Would you settle for Compassion?
December 5, 2014

Would you settle for Compassion?

This linked article discussing the legality of Jewish claims in Judea and Samaria inspired today’s blog, filtered by Compassion (the random Virtues card I pulled as a focal point).  Jewish Religious law, i.e. the Torah, has its Genesis in Compassion, as indicated by this story.

Judea_and_Samaria_settlements

Compassion, as indicated by this story

Exodus 2:2-5 “And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink. And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him. And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river’s side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”

The mother sent this baby down the river to protect him from Pharaoh’s evil edict.  Pharaoh’s daughter then named this child  Moses, the same Moses who later freed the people Pharaoh was oppressing.  The same Moses who still later carried the tablets of Divine Law, written with the Finger of God, down from Mount Sinai. This law was given to educate and protect the entire Nation from the misery they had, and would again, experience.  It was a Compassionate law, designed to secure permanent peace and freedom.

And compassion was prophesied, towards the tribes who would unfortunately fail to live according to that Divine Law.  A prophesied period of 2,520 years of suffering was to follow, after which God would show His Divine Compassion in a very specific way.

Deuteronomy 30:1-5 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath driven thee, And shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; That then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee. If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: And the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.

Which brings us back to the question of Jewish Legal Claims.  Many would claim that compassion requires the Jews to refrain from assuming the rights they have been granted in modern times.  Many today withhold the compassion that led to these rulings in the first place, during a time when rabid antisemitism was destroying the entire ethnic grouping known as “Jews”.  Many deny that Jewish Society is more compassionate than those societies around it, which still, today, seek to destroy the Jews.  The same societies which oppress their own people’s mercilessly, in the name of intolerance, hate, and without any shred of compassion.

flame of Compassion

Light the right flame with your compassion!

Reports are currently out that the White House is considering sanctions against Israel for building settlements in these areas which they believe they have a legal right to.  Such sanctions are portrayed as somehow being compassionate towards Palestinians who also live in those areas.  Aside from whether a logical, rational analysis of the actual situation on the ground supports such a view, the Virtue of Compassion, like any other Virtue, must be used in conjunction with them all, including Truth and Justice.

Compassion is a virtuous reaction, but the action of compassion must be in alignment with reality.  It should help those who are actually hurt, in some way.  One doesn’t need to look far for opportunities to extend compassion in the Middle East.  There are many examples of people who, today, like the Jews historically, are hated and hunted.

Those impacted negatively, in some way, by Jewish settlements are not the ones I am referring to.

 

 

Filed Under: Israel Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,
Honor Meltdown
November 26, 2014

Honor Meltdown

My wife and I spent last weekend in a Virtues workshop, learning how these “internal treasures” can transform us, our family, and the world.  In honor of The Virtues Project, my blogs, going forward will feature a Virtue, pulled at random from a stack of 50, as a lens through which to view the topic at hand.

medal of honor

U.S. Army Medal of Honor

Today I drew Honor, with the following affirmation: I am honorable, I keep my agreements and treat others with respect. I live by the virtues. I care about doing the right thing.

The Topic? The U.S. led negotiations with Iran on Nuclear armaments. What does honor have to do with nuclear discussions?

Apparently not a whole lot…

For starters, the headlines are starting to call out that there is no honor to be found anywhere near these negotiations.  I could pick any number of articles but Iran Cheats, Obama Whitewashes caught my eye.  In this Wall street Journal Opinion piece Bret Stephens maintains that “Iran came to the table cheating on its nuclear commitments. It continued to cheat on them throughout the interim agreement it agreed to last year. And it will cheat on any undertakings it signs.”

What’s perhaps worse, is that the article makes the case that this cheating is common knowledge, and key named officials, including the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, in particular know it.  The same John Kerry who said, in 2012 “We’re not going to pass another treaty in the U.S. Senate if our colleagues [in the administration] are sitting up there knowing somebody is cheating.”

In the Virtues Workshop one of the facilitators, from Virtues Village, stated “Virtues are the golden thread that unites Humanity.”  Given the above quote, and the appalling vacuum of virtuous leadership today, it is a small wonder that the world is in such disunity.

