Who’s in Charge?
Who’s in charge of you? Who’s in charge of the city or state you live in? What about the country?
You Choose
“Choose, you, this day, who you will follow,” and also, “See, I [the Creator] have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore; choose life, that you and your descendants might live.” Both passages are from the Holy Bible.
The Bible says we choose. We choose, even by not choosing and letting others make choices for us, we have chosen to put our lives and those of our descendants in the other person’s hands, so-to-speak. I am in charge of me. Of course, if you know me at all, you know that I didn’t understand this concept until I was 18 years old and running for my life and the life of my unborn child.
I didn’t know I could choose. In reality, when we are young our choices are very limited. We might be able to choose how to respond to some situations with age and experience. Very young children don’t choose. They don’t even know how. Their body dictates the majority of their actions and if they suffer abuse or other adverse childhood experiences, their ability to choose is further delayed. Everything in our environment imposes on us as children.
That’s why we, adults, must protect children. The call to destroy them is greater than ever before. From the halls of congress to the streets in our neighborhoods, the divide is clear. Those who call for the “right to choose” have obfuscated what the choice is to the point of calling it a “right” when it is clearly wrong.
Who’s in Charge
When it comes to society, who is making the rules, who decides what is and is not acceptable behavior? Who is making laws? Ostensibly, you and I and other voters have elected the people that we want to represent us, here in the USA. I have found the choices disappointing, most of the time. There are few people that I can vote for that agree with me on enough issues to be enthusiastic about. People are, after all, people with vastly different experiences and mindsets, personalities, and preferences.
I live in a small town. There is no excuse for me not to know who is in charge, but the fact is, I don’t. I know who the town manager is and I met him once. The selectmen are available, I just haven’t paid attention. There is so much to pay attention to. I know who my representatives are, but I have yet to meet them in person. My senator has been around for a while. I’ve met and talked with him. Even our governor, here in NH, is a fairly accessible person. Do you know who’s in charge where you live?
Do you know who is in charge of making the laws and rules that you live with everyday? I’ve been on the edges of politics for about 20 years. NH has one of the largest legislatures in the world. Yes, tiny NH! It could be more than a full time occupation to be aware and involved in NH politics. With so many people, it’s been heartbreaking for me to see friends put forth pro-life legislation, only to have it killed in committee or if it makes it to the floor -killed there.
We, the adults of NH, have not protected the children. We have not chosen people who would enact laws to protect them. The blood of untold numbers of the smallest and most vulnerable members of society is on our hands.
Choose, You
Each of us have choices all day, everyday. This week, NH cities and towns had lots of choices to make. From electing people to how many millions of dollars they were willing to let their municipalities take from them and spend, and how it would be spent, in some cases. I vote. So, I chose to the best on my knowledge. There is a lot I don’t understand, though.
I do know that there is no such thing as a “free lunch.” It costs something. Either someone spent time and resources or I do -foraging or something- to produce said lunch. So, free healthcare, free college, free housing, and free lunches are a fallacy. There are costs. One person’s “free lunch” has been paid for by another person or people. I am not opposed to social services. The government programs of food stamps, medicaid, and financial aid to dependent children probably saved my life as much as the gracious woman who took me in, when I ran from my trafficker.
The government services as a hand-up are great, well actually, they are needed because the Church hasn’t done her job. That’s another post. Free everything can’t work, though, because someone has to pay. If not now, it will be our descendants. So, when we choose, we choose life or death and blessing or cursing. Generations before us have chosen much for us: many blessings and not a few curses.
What is the Choice?
That is always the question. In the case of “a woman’s right to choose” the choice is abortion and it looks like this. In the case of candidates to represent us, we need to make sure we know what the choice looks like to the best of our ability. Then, choose those who we believe to be the best flawed humans and then, we need to choose to be in touch with them, educate them when they needed it, and most of all pray for them.
We can change the course of history for ourselves and our posterity, if we get involved. This election cycle will likely bring more people who have no idea what they are doing into the fray. Let’s hope they are well intentioned and not nefarious. The US has been a beacon of hope for two centuries. People risk life and limb to come here. Let us remember that saying of Benjamin Franklin, when asked what came about among members of the Constitutional Convention: A Republic, if you can keep it.
We choose all sorts of things, but sometimes we have no choice. For example, in case of assault, the perpetrator used their choice for bad and the victim had no choice. Arson, robbery, human trafficking, violence, all of these and many other similar circumstances have perpetrators and a victims. Just as it is with children, the only option is to figure out how to survive. I’ve written on How to Think When You’re Hurt. When someone uses their choice to deny ours, we are hurt.
In all of our choices, big and small, let us always be looking for the best outcome for everyone. In as much as it is within our power, let us seek to do good.