What do you know?

I have always found it a major discrepancy that the federal government and even state governments spend money on anti-smoking ads while tobacco farmers are subsidized to continue to raise tobacco. It's also ironic that government sponsored gambling (Lotto) is on the rise while there are so many programs to help with gambling addiction. If something has been determined to do real harm to people, why promote it? Abortion is labelled a "woman's choice" as a form of birth control yet if a pregnant woman is killed, the law can allot the perpetrator 2 counts of murder, one for the mother and one for the unborn child. So is it just a mass of tissue like a tumor to be removed on demand or is it a human being? We all have a US Constitutional right, as well as a God-given right, to freedom. But how far does that go? I once had a little poster that said, "Your right to swing your fist ends at my nose." It's a trite little saying but it still doesn't exactly explain the limits of freedom.
The most recent issue that really scares me is a result of research on PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). It has been noted that some soldiers return from war badly scarred emotionally and mentally. Others, no matter what physical scars they may have, manage to get on with their lives with very little problem. So the suggestion is to look for the genetic make-up that causes the ones who cope with death and destruction and earmark them for going into battle. On the surface, that seems somewhat logical. After all, war among human beings seems unfortunately unavoidable. So what we need is a "master race" of soldiers? During the Viet Nam era, Arlo Guthrie was well known for his "Alice's Restaurant" which talked about getting drafted. He figured at one point in the narration that if he talked and acted like he wanted to maim and kill he might be turned away as a lunatic. There is a really fine line between being able to recognize someone who can kill others without remorse and someone who looks forward to killing.
All of these issues are the source of much heated political discussion. Since we are all different, there are proponents of both sides and everywhere in between. Personally, I figure that alcohol and tobacco do lots of harm and, other than use as a drug to calm or excite, they aren't worth having around. We ought to uncover the strength within us to find self-motivation. And I wish people would take the ability to make more humans seriously rather than just as a form of entertainment that sometimes has undesirable consequences. (I'm not talking about the innocent who are accosted by an angry rapist or immoral relative. And, of course, there is the issue of possible danger to a woman's life but that should be determined solely by the individuals involved- mother, father, doctor.)As for the "good soldiers" issue, I certainly wish we could get along without weapons and destruction. Since we can't, I think our natural abhorrence toward ending another human life should not be genetically encouraged to disappear. A good friend has repeatedly mentioned that it's not WHO is right, but WHAT is right. It isn't just a matter of who has the better lawyer with the better argument. Fortunately, there is a higher intelligence that we can access. Each of us is born with the light of Christ in us, no matter what country or religion or gender. And we have been encouraged over the millenia to seek God's counsel through prayer.
Centuries ago, the prophet Isaiah was warning of the results of thinking we know it all and ignoring God. "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter." (Is 5:20) When any man, or woman, lacks wisdom, they should ask God who gives liberally. He wants us to be wiser and is more than willing to teach us. But we have to want to learn. Then when we all learn what God knows, we won't have war, or abortion, or rape, or drugs.......