apparentparadox (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
apparentparadox) wrote2017-07-16 10:24 am
apparentparadox) wrote2017-07-16 10:24 am
An analogy
I've been formulating this analogy in my mind lately. It still needs some work, but I thought I'd share it anyway.
An alcoholic regularly gets drunk and drives home. Most of the time, nothing happens. Occasionally, the drunk is involved in some kind of mishap that only affects their own property (dings to the car, dents to the mailbox, etc.) One night, the drunk hits another car, killing one adult and one child, leaving the remainder of the family alive but in emotional agony and financial ruin. After sobering up, the drunk tearfully exclaims "I didn't mean to hurt anyone" and begs for forgiveness.
This is how I feel about people who register & vote Republican or who attend churches who get involved in civil matters (such as whether same sex marriage should be recognized by the government). Sure, if you asked some of those people, they would say that they personally don't agree with the Republican party or their church on those things. But, to me, they are like the drunk who didn't plan to hurt anyone. They support (through their time, money, and presence) organizations that do harm to others.
An alcoholic regularly gets drunk and drives home. Most of the time, nothing happens. Occasionally, the drunk is involved in some kind of mishap that only affects their own property (dings to the car, dents to the mailbox, etc.) One night, the drunk hits another car, killing one adult and one child, leaving the remainder of the family alive but in emotional agony and financial ruin. After sobering up, the drunk tearfully exclaims "I didn't mean to hurt anyone" and begs for forgiveness.
This is how I feel about people who register & vote Republican or who attend churches who get involved in civil matters (such as whether same sex marriage should be recognized by the government). Sure, if you asked some of those people, they would say that they personally don't agree with the Republican party or their church on those things. But, to me, they are like the drunk who didn't plan to hurt anyone. They support (through their time, money, and presence) organizations that do harm to others.
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And I don't believe that anyone deserves forgiveness just because they now claim to be sorry. If they were really sorry, they would try to make amends in some way. Of course, you can't undo the past, but they could take actions to make things better, such as being very public and open about the mistake and trying to convince others who are making that same mistake to re-evaluate.
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