I don't now if any of you have seen the show "Regular Show," but it's been a staple among my siblings and myself for several years know. Though I haven't had so much time for cartoon-watching lately, I found myself watching an episode of the Cartoon Network hit the other day.
In this particular episode, the main duo, Mordecai, and Rigby were annoyed by 'house rules,' and traveled to a land where absolutely no rules existed. At first, they fell in love with the alternate universe overflowing with unrestricted freedom, and immediately exercised this newfound freedom. They did exactly as they pleased.
But then things went wrong.
Other citizens started picking fights simply because 'they wanted to' and there was no rule against it. Someone else stole Mordecai's wallet. Suddenly, the two regulation-haters were becoming acutely aware of the role simple rules played in their safety and their happiness. When they began to argue back that the thieves and bullies couldn't steal or harm, they were viciously accused of "telling others what to do" and began to be ambushed by the surrounding inhabitants. These inhabitants were seething with anger because someone tried to enforce rules that contrasted with their individual pleasure and selfish wants.
Although this was just a kid's cartoon, it really struck a cord with me, and I got the sense it was mirroring our world today.
No one wants rules. The mindset today is that we all live our own separate lives guided by entirely unique moral compasses, and should be allowed to do as we wish. The general feel is that everyone should stay out of everyone else's' business, and we should all be allowed to do as we please -- just as long as we deem it morally acceptable. And anyone who disagrees with this mindset is accused of exactly the same thing as Mordecai and Rigby: they are accused of "telling others what to do."
But the simple fact is that any morally upright and truly respectable society cannot stand this way, and I'm here to say it.
Dearest reader: you can't do whatever you want. Sorry to rain on your individualistic, self-righteous parade, but you have to follow rules. Whether you want to acknowledge it or not, there is such a thing as right and wrong. No, it is not up to your interpretation nor is it up for discussion. Some things are just wrong, regardless of how you want to spin it.
Pretending that we all live completely separate lives is an absolutely ludicrous suggestion! You encounter hundreds of people every day! Your words, thoughts, and especially actions directly, and indirectly affect multitudes of other people! Pretending that we all can live by our own rules, simply because we believe in or "identify with" them is ignorant and obscene. I understand that some things are hazy, and individuals have different viewpoints. Absolutely I am a firm believer in freedom of speech and opinion. Everyone has a voice. But that does not mean that this society can crumble every time anyone with conviction tries to tell another person what they are doing is wrong,
It's not necessarily so much about right and wrong as it is that no one is allowed to comment on anyone else! We're not allowed to give guidance or call anyone out without being bombarded with insults and labels.
Now, I am the first to say that I am hardly without fault, wrong, or flaw. No one can judge another without first judging himself, as in John 8:7 Jesus says "'He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.'" But that does not mean we do not owe it to each other to enforce good and just laws. If you saw a man getting beaten to death, would you intervene? Or, rather. respect the abuser's 'right to follow their own morals'?
The fact is I am my brother's keeper. And so are you. We are all called to help guide one another. We are all called to stand up for right and correct the wrong. Stop enabling. Stop standing by and allowing evil and destruction to consume the world.
You are responsible for changing the world. Start doing it.
