Time for CCR

Once again, another court case that stirred the masses to be judge, jury and executioner has ended. Just as the Rodney King trial, just as the OJ Simpson trial, just as the Casey Anthony trial, just as the Jodie Arias trial, the George Zimmerman trial resulted in people taking sides.

In case you’ve been under a rock, Zimmerman was found not guilty of either murder or manslaughter in the death of black teenager Trayvon Martin. Now is a time for CCR – not Credence Clearwater Revival, but Constructive Critical Review.

How does this case expose the wrong ways I think and act? Am I more suspicious of people who are a different color or ethnicity than me than I do people who are the same color or ethnicity as me? If a person is wearing a certain style of clothing, do I watch him or her more critically? Am I judging other human beings as guilty before he or she as individuals do anything illegal?

I know what it is like to be viewed as guilty. I have committed no crimes. I have a clean police record. But I am a divorced male and a divorced male who is a father, and because of the thousands of abusive and philandering males and deadbeat dads in our society, I am seen as one of them.

Every American state has No Fault Divorce statutes which were written and enacted in response to the actions of the scum of my gender. The Indiana judge in my divorce case did not care about my attempts to save my family and have my child grow up in a two-parent household. The judge did not scold my ex for not submitting her personal documents like bank records and tax returns like I was ordered to do. I submit 60 percent of my income to child support, even during months when my son is with me and I am directly supporting him. I pay the entire cost of Nik’s travel to and from Arizona and until Nik’s mother gave her permission, I had to escort him on airplanes, which tripled the cost. The first time I ordered my son’s school pictures directly from the photographer, the photographer called my ex to verify it was okay for me to have pictures of my son.

Suzanne Venker, author of The War on Men, and Dr. Helen Smith, author of Men on Strike, each understand the hypocrisy of the laws.

“The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) is easily used against (men) since its definition of violence is so broad that virtually any conflict between partners can be considered abuse,” Venker writes.

“If a woman gets angry for any reason, she can simply accuse a man and men are just assumed guilty in our society,” Smith adds. “This is particularly heinous since violence in domestic relations is almost 50 percent from men and 50 percent from women.”

I do not like being on the wrong side of the guilty or innocent scale. And if I am a follower of Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Bible, then I should be treating others as I want to be treated. Am I? Always?

The Bible also identifies an ultimate judge who will gauge our entire actions and thoughts. That ultimate judge is not me, so what gives me the right to judge others without proof of wrong-doing?

“You have to be suspicious of other people in our society these days,” people close to me have said. They’re correct, but is that the right attitude to have? Is that why our society is what it is these days? Does our society need improving or is it fine the way it is?

I think the state of our society is the worst it’s ever been, and based on what I’ve read in history books and heard from extremely knowledgeable people, that is very very bad.

I want the society I live in to be better, and therefore I need to act and think better. And conduct regular CCRs.