Greetings, Gentle Reader,
In olden days, a respected man was loved by his friends and feared by his enemies. If he were insufficiently love or feared, he was less than he should be. He had failed in his quest to become a truly honorable man. Modern people are much inclined to take issue with the fear inspired by a man of honor in ancient days, but we must remember that the code required it.
An analysis of this code will bring us to an understanding that if a man were feared by his enemies, those enemies had good reason for their fear. It proved that he had the power to destroy, and power was the bottom line. A man of power was great; a man who lacked power was less than the dust of the earth.
Within societies where the code was different, the behavior was also different. If the code taught compassion and a love of peace, the people learned to be peace-loving and compassionate. Where the code taught gross immorality, the people were grossly immoral. Where the Ten Commandments was the code of the people, the standards of behavior were completely different than they were for their contemporaries. In Assyria, it was totally acceptable to attack the neighboring nations, including that nation we know as Israel, and dismember, skin and otherwise torture the citizens to death. The reading of their history gives the average American the creeps. We don't even like to hear about such things, much less contemplate the manner of death visited on their unfortunate victims.
It all came down to the code by which the people. Lacking a code that decried brutality, the people were brutal, as ancient history teaches us. Lacking a code that required honesty, rampant dishonesty became the norm, as English history teaches us. Lacking a code that teaches the people that it is wrong to indulge in destructive lifestyles, the people will destroy themselves, both individually and collectively, as modern America is doing.
When our modern social engineers changed the code, they forgot that the people would revert to savagery unless the new code they adopted to replace the old code, decried savagery. It didn't, and vast numbers of our people have, indeed, reverted to savagery. Their savagery is not a result of society's victimization. It is a result of their being told that the old code no longer applies to them, BECAUSE they are victims. It is a result of their being deprived of the fruits of the old code. Those fruits are homes with strong fathers, who have authority and who feed and clothe their own loved ones. Those fruits are mothers, who are available to their children. Mothers who teach and guide, rather than holding down three jobs in a struggle for survival.
The code, by which an honorable nation lives, sheds its light to all of the nation's citizens. When that code is changed, the light is blown out. When the light is blown out, the people cannot see. When the people cannot see, they lose their way. When the people lose their way, chaos rules. When chaos becomes the order of the day, it is only a matter of time before a dictator arises, promising and capable of delivering, order and safety. This safety is, inevitably, secured by sacrificing the liberty of the people.
We have reverted to a code in which power is everything, and he who has no power is less than the dust of the earth. Is that really what we had in mind?
Until next time,
Muriel Sluyter
Return to the Neighborhood.
In olden days, a respected man was loved by his friends and feared by his enemies. If he were insufficiently love or feared, he was less than he should be. He had failed in his quest to become a truly honorable man. Modern people are much inclined to take issue with the fear inspired by a man of honor in ancient days, but we must remember that the code required it.
An analysis of this code will bring us to an understanding that if a man were feared by his enemies, those enemies had good reason for their fear. It proved that he had the power to destroy, and power was the bottom line. A man of power was great; a man who lacked power was less than the dust of the earth.
Within societies where the code was different, the behavior was also different. If the code taught compassion and a love of peace, the people learned to be peace-loving and compassionate. Where the code taught gross immorality, the people were grossly immoral. Where the Ten Commandments was the code of the people, the standards of behavior were completely different than they were for their contemporaries. In Assyria, it was totally acceptable to attack the neighboring nations, including that nation we know as Israel, and dismember, skin and otherwise torture the citizens to death. The reading of their history gives the average American the creeps. We don't even like to hear about such things, much less contemplate the manner of death visited on their unfortunate victims.
It all came down to the code by which the people. Lacking a code that decried brutality, the people were brutal, as ancient history teaches us. Lacking a code that required honesty, rampant dishonesty became the norm, as English history teaches us. Lacking a code that teaches the people that it is wrong to indulge in destructive lifestyles, the people will destroy themselves, both individually and collectively, as modern America is doing.
When our modern social engineers changed the code, they forgot that the people would revert to savagery unless the new code they adopted to replace the old code, decried savagery. It didn't, and vast numbers of our people have, indeed, reverted to savagery. Their savagery is not a result of society's victimization. It is a result of their being told that the old code no longer applies to them, BECAUSE they are victims. It is a result of their being deprived of the fruits of the old code. Those fruits are homes with strong fathers, who have authority and who feed and clothe their own loved ones. Those fruits are mothers, who are available to their children. Mothers who teach and guide, rather than holding down three jobs in a struggle for survival.
The code, by which an honorable nation lives, sheds its light to all of the nation's citizens. When that code is changed, the light is blown out. When the light is blown out, the people cannot see. When the people cannot see, they lose their way. When the people lose their way, chaos rules. When chaos becomes the order of the day, it is only a matter of time before a dictator arises, promising and capable of delivering, order and safety. This safety is, inevitably, secured by sacrificing the liberty of the people.
We have reverted to a code in which power is everything, and he who has no power is less than the dust of the earth. Is that really what we had in mind?
Until next time,
Muriel Sluyter
Return to the Neighborhood.
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