The Dignity of Man

I have been reminded recently of how we use words to dehumanize people. I recently read the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William Schirer. It chronicles the heinous crimes committed by Hitler and how he held an entire nation in his sway. It always amazes me how he used the power of words to form people's perceptions.

In the business world, there is much talk about "creating efficiencies within FTEs" (Full Time Equivalents). In the common parlance, this simply means that a company will be firing people.
In the world of abortion, a decapitated baby is known as a fetus. In the world of war, a slaughtered and broken human being is known as collateral damage. In the world of politics, the mentally ill are known as liberals. In the world of project management, a bright young person is reduced to being called a mere resource (an expendable item).

While some of these terms may not seem insidious at first, all of these words represent a movement away from recognizing the personhood of an indvidual. It is much easier to reduce FTE, than to throw Bob on the street with no way to provide for his family. It is much easier to perform dilation and curettage, than to murder a small, helpless child.

All of these words are the words of the furnace. The words that paved the road to Auschwitz and Treblinka. They slowly steal our humanity and allow human beings to act with rapacious cruelty. Once the dignity of man is lost, anything is possible.

This is why the Christian worldview most adequately preserves the proper notion of humanity. Man is created in the image of God and therefore has immense dignity and profound purpose. On the other hand, mankind is also fallen and prone to despicable acts. The dignity of mankind insures that I treat every human being with respect and honor, but the fallen nature in everyone curbs unfounded trust.

Fairness Doctrine - Socialist Doubletalk

One of the most preposterous pieces of legislation to be birthed out of a socialist mindset is the Fairness Doctrine. The Fairness Doctrine endeavors to force radio broadcasters to provide equal time for different points of view. Since the federal government owns the airwaves, the proponents of this argument believe that the government has the right to strong arm broadcasters into avoiding "viewpoint discrimination".

First, one must ask who determines what viewpoints to broadcast? Who should determine when a different vantage point is needed? The government somehow believes that a group of individuals will be able to fairly arbitrate this matter. No doubt that conservative and Christian voices will have to be juxtaposed with other points of view. How about National Public Radio (NPR)? I'm sure that the newly appointed thought police will deign that NPR already presents a balanced slate of viewpoints.

How many viewpoints are enough viewpoints? No one can say for certain. On any given topic, there must be millions of possible positions. We could waste a century of air time just discussing whether or not one should use paper or plastic at the grocery store.

There is little doubt that the Fairness Doctrine will destroy talk radio as we currently know it. Broadcasting is fueled by marketing dollars. When people can no longer listen to the voices that they resonate with, they will no doubt find a different medium. Marketing dollars will dry up and the liberals will have their day of triumph over Rush Limbaugh and Shawn Hannity.

Who truly owns the airwaves? Is it not the American people? Don't we already vote our values by making conservative and Christian radio profitable? It may have never occurred to the Fairness Doctrine ilk, but maybe there is a reason why liberal radio cannot get any legs under it.

I can't help to think that the liberals also want to silence Christian broadcasting such as James Dobson and the legion of radio pastors who bring God's word to America's airwaves.

When proponents of free speech will champion pornography and the likes of Howard Stern, but try to silence conservatives and Christians, I think we have truly forgotten which hand is our right hand and which is our left. By the way, both Clinton and Obama have lent their support to the Fairness Doctrine.

To watch a video series on the silencing Christians in America, go to http://silencingchristians.com/.

To read an article concerning the Fairness Doctrine, visit statesman.com.

The Existence of Evil

A Void Filled by Reading

Between business trips to Manhattan and Jersey City, family illness and acclimating to a new job, I had not blogged much the last few weeks. I've been busy reading. Here is my current incomplete tally:

The Trilogy of Francis Schaeffer's works
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William Schirer
Portrait of Obedience - Biography of Robert Ketcham
The Life of John Wesley
The Life of Johann Kepler
The Life God Blesses by Jim Cymbala
Genesis, Exodus, Matthew
Teaching to Change Lives by Howard Hendrix
Preparing Sons to Provide for a Single-Income Family by Steven Maxwell
Volume 1 - Spurgeon Sermons by C.H. Spurgeon
The Future of Justification by John Piper