Today I had the pleasure of meeting a new acquaintance. I had never met this gentleman, he was a new customer to my company and while he was in my store, we struck a very lively conversation that spanned the topics of religion, politics, moral values and friendship. Our meeting struck me as serendipitous because this man is Jewish Orthodox and we met days after the horrendous attack on the Pittsburgh synagogue.
I live in a large metropolitan area, but I must admit I don’t know more than a few Jewish individuals, none of which are close friends or family. That’s not by choice, it just seems to have been circumstantial – I simply haven’t met many throughout my life so I don’t know a whole lot about their beliefs. So I was thrilled to have this opportunity to understand his perspective on the tragedy. His opinion on the matter, which was apparently rooted in Jewish theology, resonated with me.
Our conversation began quite simple, with the standard exchange of pleasantries, but it swiftly turned into a theological lesson. He was very open about explaining his religious beliefs and those that are shared by strict adherents to Jewish Orthodoxy. I had more questions than time to ask during our exchange, but he made one point very clear about his religion that exemplifies perhaps one of the most important dynamics of a liberty loving society – personal responsibility.
Given the timing of events around our conversation, I had to ask him why he thought there is so much hatred targeted toward Jewish people. Now I don’t want to accidentally insult his religion by incorrectly reiterating his words here, so I’ll summarize in my own terms the theme of his lesson (please excuse me if I do misconstrue Jewish beliefs – but even if I do, my take-away from this conversation serves as a valuable lesson regardless). According to my new friend, Jewish people have come to believe that when something bad happens to them, such as this synagogue massacre, God is intentionally punishing them so they can reflect upon their life and dedicate themselves to being a better person and more adherent to their religious faith. If I understood him correctly, when something bad happens to a member of his religion, they all take the opportunity to improve themselves, because if they don’t continue to be better, God will inflict more harm upon them to continue pushing them towards being better. This is a very profound doctrine and one that I think serves as a great example for everyone to follow, even if you are not Jewish.
This belief is the ultimate expression of taking personal responsibility. Here you have an unthinkable act of violence perpetrated on people simply because they are Jewish, and the Orthodox Jewish community responds by vowing to be better people themselves. They don’t pursuit revenge, or complain about how they weren’t being properly protected by our government, or any of the multitude of reactions most people would express, but instead they look inward and strive to become better people. Imagine if every single American lived by this creed. That every time someone got a ticket, or tripped on the sidewalk or got fired from their job, instead of complaining about all the uncontrollable factors in their life that suppressed them, they got up and vowed to be all-around better people. There would gradually be a steady improvement in every aspect of our culture and society.
If you cherish liberty, it is imperative that you live by some religious values or follow moral and ethical codes. If liberty to you means freedom from government constraints on society, than the only acceptable alternative constraints on human behavior are religious values, morals and ethics. Ultimately you must choose between the two or face a Leviathan. Unfortunately, I believe America is experiencing moral decay. Religion is increasingly under attack, racial tensions are mounting, common decency is on the decline, work ethic is eroding, violence is more acceptable, lawsuits are too common, political disputes are no longer amicable, our government is growing beyond recognition, political power is consolidating, public and private debts are rising, and crime is rampant. Everywhere the media turns the camera, they are exposing another unfortunate dynamic of American culture. The problem with a general decline in morality in America, is it makes the argument for greater government intrusion more appealing to people. If people don’t trust that other people are generally good and that they follow moral and ethical codes, then who else is going to keep everyone in-line – too often the unfortunate answer is government. So it is imperative, that if you don’t want the government to expand into more facets of our lives, you should strive to be a better person. This is the burden liberty. If you own a gun, you should exhibit great restraint. If you speak freely, you should choose words wisely. If you assemble, it should be peaceably. If you publish, your words should be respectful. If you worship, it should be tolerant. When people don’t take these responsibilities seriously they only jeopardize those liberties.
American liberties are constantly under siege. Events such as the synagogue attack, unfortunately always result in political lobbying to suppress our liberties, especially our freedom to bear arms. There is little we can do to persuade those Americans that respond this way other than fight them politically – as they do not cherish liberty. But those of us that do value liberty, we should follow the example set by the Orthodox Jewish community and recharge our commitment to being better people. By taking greater responsibility for our own actions and striving to be better moral agents, we are doing the greatest service to prolonging our beloved liberties.
Liberty rules,
Viktor Liber
Liberty Concord 