Recent attacks on the so-called "Mohammed Art" event in Texas demonstrate something very clear: People are using their freedom in a very irresponsible fashion.
I'm beginning to suspect that doing so is yet another symptom of the decline of America. It's not all that new: We've got such "so-called" art (under the same guise of 'freedom of speech') as Maplethorpe's "Piss-Christ" (which stretches the limits of vulgarity and credibility under any category) which also greatly offended the Christian community in America. Then you've got "vaginal knitting" (you really can't make this stuff up), which simply stretches the bounds of good taste and a whole host of other fronts. And then you've got the recent "Charlie Hebdo" attacks in Paris, and now the Mohammed 'Art' exhibit in Texas, which was apparently nothing more than a cartoon exhibition in the flavor of the more famous "Charlie Hebdo" cartoons, mocking Islam's Mohammed.
Everyone wants to make these all about free speech. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is not about free speech. This is about using free speech in a highly irresponsible and disrespectful fashion. Does the constitution protect the right to free speech? Yes. Does the abuse of such freedom also demonstrate the decline of society? Absolutely. You see, with freedom comes responsibility. And to use freedom responsibly means that one will not intentionally offend another group or mock closely held beliefs just because one can. And yet, this is what we see happening all over the world in abundance today. This is not to say that the revenge being carried out by Muslims is justified - nothing could be further from the truth. Christians have endured numerous attacks on our cherished values and beliefs without the extreme violence that terrorists are carrying out in the name of Islam today. What am I saying here? The abuses of "freedom of speech" occurring all around the world, including here at home, are further signs of the decline of civilization.
At the very least, Christians should recognize that there is a higher calling above the simple cries of "freedom of speech." St. Paul tells us that we are indeed set free (It is for freedom Christ has set you free). However, what follows is that freedom (a deeply held and cherished value in America, and one ingrained in the fabric of the Declaration of Independence) is not something to be abused, but something to be taken very responsibly. St. Paul also writes following that verse: "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other."
Once again, Scripture demonstrates how we ought to live as Christians and simply as a world community. But it also contains a prophetic warning as to what will happen if we do not live that way. We are at a crossroads: Will we be responsible in our freedom, endowed as a gift of our God? Or will we continue down the path of moral, spiritual, and ethical decline with such abuses of freedom as we've been seeing in abundance lately? I pray for the former, but I fear we are indulging the latter. If that is true, then we've learned nothing from all of the failed nations, empires, and civilizations who have gone before us and suffered the same fate.
No comments:
Post a Comment