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Jesus Wept
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It is Time we had a Separation of Ideology and State
(The world has not yet seen such a separation.)
Where would the world be today without government funded media or government controlled education? Hitler
wouldn't have got far without government controlled education and
government funded media. What about Stalin or North Korea today? But before talking more about a separation of
ideology and state it must first be explained what the ideology of the state
is. The
religion or the ideology of the state is the "value system" the state
promotes in the belief that those who hold those values make for better
citizens. Every state promotes the beliefs it values through education,
the media and the laws it makes. (As Greg Koukl points out, moral neutrality is a
myth. Someone's values are always promoted.) The promotion of values
is not wrong, but apart from the laws and punishments which the state
enforces, it is not the states role to promote values or
determine which values shall be promoted. The people can identify what
values are best for society without government manipulation. Besides,
isn't it obvious that the governments promotion of values is failing? Societies ever increasing problems with alcohol, drugs, domestic violence and
crime in general are causing governments to continually increase taxes
in an effort to maintain law and order. At the heart of our economic woes is a moral problem which
costs. The moral crisis in
business and government cannot be addressed by technology alone. Those in power realize we have a moral crisis but no matter how
much time or money they put into addressing the issue it only seems to
grow worse. (Our aging
population will cause healthcare costs to sky
rocket, law enforcement will suffer and western societies will begin to
collapse under a tidal wave of corruption, crime, social unrest,
terrorism and disease.
We as a society will reap what we have sown.) In troubled times it is very important that the general public
identify what
values are best for society. That will be easy to observe
when the government withdraws from certain activities. Benjamin Franklin was right, "only a virtuous people are capable
of
freedom." But how do you create virtue? And can the government play a
part in creating more people like Mother Teresa without indoctrinating
the people? When
the government reduces it's activities in certain areas ordinary people
will become acutely aware of how much good volunteers and charitable
organizations do, then the beliefs of those volunteers and
organizations will be more widely praised and spread; those values will
have a greater impact on society and more people will adopt them.
The seeds of virtue will be sown without the
government promoting an ideology or spending a cent. Constitutional limits must be placed on government
to ensure that the government cannot use our money to promote any
ideology through education and the media or win support through
government run healthcare or welfare. In those areas the government would play no
more than a support role through things like
rebates for medical equipment and a regulatory role
(unfortunately, some regulations are necessary in an imperfect world). This would ensure that those who really did care
the most had the greatest impact on society. If atheists care the most
they will build the most hospitals and schools; they will do the most to
help the poor. (And they'll use their money to do it.) The proposed
limits on government outlined here would effectively call the bluff of
those who claim to care but do little to get their hands dirty by
helping those in need. This is a long term vision that can safe guard
free countries and help make others free. If followed through
these proposals would make for better education and healthcare. It
would mean excellent roads and infrastructure and a fantastic emergency
service (as more taxes will be available for these things). It would
also lower taxes stimulating the economy. And as already mentioned it
would empower those who really do care instead of empowering those who
are able to manipulate governments to use our money to promote their
cause (which naturally and always divides the people. How do you
feel about something you strongly disagree with being taught in
government schools?) Is it right that those with values
I strongly disagree with are
able to use government money (my money) to promote their views? I'm not the only one who feels this way, many Atheists, Christians and Muslims have similar feelings. The governments promotion or support of values
always causes an increase in unnecessary tension. There is an incredible push for power in this country which is
unhealthy for any society and no matter which value system wins out many
people will be angry. In all societies and at all times, there have been groups of people who have been able to manipulate governments to promote and enforce their values. Whether it be the religious right, the secular left, Communists, Nazi's or some other group; this has been a problem that has always plagued humanity. The Good Blinds us to the Bad In
all societies, the reigning ideology, the ideology which is promoted by
the government, is credited with the successes of that particular
government. In Islamic societies Islam is accredited with doing all the
good things that their governments have accomplished. In secular
humanist
societies, humanism is accredited and likewise communism in communist
countries. What if these were cases of good being the enemy of the
best? What if the ideologies or beliefs
which motivated people to care
the most about others were being kept out of the spot light simply
because they were up against the ideology that the government espoused
and promoted through education and the media? What if there was
an army
of people doing things to help others but the general public paid
little attention to it because the government seemed to be taking care
of things (e.g. welfare)?
If that was the case then the general public
would be misled about what
world-view does the most good for society; this in-turn would effect
elections and laws. I've said "if" but this is exactly what is
happening today.
But do we really need these changes? After all, look how strong western nations are. Many
think that the strength of our economy is based upon the reigning
philosophy of today, but that is not true. It was past generations that
built the infrastructure and gave us the beliefs which sustained us in
times of trouble. Today the west is embracing beliefs which are
destroying our work ethic and there is unprecedented pressure on
families as the number of addictions increase; costs to family courts
and law enforcement are rising. It is only a matter of time before the system completely collapses and the law can no longer be enforced.
Earlier I mentioned Hitler's Germany. We are not that bad yet. But we must not forget that before WWII Germany was a democracy, highly educated and perhaps the most technologically advanced state in the world. Values changed in Germany just as values in the west are changing today. (All change is not progress.) There is no guarantee that your country or my country will not become a totalitarian state. We should also consider what's happening outside our country. In the Middle East many Muslims think they have a choice between democracy (which in their minds means things which repulse them, such as gay mardigrass) or Sharia law. (Is it necessarily the case that democracy equals moral decline?) If we want other countries to adopt democracy we had better make it more attractive to them. The more social problems we have the less attractive democracy becomes.
"But surely the government would have to play some role in education and the media under the proposed system. And how would you implement such a system anyway?"
On the following link I argue why we need a true separation of ideology and state, what it will look like and how it will be implemented.
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