Liberty

 

I recently saw a meme on Facebook that had been reposted by someone I know.  No cats, no gags using a picture of that dashing rum pitchman whose name I don't recall.  Instead, it said that back when people had H1N1 flu, if they felt sick, they stayed home, and nobody had to wear a mask, and wondered why we can't just do that again?  Aside from the willful ignorance comparing the two, the fantasy that one would somehow just "know" they were infected with the coronavirus, was the blatant selfishness that underlay the whole message.

There's this weird notion abroad in the land that my liberty means nobody can expect me to do anything for anyone else, that freedom means I won't be inconvenienced in any way.  These ideas have nothing to do with any reasonable way of thinking.  John Donne, the great English poet and cleric, penned the immortal words, "No man is an island."  He is lifting up a very Christian idea, that we are interconnected, a part of a community.  Caring for one another, doing things in the interest of others is not "socialist" - it's just plain common sense and it is faithful way to follow Jesus, especially during this Advent season.

Read Isaiah 61 or Luke 4 and you'll see what I mean.

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