When Good Men are Silent

I wrote this post some time ago while the health care debate was still raging in the Senate. I hesitated to publish it out of concern that I would offend my friend, however, after a good deal of thought I came to the conclusion that he and others who share his outlook need to read it. To my friend I say this: Please don't take offense and read this essay with an open mind.


I had a conversation with a gentleman I know well yesterday. First, it is necessary to admit that in the course of this conversation I lost my cool and proceeded to verbally prod him to the point of exasperation. That said, we were discussing health care reform. Now I respect this individual greatly, which is one of the reasons I was so shocked when he seemed to not be overly concerned about the issue. I prodded a little with the statement, “If they enact government run health care, I won’t be a part of it. In fact, I don’t think I’ll help pay for it either!” His response was, “You can’t do that! You’ll go to jail!” A simple statement of fact, but it bellied an underlying admission of defeat. In retrospect, I am almost insulted that my friend will apparently blindly and quietly accept whatever comes down the pike from Washington.

The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that an attitude like that will be the largest contributing factor in what may be an inevitable decline of our society. All it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to remain silent and in remaining silent become complicit to acts they would not otherwise condone. How do you defeat something as insidious as state run health care when good, honest men refuse to think about it, much less take a stand? That conversation with my fiend illustrated for me everything I see wrong with the baby-boomer generation. They have not faced a situation that required concerted effort on their part to maintain a stable, free society. They inherited an America from their parents that had been forged into a superpower by the greatest generation’s sacrifices in World War II. They have been coasting ever since. They have always had a country that was free, and they make the faulty assumption that it will always remain so. They refuse to believe that people in power would do anything that would threaten the free society that we enjoy. They are blind to the internal dangers this nation faces because they inherited safe and stable society rather than building and defending a free society themselves. If that large voting block doesn’t wake up soon, they will have lost all that our ancestors fought to gain.

Another thing that struck me during that conversation, and I believe one of the reasons I lost my composure, was that his statement of “You can’t do that! You’ll go to jail!” insulted my intelligence. It was a statement of the obvious consequences of a proposed action. Of course such an action would result in the authorities leveling charges, confiscating money, and bringing the court system to bear upon the offending party. I knew that!! What I would have preferred was a reasoned statement of why such an action would be morally wrong. I would view such an action as an act of self defense against an overreaching, and therefore illegitimate authority. His view appears to be that such an action would be a violation of fiat law and therefore something to be avoided for that reason alone. However, since I know my friend well, I know that on regular occasions he has violated laws that he felt no moral obligation to obey. Perhaps he has done so out of ignorance, however I doubt very much that that is the case. No, sadly I must conclude that either my friend is apathetic, or that he has never asked himself why he holds the beliefs and values that he purports to follow. I want to believe that the latter is true. I am also forced to conclude that my friend has never asked himself what he would to do defend his beliefs. I doubt very much that he has ever asked himself “What would I do if the governing authority took actions that I find morally reprehensible?” I doubt he has ever wondered what he would do if the institutions that he has trusted to defend and protect his way of life betrayed him. I fear if he and others like him don’t honestly ask those hard questions and diligently seek answers that the way of life they have known will perish. All it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to remain silent, and in remaining silent they become complicit in acts they would not otherwise condone!!

Freedom and liberty, the birthright of every human ever born, the right of self-determination: these are only possible when each and every generation jealously guards them. If one generation fails in this task, rather than passing on an inheritance of freedom, they will leave their children with the shackles of tyranny. I challenge my friend and anyone else who has never examined the underlying principles that their world view is built on, to examine their beliefs and ask themselves if they have a consistent philosophy. I challenge them to search their hearts and ask themselves what the logical outcomes of their belief systems are. I challenge them to ask, “What would I do to defend that which I hold dear? How much can I compromise? What actions of others are acceptable in my world view? What would I do to stop that which I believe is wrong?”

For me, this is an on-going process. As I continue to learn and grow, I continually reassess my belief system and the logical conclusions that it leads to. For me, this starts with a belief in an Almighty God and an inerrancy of the Holy Bible. Every other belief and value is measured by that standard. I am constantly trying to bring my whole character into conformity with my first principles. I am continually exploring the logical conclusions of those beliefs. I am continually trying to speak and act in accordance with what I believe to be the truth. I urge you to do the same. Be curious. Ask “Why?” Seek the truth, and when you find it explore all the repercussions it has when practically applied to life. In doing so you will learn what is and is not acceptable, what is good and what is evil, and what in the grand scheme of life doesn’t really matter. With this anchor of truth you will be able to make a stand on principle and not be a victim of those who prey on ignorance.

All it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to remain silent, and in remaining silent they become complicit in acts they would not otherwise condone.