Gov. Shutdown?

[ncpenn]

It is not sarcasm that I am working toward emigration. I spent three years living in a country with higher taxes and socialized medicine and I would go back if it weren't so hard to get into one of the European Union countries. Instead, I will be content with Canada. I have plans to attend grad school there and see what happens after grad school. I gave up hope that things will get better here. As long as the government is for sale to the organization with the biggest advertising budget there is little hope for the American people.

I think people should be free to live where they want. You're not happy with the US, and think Canada is better, more power to you. I think you're going the wrong direction, but that's obviously a debatable issue.

I too think the US has serious problems that are deep-rooted, but don't see Canada being terribly better. In fact, most of Western civilization at the moment seems to think that morality can be artificially created. People act out, act only in their interest, hurt others, etc. So, the response is more rules, more taxes (to help those who need helping), more regulations, etc.

It won't work. It isn't working.

The answer is that people must have that morality in them (Love your neighbor as yourself). If/when that is the case, for-profit medicine either works or doesn't exist. Elderly are taken care of by those closest to them (not the gov't). Etc, etc, etc . . .

But, here's the monkey wrench in the whole thing. Morality can't exist (for long) in a vacuum. Morality to work requires absolutes and the concept of absolute truth. Otherwise it's okay for me to hurt you if my "relative morality" allows it. Society cannot define morality anymore than thousands of particular premises could ultimately prove a universal conclusion. (Some a is b will never lead to an All a is b conclusion no matter how many "Some a is b" statements are added. Only from a universal premise can you get a universal conclusion. Therefore, to have absolute morality that society conforms to, you must have an absolute standard).

So, to have morality, you must have absolute truth. Absolute truth must come only from an absolute being (as shown above, society cannot be the basis). No man or any other mortal being is absolute . . .

In short, religion is necessary for things to work properly (and a religion that believes in an absolute being). Then of course, the question becomes, which one?