Tuesday; January 5

While it has become chic to berate and belittle many of our early national leaders, I still believe that they understood something important about humanity. One of these prolific writers and thinkers was Thomas Jefferson who included an important observation in the Declaration of Independence that stated, “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, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness …”. Again, these words have fallen victim to a lot of criticism recently, but have you ever really taken a look at what is being said? The truth of the statement transcends the times in which they were written and screams to us today! All life – all human life – is valuable. It doesn’t matter if the person is an eighteen-year-old kid living on the street or a millionaire living in a gated community. It doesn’t matter if the person has a job, is living on welfare or off of a trust fund. The value of life is found in an individual being a person, not in the type of person they are. Much of the criticism of this quote has come from government’s treatment of people, but I want to set that aside for a second and talk about it from an individual perspective. Do we – as people – believe this statement? Do we value human life? Not government, not society, not our communities, but do I value human life?

Folks, I am heartsick at how cheap life has become. Drugs and alcohol are reducing the ability of many people to function. Abuse and violence are leaving scars in every aspect of society. Murder and senseless deaths are taking community member’s lives and are robbing us of the talents these people could have used to make this a better place in which to live. We have to start appreciating life and protecting lives! Sure, government has a role in doing this, but it is the local community that can make the biggest difference. Let’s stand up to those who cheapen the value of life. The life we save may belong to someone we know or even our own.

Think About It!

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