INTOLERANCE

Self ^ | 4/20/2003 | MHGinTN

[MHGinTN]

Once in a while, I catch an episode of Law & Order, or Law & Order, SVU. I just happened to catch the L & O episode for Saturday, April 19th. It was one of their most brilliant, not for the actual story depiction or for Fred Thompson’s acting (my former Senator doing such a good job on the show) … the brilliance of the writers and nuance of the production came through at a much deeper level, touching upon a zeitgeist seldom acknowledged at this critical age of our American culture.

The story involved a Priest who murdered a pernicious drug dealer responsible for death and mayhem in the Priest’s parish. At first, the Priest was convinced he was acting on direction from God, received through prayer; not as a discernable voice, but as impulse resulting from the difficult balance between God’s laws, the human legal system, and an imperative to protect others endangered … he felt he was called to protect his Parish members from the drug dealer, and one man in particular who was determined to kill the drug dealer because he’d killed his son. The Priest took the man’s pistol and killed the dealer because the presence of the drug dealer was no longer tolerable. His plea before a jury was a ‘not guilty’ by reason of direction from God; not insanity, but presented as the sane act of a man convinced he acted at God’s direction to protect others. Controversial program to be sure, and L & O is known for such programs, presented in a nuanced way that defies a simplistic acceptance or rejection. But there is a much deeper message to be gleaned from the story, a message imminently important for our age.

Before defining the deeper message, there are two other pieces of the zeitgeist puzzle needed:
1) the murder of abortion doctors and the motive of those doing the deeds;
2) the United States’ liberation of Iraq.

How are these two seemingly disparate themes related to the television program? In a most fundamental way: through the concept of defense of a society and individuals of the society and justification because of a level of endangerment reach that is intolerable. The television episode was fictional, so let’s focus on the real world examples.

The murder of abortion doctors appeared justified to the shooters (although one tried first to claim he meant only to frighten the doctor, not kill him) because by killing the doctors, those serial killers would never kill another baby waiting to be born. Our liberation of Iraq appears justified because the murderous dictator of Iraq could not be stopped by the Iraqi people acting on their own, even though terrorizing of his own people had reach ‘intolerable’ (except to the Arab streets, but that’s grist for another essay). So, where is the deeper meaning to be found? Is there an equivalency? I don’t think there is equivalency, but there is a fundamental issue to be explored in both instances.

Our action to liberate the Iraqi people and end the threat from Saddam’s sponsorship of terrorists works on a level of cultures and the untold numbers of persons freed from proven endangerment, acting because of intolerance for the regime. Murdering one or two abortion doctors does nothing to achieve protection of individual human beings endangered across the whole culture. Killing a few abortion doctors is too precise an application of intolerance, not general enough to be justified. Allow me to reiterate that notion with an additional thought.

On the more fundamental level, it is the culture that will have to defend the right to life of the unborn, as a cultural manifestation of intolerance for the practice of killing the unborn, if the endangerment is to be ended through forceful suppression of the killing. So, why would I raise this connection between a television show episode, murder of abortionists, and the liberation of Iraq?… Because the deeper issue is sourced in the ending of previously tolerated behavior that is imminently endangering to individual human beings within the culture, here and in Iraq.

It is the turnabout--from tolerating behavior that endangers life, to intolerance of the behavior--that we must explore. And quickly, before our culture tolerates cannibalism of individual human life under the guise of enlightened medical practices.

Killing abortion doctors will not end abortion in its horrific reality as a convenience or for expedience. The culture/society must come to be intolerant of such wrong as abortion killing of alive human beings, in order to end the serial killing of babies waiting to be born; the society must come to be intolerant of killing the innocent because the society doesn’t want such wrong within the society.

Outlawing embryonic stem cell research that uses embryos created for experimentation or uses left over embryos from in vitro fertilization will not end the slide toward cannibalism. It is the culture, the society that must become intolerant of dehumanizing and cannibalizing nascent individual human beings.

