Does The End Justify The Means?

It is difficult sometimes to go on believing that each of us can make a difference, that each voice really does matter. Often I feel like I’m talking to myself but I can’t seem to stop when I see what is going on. Our world seems to be caught up in rampant violence. Our own country has gone from being a shinning example of respect for human rights and individual freedom to one that uses fear and intimidation in the name of national security to cover human rights abuses and the erosion of civil liberties.

Good people, people who consider themselves moral and right thinking, seem to be accepting and making excuses for behavior they would have condemned before 9/11. Many people seem to have slipped into a fear based mentality that says the end justifies the means. Others are taking advantage of this mentality to advance their own agendas. Perhaps it is not surprising that our political leaders are caught up in these societal convulsions. But it is surprising and disappointing when those who claim Christian beliefs allow fear to take precedence over morality.

The adaptability of humans is a good thing and it contributes largely to the ability to survive. But just like a coin adaptability has another side and it is not so good. It is the strong tendency to rationalize. And rationalization is a sly dog. It wraps itself in noble sounding motives and masquerades as truth not only to others but to us. We become so immersed in our rationalizations that they become our reality and we seem unable or unwilling to recognize our self-deceptions.

To check for self-deception ask yourself if you agree with the following statements:
It is all right for my child to lie, cheat and steal to achieve his goals.
It is all right for my child to be incarcerated indefinitely without legal recourse.
It is all right for my child to be tortured.

Not many, I venture, would agree with such statements. So, since everybody is somebody’s child where does the basic Christian tenet “do unto others” fit into this picture? If we would not agree with or excuse these things for our own children, how can we, in good conscience, do so with the children of others? And yet, that is exactly what we agree to when we allow "the end justifies the means" to be the basis on which our government conducts the business of our country.