Almost two years into the pandemic that has uprooted our previous way of living, the numbers of infected people are plunging again in New Jersey and the Northeastern United States. This is due in large part to vaccination rates, masking, and cautious behavior. Although rates have fallen elsewhere, they have not done so as steeply.
This doesn’t seem to be the only thing that separates us from many other parts of the country, however. We are more open to ideas and discussion than, say, places like Florida or Oklahoma where state legislatures are trying to curtail freedom of discussion and thought. The specter of McCarthyism is rearing its ugly head again.
Why is it that some people are so afraid of ideas, calling freedom indoctrination? What is it about new ways of thinking that are so alarming? The mental midgets who want to control thought reflect fear of change. If history doesn’t teach us much, it does show that revolution follows repression. Freedom of new ideas cannot be repressed forever.
Prayer for the Day
God of sustaining grace, be with us in these times,
As we stand against those who flee from imagined fears;
Free us from the power of our inner demons that chase us to despair
And come to our deserted hearts and fill them with peace.
Transform us with your grace to be your instruments
In a world that needs to be free from fear of change.
In the name of him who came to change the world,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.
- John F. Kennedy, President (1917-1963)
Too many adults wish to 'protect' teenagers when they should be stimulating them to read of life as it is lived.
- Margaret A. Edwards, Librarian (1902-1988)
Wisdom rescued from troubles those who served her.
When the righteous fled from the wrath of others, she guided them on straight paths;
She showed them the kingdom of God, and gave them knowledge of holy things;
She prospered them in their labors, and increased the fruit of their toil.
Wisdom 10: 9-10