Posts Tagged ‘Freedom’

Memorial Day and Language

Posted: May 27, 2013 in Uncategorized
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On Memorial Day we remember the deaths and sacrifices of those who served in harm’s way regardless of the motive or relative virtue of the particular war. Just recently I observed the reaction of a vet who served in an unpopular war with questionable purposes. He still suffers from agent orange. And he has enough distance now to be able to separate the lack of virtue in that war from the grief he carries for fallen comrades.

The thing that made him flinch, that caused him to ever so slightly shake his head, was a word bandied about in a cavalier way: freedom.

What my friend knows but our society does not clearly enough is that the word freedom has been used as a blank check. When applied to every American military operation it legitimates every action, every war without question. “Protecting our freedom.” The truth, however, is that not all military operations defend our country from direct threat or even prevent future harm. Some wars are elective. Some are based on false assumptions and erroneous information. Some are waged because some, not all, believe they are important. Some are waged for mixed economic motives.

To say that such wars are protecting our freedom is the greatest stretch. In those cases one could only use that word, freedom, to refer to the freedom to have anything we want. In a situation like that it is very difficult to say that our service people died for the sake of freedom. They died because they were following orders but not necessarily because freedom was at stake.

Every death is a noble one when given to a noble cause. When the cause is revealed as lacking virtue then the death becomes more exclusively tragic.

The sacrifices of those who intended to do the best for a country they hoped would make good decisions are priceless and worthy of our thanks regardless. But as my vet friend reminded me the word freedom remains perhaps the most overused and misused one in the English language. Some died more directly for the sake of that word and some less so. And the superlative way we can honor those who serve is to make sure that we only call on their service for the right, virtuous and noble cause, for nothing less than that.

Religion and the American Experiment

Posted: July 3, 2011 in Uncategorized
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At our Bluegrass service at the Old Meeting House in Rocheport, Missouri, July 2, I shared thoughts and musings about the relationship of the religion to the republic, and how founders crafted the boundaries of that relationship into the First Amendment to the Constitution. Many people at that service asked that I share those words with a broader audience. And here they are:

The First Amendment has two clauses that directly bear upon religious practice. There are the so called “non establishment” and “free exercise” clauses. It reads this way: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”

What the non-establishment clause means is that the government, the state, should not establish any religion as normative, the religion of the realm, the official or state-sponsored religion, or a religion that speaks for all other religions. Put it in historical perspective: The founders had quite enough of the monarch, the government, imposing one state church on all citizens. For us the meaning is clear: No governmental or state institution should endorse any religious expression. Yes, that means courthouses, public schools and all the rest. No state institutions endorsing one religion as the only religion. It can teach about it. Values are shaped because of them. But they cannot be endorsed and we don’t want it so.

What the free exercise clause means is that the government in no way should repress or interfere in any religious expression, much less persecute people because of it. A diversity of religious expression is expected and they are to be left to their own way. As long as they don’t break any laws of the land they are free to determine their own beliefs, mission and practices. Where it gets murky, of course, is exactly at that point: When does freedom of religion conflict with general laws for all citizens? The Branch Davidians in Waco? Christian Science adherents who don’t seek medical treatment for sick children? Where is the line? That’s where the courts have to step in and make some judgments. And we have many legal precedents. Most usually the courts have been fairly conservative on this score, not treading on individual religious rights except where violations seem egregious. Most of the time they want to leave it to the religious communities to handle their own affairs. But what happens when they don’t? How about clergy abuse of minors? That becomes a civil matter, not just a religious one.

Today our immigration patterns are much broader than the European migrations of the first few centuries. Today our migrations come from all over the globe, from virtually every continent, and along with that, every religion. We are now the most religiously diverse country in the world, and it’s not just different shades of Christians with a few Jews sprinkled in for good measure. No, it includes all major branches of all major religions – Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and many more.

And guess what? On this July 4th we are able to say, proud to say, that our Constitution, our First Amendment, is the perfect governance for such a time as this. We neither establish any religion nor limit the freedom of exercise of any religion. Our founders would not even recognize our present way of life, so different is it from their own time, but the principles they put in place still work. And for that we should all be grateful to be part of a democracy that extends religious freedom and other freedoms to all of us. The Statue of Liberty beckons people to a way of life and they have and do come. And our robust religious diversity is a sign that, in this regard, the American experiment has worked and is working famously.