Should We Care About Right or Left So Much?

It seems like - more than ever - it's all about right and left these days. Question: How much stock do you put in these labels?

For example, do these labels temper your relationships with family and friends? People I know vary here. Some - thankfully - won't let political views destroy or even sour their relationships with loved ones. Maybe with some acquaintances - if they're particularly obnoxious and/or suck up too much of your precious time - but loved ones remain sacrosanct. That's as it should be.

Do you label yourself? Personally, I never liked being labeled, and have avoided identifying with either side. Labeling just doesn't fit well with the fundamental fact that we're all God's children. Labeling can easily allow us to treat "the other side" as less than that. And that's not only unfortunate, but can be dangerous. When people, particularly a group of people, are labeled in a way that reduces their status from human person, whose lives are sacrosanct, even precious, you can easily wind up on the slippery slope to genocide. It's happened over and over again throughout history, most especially since the great-grandaddy of genocides, the French Revolution. (If you're not familiar with how the French Revolution set the standard for the "logic" and method of modern genocide, you'd do well to get up to speed on this. It's had a profound influence on all of us in so many ways - all of which are bad.)

On the other hand, the labels have become ubiquitous in everyday conversation in a way they never were in the past. Growing up, I don't remember hearing these, either in family exchange, conversation with friends and neighbors, or even the media. Not that political distinctions didn't exist. You did hear "Democrat" and "Republican" from time to time. But it was mostly around election time. Sure, by the time my little self popped into the great wide world the media did report about the shenanigans of the federal government. (They didn't call them "shenanigans," but I've since learned the description fits a lot of what goes on in Washington D.C.) The media's always sought good stories to attract readers and viewers, and the federal government has always provided a good source, for better or for worse. But the average day could easily pass without any talk or reference to politics, especially if you managed to get through 24 hours without benefit of radio or TV news. (There was no Internet.) How refreshing!

But that's all in the past now. And, like it or not, right and left have finally cleaved our beloved country seemingly in half. Exaggerated? I don't think so. The battle lines have been drawn, like it or not. I think most of us see and sense the division, although we may not agree about the degree or intensity of it.

And, to be clear, I do have some preference for one vs. the other - when push come shove. That preference is based on a perception - right or wrong - that the left now represents Marxism-Socialism-Communism. Being a student of history, with family who lived under Communist regimes, I've learned (and it took some years and some doing) to be vigilant about even the slightest turn in the direction of Marxist-Socialist-Communist policies and practices. Of course, we're already down that road quite a distance, but that road well-traveled does not yet mean an inevitable destination in the hell of Communism - although it could if we're not vigilant. (Again, if you believe that "socialism" is a mild, sort of user-friendly was to organize our society, I'd beg you to study past examples of socialism in action around the world, throughout history. Having done that - and please do so with an open mind - if you possess any critical faculty, an intellect unclouded by prejudice or propaganda, I'd expect you to run from and - as much as possible in your particular circumstances, resist - socialism vigorously.)

Not that "the right" represents all that is good and pure. To the extent this label encompasses those who would twist natural and healthy national pride into bigotry, hatred, and a desire to harm those who do not fit their fit into preconceived boxes of acceptable appearance, belief, forms of expression, etc., then I'm just as vigilant in about their being given any leeway to impose such views on the rest of us.

So, all things considered, I guess we conclude that we both should and should not care about "right" and "left" so much. There is a distinction the we should, however, take quite seriously and - with great urgency - choose sides. It comes up in the Gospels. The distinction? Goats and Sheep. One good place to learn more: The Gospel of St. Matthew, Chapter 25, verses 31-46. It references the end of the world.

Now, the first thing you need to accept, for this to make any sense, is that this world of ours - the universe, in fact, will "end" some day. Given that the Universe began as the result of an act by God, the Creator. It is not infinite and does not exist outside of the Will of God. Those who believe in the God of the Old and New Testaments believe that our Universe, which began in time, will also end in time. And when the Universe ends, every life that was created - body and soul - will be judged by God, for better or for worse.

Those who died before the end of the world would have already undergone separation of their souls from their bodies. At the end of the world, their bodies will re-unite with their souls. (If you don't know or understand this, we don't have time to get into all that here and now. If interested - as you should be - endeavor to learn about it. You won't regret the effort.) Those alive in this world at the time of the end of the world won't need to have body and soul reunited. They will never have separated. (I think that's right, but I'm not a theologian.)

Which brings us to the Last Judgment. The Sistine Chapel in the Vatican in Rome hosts the incredible painting of the Last Judgment by Michelangelo. (You can find images online. I've seen it in person. It's awesome.) Many others have tried to portray the Last Judgment as well, in words or images. Whether any of these accurately portrays the Last Judgment isn't important. What is important, are these words from the Gospel of Matthew:

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne,

32 and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

33 He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me,

36 naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’

37 Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?

38 When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?

39 When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’

40 And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

41 Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,

43 a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’

44 Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’

45 He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’

46 And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

I urge you to read these words thoughtfully and take them to heart. These are the only "labels" that will matter, in the end.

You may also want to read carefully what specifically characterizes either sheep or goat. As you do, I would caution those who consider themselves on the left not to think that you can be a sheep by supporting socialism. It may seem that way in a superficial way. But "you" is quite specific. It refers to each of us as individuals. Those who think their obligation to perform these acts attributed to sheep by supporting socialism will have a rude awakening.

As for those on the right whose behavior reveals goat-like tendencies, your awakening wlll be equally rude.

The good news: As of right now, it seems there's still time to get it right. Whatever may be lacking in your past, or current thoughts and behavior, to get you to the sheep-fold, it's time to "sheep" up. And if you're tempted to wait to sheep up, just remember that we simply don't know when the end of the world will come.

Just sayin'.