London Times Obituary of the late Mr. Common Sense

“Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: Knowing when to come in out of the rain; why the early bird gets the worm; Life isn't always fair; and maybe it was my fault. Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition. Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an Elastoplast to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion. Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault. Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realise that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement. Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; along with his daughter and son, Responsibility and Reason. He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim. Not many attended his funeral because so few realised he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.”

Don't dare call me racist...the love of my life is Jewish!

Culture is not morally neutral. Skin colour and etnnicity are. God does not call me to embrace every aspect of every culture. If I did, I would automatically be embracing certain presuppositions that are ungodly. But I must love and embrace people without regard for their ethnic background. This is something my parents taught me from the time I was young and I'm thankful for it. In fact I enjoy the company of people who look the same as me (Caucasian) and people who look different from me. Ethnic prejudice and hatred is stupid to God, and so its stupid to me too. I just don't get it!

I expressed this sentiment on my Facebook wall yesterday, with a simple line something like: "Aaron is discouraged that skin colour still factors into people's decisions." The responses I received ranged in flavour from "I agree", to "that's racist", to "what do you mean?". Very simply I was reacting to the multiplicity of people who were interviewed on national television (CBS) who said that they voted for Obama because he was black. Of course others likely didn't vote for him because he wasn't white (like KKK idiots), and others likely voted for Palin strictly because she was female, etc. But what I don't get is why any person who is a student of history would consider skin colour in their vote. Should one not vote because of the views/beliefs/policies/experience/character of the person? Skin colour or gender for that matter should not be the issue. But that's what many, many were saying influenced their vote(not my interpretation--their words).

The purpose of this blog entry is NOT to debate Obama's credentials, the outcome of the election, or to suggest that the majority of Obama-voters considered skin colour (so don't bother posting comments to that affect--I'll ignore them!). The purpose is to remind my handful of readers that we should not judge a man's fitness to rule, or be our friend for that matter, based on his ethnic background, period. It's one thing to rejoice in the historical significance of Obama's election as a man of African descent. This does on one hand point to an acceptance of all men as equally worthy of governing. On the other hand, if one votes based on colour (and this includes whites who vote only white), the very push for ethnic inclusivity that Jesus pushed for continues to be threatened.