Happiness

The forefather of the USA were quite a smart bunch of people. They were quite the forward thinkers of their time. They recognized that in a modern society, religion has no place in the running of a country or in politics for that matter even though some of them were extremely religious. This resulted in the separated of church and state which was a totally alien concept at that time. Yes we can argue that this was not always practiced in American history but the idea was ultimately a good one. It brought much progress to the country without the usual "religio-political" entanglements that the countries during that time had to deal with. In their wisdom they decided they religion had no part in politics and vice-versa.

But perhaps the best and most radical statement made by the founding fathers of the US was the right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" and that "all men are created equal under God." Even going to the extent of holding those truths to be self evident.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. "

These statements are found in the American Declaration Of Independence and from my point of view can be divided into two parts. The first part is about the right to life, liberty and the equality of all men. It means that a man's life is his standard of value and it is his country's duty to protect him and his freedoms. Nobody can force a man to do something he doesn't want to do. Period. Unless he has broken the laws of the land. The laws of the land must also be crafted in a way that forbids any entity (corporations, companies, people etc...) to take a man's freedom and security away. It must be fair, balanced and unbiased for justice to be done not tyrannical.


Keep in mind that among the group of people that came up with these ideas, some of them were slave owners. Why would they come up with such ideas and open themselves up to accusations of double standards? Why don't just abolish slavery right away? I guess they thought that such ideas were too radical for people of that time to accept, but it still had to be proclaimed because it was the right thing to do, they perhaps also did it in the hope that future generations would fulfill it. Think about it, it took a civil war to abolish slavery in the US. Martin Luther King Jr. lost his life while fighting for equal rights for African Americans. So perhaps they had a point.

But even these ideas had their limit. And the founding fathers of the US seem to accept that as well. Although life, liberty and equality must be guaranteed to you, happiness is not. It must be pursued. Imagine that. Although you are guaranteed everything needed to live a good life under such a declaration, happiness is not one of them. This begs the question. Are you happy? Have the things you pursued made you happy? If not, maybe you should try Jesus Christ. I did, and although life may not be smooth going for me by any standard. I am happy.

When Judy Falls

When Judy falls
The word goes out to one and all
When Judy falls
The whole world seems to heed her haunting call

And when she falls
It marks the start of spring
The air is filled with bird-song
And Nature sings along when Judy falls

When Judy falls
Her hopes are oh so high she's walking tall
And when she falls
She's hoping she's the apple of some eye

But if she falls in vain
We'll surely hear the sound
Of hopes that start to crumble
And silent birds that tumble to the ground

Love is always new
When Judy makes the rules and breaks them too
Love is never old
She doesn't wait around till hearts grow cold
She believes in weaving dreams
And nothing's ever what it seems
When Judy falls

But if she falls in vain
We'll surely hear the sound
Of hopes that start to crumble
And silent birds that tumble to the ground

Mike Mcgurk

Update

Just a little update on the situation. My chicken pox has come and gone, thank God that I came off relatively unscathed. And after the bribery thing in Indonesia, I am toying with the idea of resigning from my job sometime soon. Maybe it is for the best that I keep away from situations that will tempt me to do the wrong thing (aka pay a bribe or something or something like that). I learnt that from Joseph in the Bible, when he was being seduced by Potiphar's wife he ran away. So I guess I should run away as well.

I see this whole incident as a struggle between my morals (which is defined by my faith) and the morals of the world. I could make my life much easier by dropping my morals and just do what I am being tempted to do, which is a very attractive option. But I know doing it will destroy my faith, it is a dive downwards that will be very difficult to recover from and that is not what I need right now.

Now all that remains is gathering up the courage and strength to do it. Questions still remain in my mind on whether I am doing the right thing by God and what to do in the future. What job will I apply for? Will I even find a job on time if I were to leave? The financial impact on resigning is quite obvious. Some would say that I should trust God for my providence and that He will not leave me hanging if I was doing the right thing. But actually trusting Him is a whole different thing. I guess it is time to dive in. I pray that God will catch me.