Hassan_Rouhani_and_Vladimir_Putin_(1)Honor is indeed a virtue, but there is virtually none in evidence on the global scene today.  The 1994 agreement on Ukraine is a compelling reference point: “On December 5, 1994 the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Britain and the United States signed a memorandum to remove nuclear weapons in Ukraine. They all signed six agreements for Ukraine, the first two of which are reproduced here:

1) The Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America reaffirm their commitment to Ukraine, in accordance with the principles of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, to respect the independence and sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine;
2) The Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America reaffirm their obligation to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine, and that none of their weapons will ever be used against Ukraine except in self-defence or otherwise in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations

Filed Under: Latest News Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,
American Exceptionalism vs. Putin
September 21, 2013

American Exceptionalism vs. Putin

Does Vladimir Putin have a point about American Exceptionalism?

The idea that all men are created equal is a founding principle of the United States. Is the belief in American Exceptionalism inherently contradictory—or even dangerous?

Russian President Vladimir Putin thinks so. In his recent New York Times op-ed piece, he wrote that American Exceptionalism is “extremely dangerous” and that “we must not forget that God created us equal.”

American Exceptionalism is the view that the United States has a special role to play on the world’s stage because of its national ethos and provenance. Within this country, this view is prevalent. It is also balanced with the other principles upon which this nation was founded. Our Constitution has stood for a progressive stance on individual rights. We have become a world leader, in part, by embracing a sense of fairness for all.

So our national identity faces a fundamental dilemma today.

Why would I venture into discussing this topic? The People of the Sign is a kind of literary memoir recounting my life, much of which I spent within the Worldwide Church of God (WCG). The WCG under Herbert W. Armstrong was prosperous and growing, with a global reach and an astounding influence. And it was built on the idea that its members were divinely exceptional.

But the WCG was ripped apart by an identity crisis that crystallized under new leadership. Is this the fate of our nation?

That remains to be seen, but we can draw an important lesson from the WCG about American Exceptionalism.

One of the church’s fatal flaws was the hubris of Herbert W. Armstrong, his lieutenants, and many of the church’s members. While faith is good, and the book of Hebrews states that God rewards those who diligently seek him, we need to beware the mindset of divine superiority. Pride comes before the fall.

I am not a supporter of Putin. I find his comments both insulting and insincere. I was in Leningrad in 1991 during a coup by hard-line communists, which included the kidnapping of Mikhail Gorbachev. Boris Yeltsin then came into power, signaling the end of the Soviet Union. At the time there was certainly no dearth of Russian Exceptionalism. Yet their hubris led to ignominy on the world stage, and ultimately to the implosion of their empire.

In the wake of that collapse, the U.S. has been largely unchecked on the global scene. Today, some of the problems that confronted the Soviet Union during its twilight are in evidence here. And Russia’s recent geopolitical coup on the subject of Syria, followed by Putin’s comments, indicate that Russia feels the time is right to challenge the U.S.

When it comes to geopolitics and political strategy, I share in a sentiment recently raised in the media about this issue: Russia plays chess and America plays monopoly. We’re playing two different games, and at least in this Syrian crisis, Putin’s chess is winning.

Historically, Russian leaders have been the masters of gray, whereas U.S. leaders continue to define things in black and white. But what’s black and what’s white is changing. A belief in American Exceptionalism can easily work against finesse and diplomacy, which are much needed in navigating this predicament and an increasingly integrated world.

I do not reject the idea that God has a special purpose for the United States. But what is important to realize, especially for those who believe as I do, is that God also has a special purpose for every person on the planet. That includes the aggregate political entities that they are a part of as well.

To hold the idea that we are exceptional can be healthy. I have a five- and a two-year old, and they respond well to verbal encouragement and high fives. Yet I’m aware that this type of motivation needs to be balanced out with the teaching of virtues and spiritual principles like love, kindness, humility, gentleness, and respect for others.

A balanced approach that includes spiritual qualities worthy of a nation that claims to reside “under God” will lead to an American Exceptionalism that can stand the test of time. And the jabs of our enemies, like Vladimir Putin.

 

American Exceptionalism - two boys salute their respective flags

The Russians love their exceptionalism too

Filed Under: Latest News Tagged: , , , , , , ,
« Previous Page