FORGET ABOUT FIXING THE WORLD. YOU CAN'T!

In the headline of today’s Los Angeles Times: ARE HOMELESS HERE TO STAY? Of course, that’s a big duh. The answer is an unequivocal yes! Jesus told us so: “You will always have the poor among you.” Indeed, in big cities like my own Los Angeles, it’s hard to miss.

But that’s not the only intractable problem in our modern American society.

In the summer of 2014, Michael Brown robbed a convenience store and assaulted the store’s owner. In a subsequent struggle with a police officer, he was shot dead. His city of Ferguson, MO erupted in violence for several days.

A few months later, Attorney General Eric Holder delivered a speech at an event in Atlanta. In it, he lamented the demise of young Mr. Brown. “In the coming days, I will announce updated Justice Department guidance regarding profiling by federal law enforcement…to help end racial profiling, once and for all.”
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Profiling, you say? Even by the reports of his friends, Michael threw the first punch. Twice. And the officer already had an eyewitness report about a young black man carrying a box of cigars.

But let’s forget about that for a moment. What struck me the most about Mr. Holder’s remarks, was his pledge to “end racial profiling.” Forever. Period. Never to return. REALLY?

In truth, the problems that Holder described are not within his power to solve. Only God can turn a hater into a lover.

I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised by this comment, seeing as Mr. Holder worked for a president who truly believed that government held the solutions to all of society’s ills. That we should look to the state to meet our needs. (Witness Mr. Obamas’s composite citizen Julia, from the 2008 campaign.) All of these remedies could be accomplished simply with a stroke of the president’s pen.

If only.

Last week we witnessed another school shooting, this time in Florida. Once again we see our fellow citizens marching in the streets, calling for new restrictions on the sale of guns. We need new laws with harsher penalties. And some tell us that we can actually “eliminate school shootings,” period. How do we do it? Make sure the teachers are packin’. Install airport-style checkpoints. Up-armor the buses and buildings. Or even better, let’s lock up our guns so tightly that we can’t get to them when we need them. On and on.

Trouble is, none of this will change the hearts of people who are determined to do wrong. You lock a door, they find an open window. Only God can take away their desire to force their way in.

With the iron hand of the state (aided by the sensationalist media), you can bully me into good behavior. (At least, for a time.) You can shame me into a closet with my prejudices, so that I make sure to get my picture taken with a black guy and a Jewish guy and a lesbian. (At least, for a time.)
See, some of my best friends are...! And I can fool you into thinking that I'm a regular guy, just like you.

But I will remain the same racist, sexist, homophobic jerk that I was before.This is not the kind of thing that we can just legislate away.

Just as we will always have the poor among us, methinks the same applies to crime, racism, and police brutality. The cost of freedom in America, is that we will always have people who abuse those freedoms. I refuse to accept a “solution” that only serves to restrict the freedoms of the rest of us.

Which, of course, is not to say that we should just sit back and do nothing. I say, let’s do all we can to serve the poor. To hold our police accountable. Or to protect our children from the crazies. But let’s not fool ourselves: All the king’s horses and all the king’s men, can never feed and house everyone. Or stop a hater from hating. No act of Congress, and no executive order from any sovereign anywhere, can force me to love my neighbor. You can sue me; you can prosecute me for the vilest felonies; you can beat me with a whip and lock me up for a thousand lifetimes.

But you can’t control my thoughts or change my attitudes. You won’t stop me from trying. Only God can do that, but we all can have a part in the process. What will you do?
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