Hello Everyone,
Here is a very pleasant and insightful message from David Stolinsky. This is about the second or third message I have posted from Dr. Stolinsky. He has quite the passion for truth and clarity.
Godspeed,
Gill Rapoza
Veritas Vos Liberabit
A Passover Message
David C. Stolinsky, MD
April 1, 2010
On Monday evening, Jews − as well as many Christians − began the observance of Passover. This Sunday is Easter, which this year comes at the same time for both Western and Orthodox Christians. For a moment, let us put aside the deep religious significance of these holy days. Consider the important secular message of Passover.
Young people, if they are taught anything at all about Passover − which is becoming increasingly unlikely − will say that it commemorates the liberation of the ancient Israelites from slavery in Egypt. This explanation is correct, but seriously incomplete. It leaves out the two most important pieces of the story: Who brought about their liberation, and for what purpose?
One need not be a biblical scholar, which I surely am not, in order to answer these key questions. One need only read a single verse:
And the LORD spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
− Exodus 8:1 (King James Version)
The answer to the first question is clear. Moses led his people out of Egypt and toward the Promised Land, and out of slavery to freedom. But it was God who caused this liberation to occur.
This is no surprise to those of us old enough to have been forced to memorize in school. Now, of course, memorization is “old fashioned,” and children are asked not what some text says, but how they “feel” about it. But how can you know what to “feel” about something when you don’t know what it is?
In my day, we memorized “My Country ’Tis of Thee,” also called “America,” the beautiful song − hymn, really − we sang at school assemblies. It almost became our national anthem, but the fact that it has the same melody as “God Save the Queen” was against it. We always sang the first verse, and often the fourth:
Our fathers’ God, to thee,
Author of liberty, to thee we sing.
Long may our land be bright
With freedom’s holy light.
Protect us by thy might, great God, our King.
As a child, I learned that freedom is holy because God is its source. Not the government, not even the Constitution, but God Himself. True, the lesson was subliminal, but if anything, that made it sink in even deeper. And if singing was not my forte, I had the Declaration of Independence to study:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
There it is again. We are endowed by the Creator with rights. Not the by the government, which had not yet been established. Not by the Constitution, which had not yet been written. Not by the Bill of Rights, which had not yet been proposed.
No, our rights come from the Creator. What is more, our rights are unalienable, or as we would say, inalienable. That is, we can’t give them away, even if we want to. We should remember this key point when we talk about nationalized health care, and all the other usurpations of our rights that our so-called representatives in Congress greedily enact.
How many of our rights can we give away (remember unalienable?) until we are no longer free, and what is worse, no longer deserve to be free? How high a tax rate can we bear before freedom becomes merely a hollow concept with no reality?
This year, average Americans will have to work from January 1 to April 9 to pay their taxes. That is, we will have to work for no wages 27% of the time − and this is sure to increase, in view of our monstrous deficits. But what is slavery if not a 100% tax rate? The slaves in Egypt got free food, free housing, free health care (such as it was) and a guaranteed job − just as convicts in prison do today.
In fact, some Israelites did not want to leave Egypt. They were accustomed to being slaves − they were afraid of freedom. Others did leave with Moses, but later changed their minds and wanted to return. They had tasted freedom, but they preferred slavery.
Such people deserve pity and contempt. But these people are taken as role models by those Americans who want the government to control virtually every aspect of their lives, from light bulbs and toilets to health care. Like the faint-hearted who wanted to return to Egypt, those Americans tasted freedom but prefer slavery.
We have answered the first question. We know Who liberated the people from slavery, and Who is the source of liberty. But what about the second question? What is the purpose of liberty?
Liberty is like health. It is good in itself. But like health, it is also good because it allows us to do…what? Anything that’s legal? Anything we can get away with? Anything that feels good? Anything we please?
This brings us back to the message of Passover. Moses was instructed to go to Pharaoh and tell him that the Lord says to let His people go, that they may serve Him.
Liberty has a purpose: to allow people to live useful, productive lives in their communities. But not useful and productive in a purely economic sense, as a Marxist would insist. No, useful and productive in a deeper sense. Useful in helping those who need help. Productive in making things or providing services that people really need to improve their lives, and not mere gizmos that complicate their lives and deplete their finances. Useful and productive in being moral citizens, and raising children to be the same.
In short, the purpose of liberty is to enable us to live virtuous lives. If this seems too religious for a secular topic, or even self-righteous, consider this quotation from John Adams, our second president and a signer of the Declaration of Independence:
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
Adams’ point is painfully clear. A Constitution that allows the people broad freedoms requires that the people use those freedoms wisely. But if people act irresponsibly, like impulsive teenagers, one of two results will surely follow: (1) the nation will disintegrate into chaos; or (2) the government will become more and more tyrannical.
Either people will control themselves, following moral principles derived from religion, or the government will have to control them. There are now over 307 million Americans. That many people, most of whom crowded into urban and suburban areas, must act responsibly, or else external controls will be inevitable. Adams knew what he was talking about.
Americans pontificate incessantly about freedom. We used to mean what we say. But do we still? Or is it just words?
We give lip-service to liberty. But are we sincere? Or do we really prefer that bureaucrats make key decisions for us? Would we rather take responsibility for ourselves and our loved ones, or vegetate in the temporary and false security of a nanny state?
Do we want to strike out on our own, facing the future with faith that God will show us the way? Or do we want to slink back to Egypt, and let Pharaoh run our lives for us?
I wish you a happy and a thoughtful Passover.
Dr. Stolinsky writes on political and social issues. Contact: dstol@prodigy.net.
You are welcome to post or publish these articles, in whole or in part, provided that you cite the author and website.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment