Dear Friends,
It seems to me, the ends do not justify the means; the means taint the ends. In the Machiavellian sense of good ends justifying bad means, the the logic is understood to be flawed. Not only flawed but dangerously and perniciously tarnished. This was understood when people were not ignorant of biblical principles, but today those same principles are nowhere to be found in popular culture, social interactions or are even commonly known. That we have lost such an important measure of rightness, is tragic, that our society is so negatively impacted by such ignorance, is damning.
If we go to get food from the store, no one would carry vegetables through raw sewage, even though that may be the most direct route home. Simply exposing them to effluent will taint the vegetables. This is so obvious to anyone that it is considered common sense. But, just as dragging food through human waste taints that food, using evil means to good ends taints those ends. If we seek freedom and liberty, murdering all those who oppose us, is an evil means that taint the good ends, ie. liberty and freedom. The result will inevitably be tyranny and oppression.
Ignorance is never a form of enlightenment. Western philosophy is based on reason and faith. Reason comes to us from Plato and Aristotle, while faith comes to us by way of Christianity, through Judaism. Far from being incompatible, Christian faith and reason are harmoniously married into a enlightened philosophy. Pragmatic reason shows us that what has resulted in good in the past, is good, and that which has resulted in evil, is evil. Faith teaches us to be on constant guard for evil that couches itself in goodness. If we combine the two, it becomes obvious that doing an evil, can only beget more evil, no matter the intentions. In fact the Bible says, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” When people understood these biblical principles, along with the reason that underlies them, people were better armed to intrinsically understand that the means taint the ends, but when people are ignorant of both reason and faith… they become ripe for the picking.
Schools don’t teach biblical principles anymore due to the spurious claim of separation of church and state. This sophist notion has replaced the original intent of the First Amendment… which was freedom of religion. Now, our children are set adrift in the World, ignorant of biblical principles, unless parents make a herculean effort to establish that knowledge in our little sweethearts. Every bit of propaganda they are taught, from our culture, society and especially politics, undermines this effort. Reason is not taught in schools, rote and following are instead… for political expediency. Reason interferes with the powerful’s ability to convince us, what is not good for us, is good for us. Evil is called good and good is called evil, while we are disarmed of reason and faith as a sword and shield.
A large part of the political establishment today, believe the ends justify the means, and as a result they rationalize using evil means to self interested “good ends.” They don’t openly avow it, but their actions convey it, louder than any words could ever convince. Since the political elite, the cultural and social elite as well, believe that good ends can be achieved by evil means, they put no limits on their actions… to get their ends. They ignore Constitutional limits on government authority, because they presume themselves so enlightened, they need not follow old rules that the elite find limiting. The elite believe they know best and who are a few old dead guys to tell them this or that is evil.
The result is that citizens have neither the reason to understand, the ends do not justify the means; the means taint the ends, nor the faith to be aware that evil always cloaks itself in a sheep’s skin of goodness, as a way to trick us into evil. The elite, who have the advantage of the best education, either are willfully ignorant, and so ignorantly use evil means to what they believe to be good ends, else they do know and are unaffected by the sight and smell of evil. So much of what is purported to be enlightened thinking is based on this pernicious view of good and evil. Abortion is one example, but the list is nearly endless.
We rationalize our evil actions by claiming the intentions are good, proving our ignorance of biblical principles, and our lack of ability to reason. If we truly seek to live in an enlightened society, it is imperative we return to the foundational principles handed down to us by our forefathers… faith and reason. To eschew faith is to act the fool and to forgo reason is to prove ignorance. It is up to us to ask for grace for us and our children and teach our children how to reason. If we don’t, and continue down the road we are on, calamity can be the only result.
Sincerely,
John Pepin
