Think About It

Mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner was videotaped in a Brooklyn Bakery in a heated exchange with a customer. The customer rebuked Weiner for his lewd and deviant behavior, and told him that he was unfit to hold public office. Weiner’s response was, “Who are you to judge me?”

It’s a good question. Who was that man in the bakery anyway, and who is he to judge Anthony Weiner? Well, for starters, he’s a voter who will undoubtedly pass judgment on Election Day. More importantly, he is a human being, and that’s what human beings do; we judge.

Anthropologists tell us, that what makes human beings unique, what separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom, is a highly-developed brain capable of articulate speech and abstract reasoning. Although that may be technically correct, in reality, what makes humans different from the rest of the animals is the fact that we judge.

Animals act on instinct. There is no right or wrong in their actions, and no condemnation or disapproval from the other animals. Despite what we may think when the family dog chews up the carpet, and sulks in the corner after being scolded, they have no sense of guilt or remorse. Animals are free from the constraints of a conscience. They simply do what nature compels them to do.

Human beings are much more complicated, because we are self-aware. We understand the relationship between cause and effect; that is, how others affect us, and how we affect others. Biblically speaking, we have eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and have an inherent sense of right and wrong. In other words, we have morals, ethics and values, and it is these morals, ethics and values on which we base our judgments. We make judgments every day about the people we associate with, the work we do, the way we raise our children, and just about everything else, which requires the exercise of our freewill. We are compelled by nature to be exactly what we are, judgmental beings.

Anthony Weiner entered that bakery looking for votes. Had the gentlemen said, “Mr. Weiner, you are a wonderful role model and would make a great mayor,” there wouldn’t have been a confrontation. As a politician, Anthony Weiner understands that he is going to be judged. What he is actually objecting to, is the standard by which he is being judged, and the verdict of that judgment; which in this case was condemnation.

All cultures and societies must have a set of norms, or values, which it imposes on its members. Without them, it cannot survive. Any culture that does not have a common value will descend into anarchy, and any society that does not possess the correct values will collapse. Fortunately, the United States has always been a nation of diverse people unified by a common set of values that are based upon the Judeo-Christian ethic.

The Judeo-Christian ethic stems from the biblical truth that there is a divine creator who is the author of the natural laws which govern the cosmos, and the moral laws which govern mankind. These laws are universal and absolute. The natural laws, like the law of gravity, are discovered by science. The moral laws, like the Ten Commandments, are revealed to man. In the Judeo-Christian ethic, only God can determine right and wrong, all we as human beings can do, is exercise our free-will in choosing to do either right or wrong.

The Judeo-Christian ethic promotes; human dignity, the pursuit of truth, modesty, humility, honesty, integrity, hard work, the willingness to sacrifice for others, compassion for our fellow man, personal responsibility, and a love of justice. These are the values upon which the Founding Fathers established our nation. They are the reason why this country has been so successful and prosperous, and the reason why millions of immigrants have flocked to these shores from every culture on earth, to succeed and thrive.

At the turn of the twentieth-century, the progressive movement emerged in America. Led by intellectuals and elitists, it advocated using government as a force to bring about social, economic and cultural change. It later merged with what some call the secularist movement, but in reality, is the atheist movement, to create the Secular-Progressive ethic.

The Secular-Progressive ethic asserts that man, not God, is the arbitrator of good and evil, and that morality is relative. In other words, there are no moral absolutes; right and wrong is dependent upon who you are, where you were raised, and what you were taught. There are no norms or judgments in the Secular-Progressive ethic, everything is simply a matter of opinion; what’s right for you is right for you, and what’s right for me is right for me.

The Secular-Progressive ethic began to take root in America during the 1960s. “Do your own thing,” and “If it feels good, it can’t be wrong,” were the mantras of the generation that was going to change the world. Unfortunately, they succeeded, and today the fruits of the Secular-Progressive ethic are ripening. We’ve dismantled the traditional family, fifty-percent of marriages end in divorce, forty-percent of our children are born out of wedlock; we have a terminally dependent class of Americans with no employable skills and fewer opportunities, we spend a trillion dollars a year on welfare, and have consigned generations of fellow citizens to live in drug infested, and crime filled housing projects.

In his exchange with the man in the bakery, Anthony Weiner said that God will be his judge, and Mr. Weiner is correct. God is the final arbitrator of right and wrong, and the ultimate judge of the universe. Someday, we will all find ourselves having to account for what we did, or failed to do with the life he gave us. However, that never has, and never will entitle Anthony Weiner, or any of us to a free pass. The norms still apply; we are all members of the same society, and as such, are accountable to ourselves, and to each other, because after all, it’s a matter of cause and effect.