On Rebellion
My father-in-law has been complaining that we have not been updating this blog enough. While I surely have many things I can, and will, blog about, this morning I am going to actually respond to his own blog. Mostly because my response is lengthy. So you may wish to read his blog entry on authority in order to fully appreciate this post. However, if you don't want to do that, hopefully I'll be able to relate the most salient point to which I shall respond.
My mother-in-law apparently claims her husband is a rebel. He disagrees with this claim, and paraphrases Proverbs 17:11, claiming that "only evil men seek rebellion." This is where I find I must protest.
Proverbs 17:11 reads "An evil man seeketh only rebellion" - this is different from saying "only evil men seek rebellion." The implication in the latter is that rebellion is brought about only by evil, whereas the former says that evil seeks nothing but rebellion. The difference is key.
To claim that all rebellion is brought about by evil-doers is to imply that the founding fathers of our great nation were evil. It would also imply that Alma, the former priest of Noah, was evil. Surely there are times when righteous rebellion can take place. Yet one may choose to cite D&C 134:5, in which we are told that "... sedition and rebellion are unbecoming every citizen..." Such a cropping of the full statement leaves out the key qualifiers:
"We believe that all men are bound to sustain and uphold the respective governments in which they reside, while protected in their inherent and inalienable rights by the laws of such governments: and that sedition and rebellion are unbecoming every citizen thus protected, and should be punished accordingly; and that all governments have a right to enact such laws as in their own judgments are best calculated to secure the public interest; at the same time, however, holding sacred the freedom of conscience." (emphasis added)
I would not choose to sit by idly while my nation is destroyed by evil-doers who are not protectig the "inherent and inalienable rights" of its people. I would rebel. However, we in the United States, by virtue of our Republic with democratically elected Representatives, can rebel without bloodshed or complete coup d'etats. My rebellion comes when I cast my vote. When I write to my Congressman or my Senator. When I talk with my friends and family about what is going on in the world around us. I do not have to put on army fatigues, hop on the nearest tank, and drive it through the walls of the nearest government building in order to rebel. We live in a nation that has successfully changed executive leadership some 43 times. We have changed who leads in the House of Representatives 60 times. When looking at so other nations, such frequent and relatively harmless regime change is quite impressive.
There is a Simpsons episode in which the family goes to Tanzania, which is announced after they board the plane to have been taken over by a new dictator who has called in New Zanzibar. Then, when they land, they are told that it is now Pepsi Presents: New Zanzibar. Then at the end of the episode, it is revealed that their tour-guide, Kitenge, is the new benevolent dictator of Pepsi Presents: New Zanzibar, while the recenty-ousted dictator is now a flight attendant. We are blessed to live in a nation where such rebellion and regime change is not necessary. But I will continue to rebel by making my voice heard. As Coalhouse Walker, Jr says at the end of Ragtime: The Musical : Teach every child to raise his voice, and then, my brothers, then, will justice be demanded by 10,000,000 righteous men. Make them hear you! Make them hear you!
My mother-in-law apparently claims her husband is a rebel. He disagrees with this claim, and paraphrases Proverbs 17:11, claiming that "only evil men seek rebellion." This is where I find I must protest.
Proverbs 17:11 reads "An evil man seeketh only rebellion" - this is different from saying "only evil men seek rebellion." The implication in the latter is that rebellion is brought about only by evil, whereas the former says that evil seeks nothing but rebellion. The difference is key.
To claim that all rebellion is brought about by evil-doers is to imply that the founding fathers of our great nation were evil. It would also imply that Alma, the former priest of Noah, was evil. Surely there are times when righteous rebellion can take place. Yet one may choose to cite D&C 134:5, in which we are told that "... sedition and rebellion are unbecoming every citizen..." Such a cropping of the full statement leaves out the key qualifiers:
"We believe that all men are bound to sustain and uphold the respective governments in which they reside, while protected in their inherent and inalienable rights by the laws of such governments: and that sedition and rebellion are unbecoming every citizen thus protected, and should be punished accordingly; and that all governments have a right to enact such laws as in their own judgments are best calculated to secure the public interest; at the same time, however, holding sacred the freedom of conscience." (emphasis added)
I would not choose to sit by idly while my nation is destroyed by evil-doers who are not protectig the "inherent and inalienable rights" of its people. I would rebel. However, we in the United States, by virtue of our Republic with democratically elected Representatives, can rebel without bloodshed or complete coup d'etats. My rebellion comes when I cast my vote. When I write to my Congressman or my Senator. When I talk with my friends and family about what is going on in the world around us. I do not have to put on army fatigues, hop on the nearest tank, and drive it through the walls of the nearest government building in order to rebel. We live in a nation that has successfully changed executive leadership some 43 times. We have changed who leads in the House of Representatives 60 times. When looking at so other nations, such frequent and relatively harmless regime change is quite impressive.
There is a Simpsons episode in which the family goes to Tanzania, which is announced after they board the plane to have been taken over by a new dictator who has called in New Zanzibar. Then, when they land, they are told that it is now Pepsi Presents: New Zanzibar. Then at the end of the episode, it is revealed that their tour-guide, Kitenge, is the new benevolent dictator of Pepsi Presents: New Zanzibar, while the recenty-ousted dictator is now a flight attendant. We are blessed to live in a nation where such rebellion and regime change is not necessary. But I will continue to rebel by making my voice heard. As Coalhouse Walker, Jr says at the end of Ragtime: The Musical : Teach every child to raise his voice, and then, my brothers, then, will justice be demanded by 10,000,000 righteous men. Make them hear you! Make them hear you!
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