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.
