Website design By BotEap.comSummary

Website design By BotEap.comA version of this statement is often passed down from parent to child. It comes from a variety of sources. One is “The Merchant of Venice” by Shakespeare: “The truth will come out.” In Ephesians 5: 9 of the Bible, a modern translation fits the statement: “The light within you produces what is good, right, and true.” Essentially, it is the little voice in our hearts that tells us what is right and what is wrong. The world is on fire when enough people don’t hear that little voice. Yet time and again, even when the world is on fire, enough people have listened, combined, and acted for the collective good. Another quote: “When the bad guys combine, the good guys must team up; otherwise they will fall one by one, a merciless sacrifice in a despicable fight.” Credit Edmund Burke, an Irish political philosopher, for saying something we all know to be true.

Website design By BotEap.comTests of our character

Website design By BotEap.comIt usually happens in small groups. Someone does something out of place. What are the others in the small group doing? They generally tolerate the act. So the antagonist believes that his activity has paid off. It happens again. The group will most likely take notice, but not get involved. A psychologist among them would have the opportunity to conduct a case study on what has become a group dynamic. For everyone else in the group, this could be the first volley of misery. This is the tyrant in the office, the bully on the school grounds, the one who breaks the rules and does mischief. What if someone in the office realizes, after repeated interruptions, that they must confront the tyrant? Indeed? If a good person takes a stand, the rest of the group still has to do something. They usually do nothing. “Let Human Resources take care of it.” “Discipline is the teacher’s job.” These moments are a test of character for everyone in the small group. If someone stands up for the right thing and is alone, the strongest personality will win. Very often, the strongest personality belongs to the tyrant. An emboldened tyrant will dominate, much as a sheepdog dominates sheep that outnumber the dog, perhaps 200: 1.

Website design By BotEap.comThe citizens

Website design By BotEap.comPeople predominantly live their lives as members of a human society. In some parts of the world, these societies are still called tribes. In industrialized countries, citizens often form around towns, cities, and towns. People identify themselves as part of a district, a state, a region, and a country. In addition to geography, people are formed around their family ties, their religion, their sports team, their school, their earned educational designation (engineering society, local union). In all these examples of shared human bonds, the rule of law is necessary. Someone must lead. It is expected to promote the well-being of society through governance. The tests of our character are also here. The same people who will not listen to their inner voice, will not defend justice, will not support the one who does, nor will they probably contribute to society. They will not lead or volunteer to support. They will not vote and will not communicate with the chosen one. When problems arise, they expect the police to deal with them. When your child misbehaves in public, you will not correct it. Your country could have been born of sacrifice. Others, before them, may have given their lives to guarantee the freedoms enjoyed by all citizens. Yet in times of need, during a crisis, and even during the safe times when voting for the best leader is so important, many will shirk their obligation to their ancestors and to the needs of today’s society. They will not listen to your inner voice. “Let someone else vote.” “Someone should say something to that lady who lets her dog fuck on the grass.” “I don’t have time to respond to that senator who asked me how he is doing in Congress.” “Those poor starving people in the earthquake zone; someone should organize food for them.” “What is the world going to? Those people have just taken over another country. Don’t they realize that their leader is a tyrant? I hope we stay out of it.”

Website design By BotEap.comThe truth

Website design By BotEap.comThe rule of law only works when society enforces the rule. Many will argue that there is too much corruption and crime in the world, too many different points of view to reach a consensus on what is right, vast geographical distances and greater personal risks today make it more difficult to take a position of principle. However, no argument has the strength to withstand public scrutiny or self-examination. When we don’t take a position, we don’t defend anything. Edmund Burke is not remembered for being right about the bleachers he took. He is admired for standing up. Any of us who have ever done that in our lifetime, look back at the moment without the stinging rebuke of regret. Those who stand alone against the tyrant and the bully stand tall, even if they lose. They are those who do not take their side, those who allow themselves to fail in the test of character, those who look down at their shoes in the presence of the sacrificed. But cheer up. Some of the most admired and good people in societies were lazy for much of their early life. One day, they looked up and defended the right. That became his habit. The truth will remain when the world is on fire. The truth is revealed by people who will not tolerate evil. When they stand, they are the rock. Those who are with them build a stone wall around that rock. There are never too many to put out a moral fire. There may be very few. Get up!