A Civil Society Under Threat

     When I began this blog, I made a commitment to comment on the world in which we live.  Sadly, the breakdown of our society and culture seems to be collapsing faster than we can prop it up.  I hesitated to even become a part of this dialogue, but I can also not shy away from making my honest observations.  This last week, the news has been filled with the tragedy that happened in Sanford, Florida a month ago.  Seventeen-year-old Trayvon Martin was killed by neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman.  Those are the facts.
     Beyond that, I can make no judgment until our rule of law plays out.  Unfortunately, in this age of instant news, the media and the internet are playing a huge part in pre-determining the outcome of this case.  It's hard to distinguish the facts from the distortions ---- are we hearing the truth?  Or false and misleading impressions to further the motives of groups that seek to use this tragedy for their own gains?
     A 17-year-old boy lost his life; and a 28-year-old man killed another human being.  And now they are both being judged through the lens of public opinion.  And that lens is far from clear and transparent.  Racism has reared its ugly head and groups like Media Matters have jumped on this tragedy to further their own biased agenda.
    When an unethical and unaccountable "news source" can whip up such hatred that a celebrity feels justified in re-tweeting the alleged address of the shooter, what have we become?   As it turns out, that address was wrong, and an elderly couple are now in danger.   But let's say that address had been correct,  What purpose was there in giving it out?  Are we now subject to mob rule?

"The Rule of Law":  to chastise the guilty
and reward the meritorious; surrounded
by Glory and suited with the armor of
righteousness and wisdom.

     We also have other groups, such as the New Black Panther Party stating that they feel justified in making a "citizen's arrest" of Zimmerman, and they are "indicting him of 1st degree murder" and offering a bounty for his "arrest".  Where are the moral leaders in this tragedy?  Who will stand up and walk us back from this cliff we're about to go barreling over?
     And there are those who want to label the victim a trouble-maker and declare that he somehow was responsible for his own death that night.  His parents maintain that the police's version of the events are inconsistent with what their son told his girlfriend during a phone conversation just prior to the shooting.  It's a sad state of affairs when one can even entertain the thought that law enforcement officials are capable of hindering justice.  Yet we've seen that in the past.
     "Justice" is defined as the administration of the law; the quality of being fair and reasonable.  And it would appear that any semblance of either law or reason are missing in this situation.  It seems that Judgment has already been declared and the violence of that night is being exploited.  Let me be clear:     both Martin and Zimmerman deserve the full and equal implementation of the law.   If found guilty by a jury of his peers, Zimmerman must be punished to the fullest extent of the law.  But a trial in the media and in the court of Public Opinion is not justice;  it only serves to separate and divide us as human beings, while advancing the motives of groups who benefit from our alienation.  Trayvon Martin's life deserves to stand for the truth, whatever it may be.

Isaiah 59:4    "No one calls for justice; no one pleads a case with integrity. They rely on empty arguments, they utter lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to evil."