THE ONLY THING LEFT NOT TAXABLE

I begin every morning of my life with a pot of coffee and the Marietta Daily Journal. I love to read the opinion pages in the early part of the day before my brain is cluttered with the flotsam of the day’s activities and I applaud the MDJ for including articles that support both conservative and liberal thought.

As one who is losing interest in television news and the edited sound-bites, I see no purpose realized in having two people, whose images are placed side-by-side, barking their positions at each other as the moderator attempts to intervene and allows one or the other to have the “last word”! There is no debate – just shouting! Why not have each state his or her position and then attempt to show how that position is logical – at least that would cause the viewers to think!

In my years of reading, I have realized that our country’s citizens are consumed with a group mentality. Most folks tend to identify with a group ( blacks, whites, gays, straights, religious, non-religious, right to lifers and pro-lifers and etc.) and it seems that identifying oneself as an individual thinker is a relic of the past. Each group claims its legal or moral rights and then shouts those claims at each other either on television or in the print media.

Here is a thought to consider.

If one considers he has a right to commit a specific act, he should ask himself if his claim to that right is legal or moral. Dr. R.C. Sproull recently commented about legal versus moral rights and his words caused me to think.

If it is a legal claim, consider this! There was a time in this country when blacks were legally considered to be three-fifths of a person. It was legal to keep women and blacks from voting. If a white person boarded a bus and there was a black person sitting in the front, it was legal to force the black person to the rear of that bus. I could go on and one about our laws that made specific heinous acts LEGAL, but thank goodness, we the people had the common sense to CHANGE those laws – because they were WRONG! So it only logically follows that we should all realize that laws can be wrong.

Next, if it is a moral claim, then where does one get the “moral” right. Our Declaration of Independence informs us that, “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights …”!
I am amazed that today, very few people believe in a Creator, so from whence do these “moral” rights arise? Why do folks claim a “moral” right when they have no idea of the origin of that right?

If the "rights" that many are so quick to claim are not really based on any legal or moral certainty - then are we not all barbarians?

So, the next time someone writes about their rights – stop for a second and have another sip of coffee. Think! It is about the only thing left that isn’t taxable.