Agabus (mark adams)

Rethinking what it means to be human

Mark Adams — Sat, 11 May 2013 17:19:23 +0000

Lately, I’ve been musing about what it means to be human in the modern age. Visit http://2-xl.net/?p=196 to read “Rethinking what it means to be human.”

Patriotism

Mark Adams — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 01:15:57 +0000

Law. Justice. Patriotism.

Youth and alcohol

Mark Adams — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 16:16:48 +0000

Here is the scene: Young people gather in a home for a party. They are drinking. Some pass out. Later, an unconscious teenager is sexually assaulted. The deed is photographed. People watch. Photos and video are sent out. The event goes viral.

Such a scene played out in Saratoga, California in September, 2012. And also Steubenville, Ohio. And also elsewhere. And repeatedly.

The Saratoga case is especially grievous, as the young victim, Aurie Pott, committed suicide 10 days after the crime (see story here).

The common denominator in these cases is alcohol. While drunkenness cannot be accepted as an excuse, it must be examined as a contributing factor. Emerging studies show that alcohol doesn’t incapacitate ones mental faculties as is generally supposed — that people are unaware of the things they do — but that alcohol causes people simply not to care (see story here). Again, these studies don’t excuse the boys’ behavior, but such studies certainly expand our understanding of the problem, and we should arm ourselves with this knowledge.

Unfortunately, we do not.

The typical response to such cases is outrage. Boys are told to respect young women. (One college student even produced a viral YouTube video on the subject.) Schools implement anti-bullying policies. People proclaim the victim is not to blame. The problem with all of this activity is that people simply do not care, when they are intoxicated. All this outrage falls on deaf, uncaring ears once the keg is popped.

Now, it is possible that Pott’s assailants were not inebriated. It is possible that, sober, they simply did not care. And, frankly, it is obvious that an entire community of young people, those who shared images of the assault, did not care. But, alcohol was readily available at the party, and the victim was indeed so intoxicated that she passed out. Alcohol was a factor.

For my part, I would not discourage people’s attempts to address the social problem of bullying, but I would also not ignore the obvious issues, namely substance abuse among teens and the general decline of morality in our society.

True marriage equality

Mark Adams — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 19:09:07 +0000

As the Supreme Court ponders the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8 and the federal government’s Defense of Marriage Act, it should be noted that traditional marriage was never intended to discriminate against homosexuals. In fact, I don’t know that anyone has argued such a point. What is posited is that traditional marriage no longer represents the values of society, that it has become discriminatory. If the Supreme Court rules that traditional marriage is, in fact, discriminatory, merely extending marriage to same-sex couples will do little to establish true marriage equality.

The problem with the institution is that marriage, however it is defined, is an exclusive relationship. If the rights of marriage are extended to homosexual couples, vast classes of people will still be excluded. Though I do not support polygamy, if marriage is to be redefined, the definition should include polygamous parties. Why should it not? Polygamy is a normative institution in much of the world, and outlawing it in the United States harms immigrants who are already involved in such an arrangement. Simply that it is not normative behavior in the U.S. should not exclude it from constitutional protections.

And there is another, more common class of people who are harmed by the current rules: singletons.

It may defy logic to include single people in the definition of marriage, but such will prove necessary if “equal protection” carries the day in the gay marriage cause. By virtue of being single, I am unable to enjoy the benefits of marriage. Some might say, “Well, you can always get married” — and, yes, that is true; but it is also true of homosexuals: any gay person can marry someone of the opposite sex. Why is it that I cannot, as a single person, enjoy the financial and legal benefits of marriage? Why are my health and social security benefits limited to me, when such are shared by married couples? Why am I excluded from any other of the myriad of benefits shared by married couples?

Given that singletons are a growing class, such considerations are not extravagant. If we are going to redefine marriage, why stop with homosexuals? Will such ensure true marriage equality?

Extending the marriage contract to everyone might deprive gays of their civil rights spotlight, but the Constitution was not ratified to champion individual agendas, but universal freedom. I am for true marriage equality, or else the status quo.

Peace broken in Central African Republic

Mark Adams — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 17:52:19 +0000

The peace was tenuous at best. Now, it’s broken. Rebels have taken the capital of Central African Republic. Pray for peace.

