There are hemlines and then there are hem lines. There could be a careful play on words here, if this gets into the hands (or fingers) of an eccentric county-wide columnist.
A hemline is an edge or border of a dress or coat; whereas a hem line could be that proverbial line in the sand that restricts people. You could be “hemmed in” (= cut off or surrounded) because of the colour of your skin, your ethnic heritage, or even your worldview.
I'm Irish, but I don't think my problem is skin colour or an ethnic heritage. However, I am feeling a little hemmed in these days, mostly because I possess a worldview that is very much out of step with certain trends today. To be be sure, it's a faith-based worldview, and that colours my thinking about a lot of things.
There are three trends that alarm many of us who hold to this worldview. I dealt with the climate change question last week, and alluded to the other two—vaccination and same-sex marriage. I think it is important to take a deep breath and “think” through all the issues.
For instance, I see where California is now mandating vaccination for all school-aged children. That is outrageous at every level—be it political, medical, or individual. Should government have that much power? Do we have any idea what the vaccination really is made up of? And shouldn't parents have the final say over their own kids?
Even if there is a flicker of evidence (and there's a lot more than that) to show how dangerous immunization has been, shouldn't we be more cautious than mindless? I read just this morning that the vaccination for measles leads to more deaths than measles themselves. And this came from a pro-vaccination party.
Furthermore, when the “state” infringes with the home, that is very, very bad news.
I suggest that all integral levels of stakeholders sit down at the table and work out a reasonable compromise. But to arbitrarily cram a such a, well, toxic topic down the collective throat of California's parents is wrong. So, California today, Canada tomorrow? Well, maybe not quite so quickly, but it's good to be aware of such trends.
And then there's the other biggie, namely, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decree on same-sex marriage. Like the silent majority, I am very disappointed.
Number one: Since when did sex become such a public event? Number two: If you follow history, name one culture that survived its obsession with sex, particularly same sex relations. And number three: Identify one other issue that should be private, but goes public, and ends up being personal—too personal.
One of the greater issues at stake here is that we have lost the ability to think things through. We refuse to examine the facts objectively. Too many just follow the masses and the media.
In my world as a parent, an evangelical, and a teacher, I see it more than I want to. These are people who generally have a balanced, healthy worldview. Between some of them and too many of the rest, there appears to be limited motivation to ascertain, accumulate, and then analyze the facts.
We are not training our young people to diagnose, reflect, and problem-solve. Part of the blame is the overall system of bringing up kids (home and school) itself, and part of it is electronic the toys that kids play with. Said toys have a dumbing-down affect, crippling the thinking process.
These kids grow up (usually) to be adults (to use another term loosely), and somehow end up as mindless followers or headstrong leaders, and these leaders sometimes even end up as elected officials. It's these headstrong leaders who are passing these laws, supported by those mindless followers who, well, just follow them blindly.
My grief is, again, not only with the position that these people take, but the power that they wield over those who don't agree with them. This is a very dangerous imbalance. There are incomes, lifestyles, and futures at stake because of flimsy evidence, with limited historical, scientific proof.
We need to return to rational thought with these (and other) matters. Dialogue and respect should be the order of the day. Agreeing to disagree has always been the hallmark of a strong society.
I do see the value in taking care of the environment, living a healthy lifestyle, and respecting all people; I actually have been doing that for many decades, thank you very much.
However, there is no value in cramming one's personal agenda down fellow-citizens' throats, without examining all the facts, thinking things through, and allowing differences of opinions.
Hemlines and hem lines can work: Just make sure, either way, they're reasonable and rational.
http://www.getpostbox.com
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