The Joke Is On Us

Ah danggit, we've been duped!! 

Go ahead and admit it, we fell for it. The joke is on us, and you know what, we deserve it. 

What am I talking about, you wonder? I'm talking about the lie we bought when we fell for the idea that moral absolutes were a thing of the past that everyone had outgrown. You remember, don't you? Christians were lectured by everyone about how morals were not absolute, but varied from culture to culture. Remember the rhetoric? We can't impose our views on others, it is wrong. We were made to feel like the scum of the earth for projecting our "superior" moral standards on those who have the right to do what they think is right for them. It is their life, as long as they are not bothering us. 

Do we all remember this narrative which circulated over recent years?

Now open your eyes and look where we are. The tables have turned. Those whose moral standards used to pace the culture, are now the one's having the absolute morality of the others pushed down their throats to point of asphyxiation. Like the revolutionary leader who stirs up the masses against the wicked king, only to become a harsher dictator once he's assumed power, so have the once "liberators" of tyrannical moralists become the tyrants themselves.

Proof In The Pudding

Take for example the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The games will be held in February and many Americans will compete against the best in other countries in all sorts of sports and events.

But in case you forgot, there was talk about the United States not participating in the Olympic Games. Do you remember why? Because in the summer of last year (2013), Russia passed a law against any public displays or expressions of homosexuality or distribution of information about homosexuality to children. Americans, especially news outlets, politicians, and activists (examples here, here, and here), were outraged at such bigoted, intolerant actions. They called for boycotts of the Olympics, even Russian vodka. Many took to the streets pouring out Russian vodka (that'll show'em!) to protest such laws. They could not believe anyone had the nerve to violate the moral ethic of approving and even celebrating homosexuality and the homosexual lifestyle. How draconian!

Interestingly, this Russian bill passed with a vote of 436-0. The reasons they stated for creating the legislation was to promote traditional Russian values as opposed to Western liberalism, which they see as corrupting Russian youth. According to the American narrative, we should respect that, right? It is their culture. That's what's right for them. Who are we to say what is right for them? Who are we to impose our moral judgments over their country?

Do you sniff the hypocrisy dripping from the American outcry? I thought we believed that morality was not legislated by any group of people, but rather it was relative to each culture? I thought what was good for them is good for them and what is good for us is good for us? Surely we are not inserting ourselves as Russia's moral police, right? After all, the same people upset over Russia's anti-gay laws would be the same people unwillingly to go to war over injustices like tyrannical governments killing its citizens. We don't want to be the world's policemen when it comes to saving lives, but if it comes down to who you can have sex with, then sure, we are there with our blue lights flashing and our sirens ringing.

Unbelievable, But Not Really

So let us say it together, "We. Were. Duped." They pulled one over on us pretty good. We were made to feel like the outdated grandpa who had longed lost his pulse on reality and "the way things are today," only to see those who tore down our belief in absolute morals, build their own version to stand from and cry the absoluteness of it. 

The joke is on us, but I don't see any of us laughing.


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