Because the turnabout from tolerance to intolerance is so radical a paradigm shift, truth must be the vital component and raised to a level forgotten during the rise of liberalism and political correctness and touchy-feely tolerance of ‘alternate life choices’.

As a society, we have every right to stand up and tell our elected representative what we will no longer tolerate. As a society, if we are to do such a thing, the hidden methodologies and hidden motives must be made public for all the citizens to see and judge. Truth of the pain and slaughter that is abortion on demand must be made very public, along with the truth that the babies waiting to be born are individual human beings not non-human blobs of cells, real alive human beings not ‘potential’ human beings. To reject cannibalizing embryonic and fetal human beings, the citizenry must be told the truth of the paradoxes inherent in the misdirection and misinformation offered as ‘truth’ by those focused on exploiting for harvest the earliest age of individual human beings.

If you get the chance to watch the episode of L & O referred to above, notice how the writers nuanced the levels of controversy without having the entire program fall on one side or the other, and how the story raises the fundamental question of whom is protected by the so obviously illegal actions of the Priest, and to whom and at what levels the Priest must answer for his action. And finally, juxtapose the responsibility of the society to be intolerant of the drug dealers against the responsibility of the Priest to follow fundamental dictates from his boss and/or from the laws of society. In the end, if a the society tolerates the evils that men do, instead of being intolerant of same, anarchy and chaos result as more and more are endangered by those being tolerated. It is high time for intolerance of behaviors that kill, maim, and dehumanize, yet are protected through political correctness and 'liberal civility'.

[MHGinTN]

Don't worry about the flames, dive in and debate!

[MHGinTN]

Ping-a-ling-a-ling

[stylin19a]

and sometimes a cigar is just a cigar

[MHGinTN]

Interesting response, so, what do you infer?... Ahh, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, if kept away from sinkEmperor?

[stylin19a]

agh.....please....just one thread without the mention of whatshisname.
Freud who attached symbolism to most everything, made that quote.

[icu2]

mankind will continue to slide into the cesspool of all that is evil. Untill the time that Christ comes once again. Then he will set up a rule of rightiousness with his saints. To last as it sayes one thousand years.

[okie01]

The episode reached you. Obviously.

It is on such universal questions of right and wrong that Shakespeare and Arthur Miller, e.g., thrived.

[MHGinTN]

I'm focused on the notion of Intolerance having virtue, as the anithesis of political correctness and liberal civility which tolerate all manner of degenerative influences which work to corrode then destroy the society.

[kylaka]

On another note, I learned today that Marissa Hargitay is Jayne Mansfields daughter. M doesn't look anything like Jayne.
Marissa was also in the car accident that claimed Jayne's life.

[Jorge]

On another note, I learned today that Marissa Hargitay is Jayne Mansfields daughter. M doesn't look anything like Jayne. Marissa was also in the car accident that claimed Jayne's life.

I never knew that. Thanks for the info!

[Mark]

Without a Hillary controversy, what's the use of living?

[cpforlife.org]

The sad reality is that the duration of the abortion holocaust is prolonged by Christians who vote for pro-abortion candidates. A real life example many will find familiar: Retired man down the street-Good Christian, Church every Sunday, same wife for 40+ years--a good solid family man. He says he is totally against abortion.

This past election in LA we "assumed" he would be voting for Suzie Terrell(solid pro-lifer). No, he is a life-long demoncrat and "had" to vote for Mary Landrieu(bigtime pro-abort).

No amount of reasoning could convince him. He's one of millions

In order to destroy this culture of death, we need to add several million voters to the Pro-Life position. Three decades of legalized abortion proves that this many adults cannot be changed. We believe that the only way of achieving this monumental task is with a new generation of Christians fully educated on the sanctity of life before birth.

