You Can't Pull the Plug On Justice

I know I've posted on the Terri Schiavo case several times, now. For those of you tiring of my rants, I'm sorry. I have no desire to bore anyone. I do ask you to bear with me, though. I see this as an important, pivotal time in our nation's history. Never has such a case been so widely publicized, with such emotion, vitriol, and facts interwoven with fantasies. Here are two quotes that I think pertain to the subject at hand.

"I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep forever. . ."--Thomas Jefferson

"The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time; the hand of force may destroy, but cannot disjoin them." --Thomas Jefferson

Ms. Schiavo has an unalienable right to life. Unfortunately, our court system doesn't comprehend the Constitution or the intent of our Founders. Just as our government puts squabbling parents' rights above their children's welfare, so have they put Michael Schiavo's "rights" as a husband above Terri's welfare, and her rights as a human being are subordinate to his, apparently.

We live in a time of rampant "no-fault divorce" for vague "irreconcilable differences." Obtaining a divorce for any reason at all is a snap. If I don't like the way my wife chews her food, I can draw up divorce papers. If I don't like the way she looks at me when I belch in public, I can draw up divorce papers. If she turns the channel during the premere episode of Desperately Stupid Housewives, I can draw up divorce papers. I can divorce my wife for legitimate reasons, or for no reason at all. The terms of marriage form the most dissoluble contract in existence. Spouses are an easily traded commodity.

And yet Michael Schiavo should be the arbiter of life and death over his spouse--a woman with whom he no longer lives--while indulging in a relationship with another woman, which includes children? That is the height of absurdity. This "man" has shirked his responsibilities as a husband. He has violated and spat upon his marital vows. He has disowned any entitlement to a voice in the matter, whatsoever.

The measure of a society is how it treats the least of its citizens. By "least," I mean the least in ability, or prospects, or tangible usefulness to the aforementioned society. I speak of the poor, the infirm, the crippled, the mentally impaired, the unwanted. The United States' citizens have a history of compassion for such people. Are they not as human as the rest of us? Are they not just as much children of God?

"And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.' Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink'." --Matthew 25:40-42

A nation that kills the innocent--or stands by and washes its hands of their deaths--is a nation not long for this world. If God is, indeed, just--and I believe that He is--then we're heading into dire straits, full-speed.