Aljazeera: Bodies found in Central African capital

Bono’s first days in Ethiopia, 1985

Mark Adams — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 19:53:23 +0000

Bono the humanitarian would almost be a cliche if his actions were not so extraordinarily generous. It may be said that Bono has a big ego, but he has a bigger heart. His work in famine relief, economic development and debt forgiveness is truly worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize. His humanitarian efforts began quietly in 1985, when Bono and his wife Ali visited a relief camp in Africa. He wanted to do something to change world, not merely to sing about it. The video above is remarkable in that this “secret” mission has never really been documented, besides a few references in biographies, so it is a treasure to watch.

Woman offered $10,000 to abort baby

Mark Adams — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 19:42:57 +0000

From NBC News:

Crystal Kelley got paid $22,000 to have a baby. But that wasn’t the only offer the 29-year-old Connecticut mother of two received. After an utrasound at 21-weeks revealed significant medical issues, the parents offered her $10,000 more if she agreed to an abortion.

The gross immorality of that second offer tells us that there is a lot wrong with the first arrangement. It is intolerable that our society continues to put up with an unregulated, free market in hiring cash-starved women to make babies. — link

A little later in the article…

According to a CNN report, Crystal Kelley then got a letter from an attorney named Douglas Fishman reminding her that her surrogacy contract required her to get an abortion in the case “of severe fetus abnormality.” The lawyer told her that if she did not promptly get an abortion the no-longer-wannabe-parents would sue her to get back the money they’d paid along with the money they’d spent on Crystal’s medical bills and legal fees.

I’m certainly not an advocate of government interference. Less government is preferable to more government. However, government is necessary to regulate behavior between individuals. The unborn are rarely included in these conversations, and the article cited above does not consider the interests of the unborn child, but scarcely are relations between people considered also. Contracting another person to have your baby is an ugly business, especially if there are no rules. Under these circumstances, those that control the funds determine the outcome, and that is not the basis for morality.

You may be forced to participate in gay weddings

Mark Adams — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 00:33:03 +0000

Consider that state law may force citizens to participate in gay marriage ceremonies. According to NBC News, the owner of an Oregon bakery must answer to the government why he refused to make a cake for a gay couple, after a complaint was filed against him to the state justice department. “I believe that marriage is a religious institution ordained by God,” said Aaron Klein, speaking to the media. “A man should leave his mother and father and cling to his wife … that to me is the beginning of marriage.” If the women prevail, Ortiz may have to set aside his constitutionally protected religious beliefs, and participate in a gay ceremony.

“Nones” on the Rise

Mark Adams — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 20:06:44 +0000

According to the Pew Research Center, one in five Americans is religiously unaffiliated. Popularly called “nones,” how is the church to reach them? I preached on this topic at my church this Sunday. The sermon can be found here: “The Rise of the ‘Nones’”. The Pew Research Center’s report can be found here.

NBC: Faced with blindness, deaf twins choose euthanasia

Mark Adams — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 19:20:37 +0000

Reports NBC News: “When [the men] became blind as well as deaf… they would not have been able to lead autonomous lives, and that with only a sense of touch they had no prospects of a future” (emphasis mine).

What sort of world are we engineering when such decisions can be made and sanctioned by a lawful government? Read the rest of the story –

Faced with blindness, deaf twins choose euthanasia
By Annabel Roberts, Correspondent, NBC News

A pair of adult identical twins in Belgium have been legally killed at their request, the men’s doctor told journalists.

The 45-years-old men, who were born deaf, spent their lives side-by-side — growing up together and then, as adults, sharing an apartment and working as cobblers together, according to Belgian media reports.

The men’s names have not been released but photographs of the identical twins from the Antwerp region have been made available to some media outlets.

Their doctor, David Dufour, told Belgium’s RTL Television over the weekend that the two men had been losing their eyesight for several years and soon would have been completely blind. The prospect of being blind as well as deaf was unbearable to them, he said.

“They were fully aware of their decision,” Dufour said.

After winning approval from the necessary authorities, the two men received lethal injections at a Belgian hospital in December.

Dufour described their last moments: “They had a last cup of coffee and everything was fine. They said goodbye to their parents and brother and all was serene. They waved — and that was that.”