Few would argue that it is much harder to change the minds of adults than it is to properly form the minds of children, especially in matters of morality. Only by finally addressing this problem and moving to correct it can we begin to change our culture and our laws. The very soul of our country is at stake. If the people of our nation remain uneducated, then change cannot occur.

--Since the decision of Roe v. Wade, tens of millions of Christian school students could have received a Pro-Life education. This group would today constitute a huge voting block; and with them, the culture of death might have already been defeated.

The Pro-Life movement has worked tirelessly, attempting to change the hearts and minds of adults in the voting booth and in government. However, this is addressing the problem after the damage has been done. Simultaneously, children's hearts and minds are not being properly cultivated in the truth of the sanctity of life while in Christian school. The result is that Christian schools continue graduating more voters and future government leaders whose record of defending life is no better than the national average. This sad reality is made evident with every election (see below) and with every legislative session. This self-defeating cycle must stop, as it is one of the main underlying reasons why we have not yet ended the scourge of abortion and the growing tolerance of euthanasia.

Please see THE MISSING KEY OF THE PRO-LIFE MOVEMENT

[cpforlife.org]

"mankind will continue to slide into the cesspool of all that is evil. Untill the time that Christ comes once again." I agree we have slid VERY far down, but as Christians we must fight the good fight here and now. With His grace (and only with His grace) we can return this Republic to a Just nation.

Look at how good triumphed over evil in WWII, it can happen again.

[Consort]

Killing the unborn is legal. Killing the killers of the unborn is illegal. Liberating a country can be both.

[tuna_battle_slight_return]

Hold the phone. Where did you study? How did you learn to write so well? I'm envious as hell when I see someone write as intelligently as you. Seriously, this is no B.S. You must have a God-given talent. I'm in awe that I cannot really comment on what you wrote. I'm still trying to digest it all.

I'm going to bookmark your posts, if you don't mind.

[RJCogburn]

On the more fundamental level, it is the culture that will have to defend the right to life of the unborn

Here we agree.

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!!

[Nick Danger]

First rate piece. Thank you.

I think many of us here have the sense that things are starting to break our way; that the decades-long Gramscian march of anarchist and leftist ideologues through our institutions has at last begun to stimulate widespread disgust — and not a little fear — in the body politic.

Signs are appearing that Gramsci was wrong; that cultures are more resilient than he imagined. By occupying a society's institutions, the Gramscian ideologues dominate only the institutions. The underlying society in fact does not follow. A culture may appear to be following, in the same way that Iraqis could be made to chant, "We redeem you with our blood, O Saddam" — but only so long as sufficient institutional power is arrayed against them.

But this is thuggery. It is despotism. It is not capturing the "hearts and minds" of anyone.

We could expect disgust with the societal effects of Gramscian culture-meddling to be distributed on a bell curve, as most things involving large populations are. Those of us who gravitate toward forums like Free Republic are outliers; most of us have been disgusted for years by the erosion of even common human decency in the society we call 'home.'

What your essay hints at, and what I think we all sense, is that conditions in the society are now moving up the steep slope of the bell curve. The level of digust, and the fear of what is so obviously coming if this continues, is rising very rapidly in the culture as a whole.

For the first time, Gramscians are seeing parallel institutions forming to counter those they have so successfully occupied. Many of these are still small, almost lone voices crying in the wilderness. But others are becoming quite powerful, attracting huge followings. More significantly, this resistance and digust is no longer coming only from the devoutly religious, a segment that until now the Gramscians have successfully contained and marginalized. Now the engineers of a 'better society' are facing very large swaths — apparently approaching a majority — of the underlying culture that is disgusted with what is happening and fearful of where it leads.

It might be time to erect a monument to Gramsci, perhaps a 50-foot bronze statue on the Washington mall. We're going to need something symbolic to tear down when this reign of quiet terror that is "political correctness" ends.

[Maigrey]

Facinating idea. Would you care to expand and analyze into your thoughts for us?

[cpforlife.org]

Nick,

Great GREAT points! Antonio is going down.