop. The movie becomes a depiction of the conflicting claims of christianity and paganism, but ultimately it serves as an argument against devotion to destruction. The argument also supports freedom of religion.

The town where the friar was sent did not suffer from the ravages of the disease. They claimed that the plague was a punishment from the christian’s vengeful God. It did not affect them because they were not christians. The christians on the other hand were convinced that the claims of resurrection were the work of a necromancer and witches.

The pagans tortured the christians to get the renunciation of Christ as God. The christians killed the pagans for witchcraft. The cruelty of the affliction ruled the actions of both sides. It was not a typical movie insofar as both sides were shown as being wrong. Neither side was depicted as being just. The development of the central character was not heroic. It was pathetically tyrannical.

Neither side favored the rule of law based on due process in investigation. Their only investment in evidentiary investigation was to determine if the people whom they did not know were christian or pagan. The findings were then used to put the members of the other side to death.

It was emotionally disturbing and seemed all too historically accurate. I wouldn’t call it enjoyable entertainment, but it had an educational value in the implied support for non-sectarian and representative government.

This review of the bubonic plague serves as a lesson from history. The disease was not a punishment from God. Faith in liberty and love however played a role in calling for improvement in medical knowledge, public sanitation and representative leadership for the general public.

Praise for the God of gods then, is not a call for sectarian government or state religion. It is a call for learning about representative leadership for human being from the lessons of history.

Fm. Ps.50

LORD,
you are the God of gods.
You call the earth
from each rising
of the sun
to the next.

You reveal yourself out of Zion;
perfect in beauty;
majestic in glory.

God will come from
before the dawn.

LORD, you come
from nowhere
out of silence.
A consuming flame
precedes you.
There is a raging storm
all around you.

You call the heavens and the earth from above
to witness the judgments of justice.

“Assemble my people.
Renew the covenant of love.
Seal it with sacrifice and celebration.”

Let the heavens declare the rightness of justice;
for God is the judge.

===============

One thing government and people have in common is the conflict of battling factions. Initially, it can seem that the answer to factional conflict is to eliminate the factions. This is the basis for dictatorship however. Dictatorship always shows favor to one group to the disadvantage of others. It is “the party” that rules over and against any other parties.

Democracy operates on the assumption of factional disagreement. Debate is entertained from at least two parties to find agreement by the reduction of disagreement. The goal is to weigh the oppositions against each other in order to find a resolution. The participation of the people is required. Otherwise, representation is limited to those opposing factions that can afford to support the debate between the political leaders.

The “Underworld” movie series looks at the battle between vampires and werewolves as factions of society. The vampires are the death dealers. They represent the aristocracy that was out to eliminate opposition. Currently, they have a correspondence with that industrial leadership that seeks to destroy the competition.

The werewolves used to be slaves to the vampires. The vampires operated at night. The werewolves worked in the day. They were the hard working peasants who had worked so hard that they became as fit as warriors. They became so strong in serving that they rebelled against oppressive leadership. They represent labor. This movie series is about class warfare.

The romance between Michael and Selene underscores the love that can grow within the drama of war between factions.  War and oppressive government can be so cruel that the cruelty threatens to eclipse the experience of love. Humans won’t reproduce without love. The species would die were it not for the reproductive urge. Somehow, couples find a way to love working together. This love represents the ability to stay together to the end; to the last breath.

Evanescence – Last Breath
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7ZyHwj4wQU&feature=related

Romance is eclipsed when opposing factions play the love of the couple for each other against the responsibility to parent offspring. The pattern had been for the male to act as the income provider and the female to act as the household manager. Modern life and democracy have altered the pattern. Now, both parents often work. The male is not necessarily the primary income provider.

Currently, the trend to promote the industry of war is an effort to regress to the old pattern of male domination. Democracy abhors single party leadership. Representative leadership is not patriarchal. It is not matriarchal. It is a meritocracy that values experience with education.

Don’t succumb to the call for regression. Occupy the meritocracy of democracy.

Steve K.