At home in Dystopia?

Jewish World Review ^ | Oct. 30, 2015 | Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb

[imardmd1]

Sir Thomas More (1478-1535) was a great jurist and counselor to the notorious
King Henry VIII, who was beheaded because of his insistence that the Catholic Church
was his supreme religious authority, and not King Henry. . . . More earned
a prominent place in the history of world literature because of his classic
work, Utopia. In this work, More imagines the ideal society, one that is perfectly just
and fair. Indeed, More coined the word "utopia," which has become part of our everyday
parlance. . . . the philosopher John Stuart Mill, preferred the term "dystopia." It is Mills' term
hat has prevailed as the antonym of choice for "utopia." Subsequent philosophers have found it
ironic that this nightmare world often results from attempts to create an ideal society. . . . A person
who finds himself in an evil society must voice protest, whatever the cost, if he is to be
considered righteous. There may very well have been ten, or fifty, or perhaps even more,
residents of Sodom who were aware that theirs was a morally corrupt environment.
Arguably, those men should not be considered evil. But there is no way that they can be
considered righteous. A righteous person speaks out courageously against the evil that
surrounds him. . . . had anyone in Sodom broken the conspiracy of silence which allowed
evil to persist, I, the Lord Almighty would have hastened to assist him in his cause.

[imardmd1]

Are we not in a dystopic society?
Is not one of the purposes of this forum to speak out against encroachment of evil against the right to
life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness according to the pattern established by our forefathers?
Is it not just and righteous to contribute, both financially and with a verbal presence, to this effort?
Is it just and righteous to withhold?

[sparklite2]

Dystopic as in Sodom? No. We are bankrupting ourselves in caring for the poor, prone to tearing our country down rather than arrogantly boost it, and lie prone as the detritus from other countries floods across our borders.

What we are, IMO, is decadent. We enact laws without reading them, spend our grandchildren’s money before they are even born, and fear to speak our minds as it might give offense.

[JimSEA]

Sir Thomas More has been one of my Heroes for his insistence that there is a moral authority above the whims of a king regardless of his power.

[Liberty Valance]

Too Soon?