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Your Turn / "Something must be done!!" Are we sure about that?
« on: Today at 11:08:04 AM »
(I apologize in advance if this is too off topic, for I'm struggling to find a very specific theological connection for this point, unless it be the overarching need to submit to God's ways as higher than ours, and to approach all parts of life with the proper humility, rather than thinking that we have all the answers...)
It seems rather plain to me that many, if not all, discussions of societal ills end up boiling down to the same basic outline (in very broad terms): something in the fallen, sinful world goes wrong. (No surprise there.) Group A sees the wrong, and says, "This is horrible! We must do something very drastic immediately to fix this!" Group B sees the wrong, sees what Group A says, and replies, "Yes, I fully agree this is horrible, but the 'something' that you propose doing to fix this problem almost certainly will either: a) not work to fix the problem, or even make it worse, b) cause different, equally bad problems, or c) both. Perhaps we could consider other, less drastic/immediate methods?" And then the argument goes from there, with both sides accusing the other of being uncaring, thoughtless, etc.
I suppose the question I have to put for discussion would be: does it not, on the whole, seem that hasty action, when directed toward broad societal problems, is not advisable? Or put another way: "Don't just sit there, do something!" is proper advice for a specific, immediate, well-defined singular situation in the moment; I would submit that for larger, society-wide discussions, reversing the quote is far more appropriate (with "sit there" not meaning "do nothing," but "gather information and make small movements to attempt to move toward a solution").
It seems rather plain to me that many, if not all, discussions of societal ills end up boiling down to the same basic outline (in very broad terms): something in the fallen, sinful world goes wrong. (No surprise there.) Group A sees the wrong, and says, "This is horrible! We must do something very drastic immediately to fix this!" Group B sees the wrong, sees what Group A says, and replies, "Yes, I fully agree this is horrible, but the 'something' that you propose doing to fix this problem almost certainly will either: a) not work to fix the problem, or even make it worse, b) cause different, equally bad problems, or c) both. Perhaps we could consider other, less drastic/immediate methods?" And then the argument goes from there, with both sides accusing the other of being uncaring, thoughtless, etc.
I suppose the question I have to put for discussion would be: does it not, on the whole, seem that hasty action, when directed toward broad societal problems, is not advisable? Or put another way: "Don't just sit there, do something!" is proper advice for a specific, immediate, well-defined singular situation in the moment; I would submit that for larger, society-wide discussions, reversing the quote is far more appropriate (with "sit there" not meaning "do nothing," but "gather information and make small movements to attempt to move toward a solution").