boomboomsroom

Did it all start with God creating Adam and Eve?  Or, did humans naturally evolve over the course of millions of years?  Do you believe in a superior being or do you believe in the Big Bang Theory?

Regardless of your beliefs, do you believe that the beginning of mankind was(somehow) a singular event? You would be hard-pressed to explain it otherwise.

Therefore, weren’t the first and by extension aren’t all humans created equal?  The authors of this nation’s Declaration of Independence thought so.

“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.”

There it is. It’s the preamble to the declaration.  By definition, it is the very basis for what follows.

Abraham Lincoln called it “a rebuke and a stumbling block to tyranny and oppression.”

If you’re on board so far, this leads to a fundamental question.  Who on this earth has any right whatsoever to take the life of another?

Isn’t the answer absolutely no one?  No.  It isn’t.  But, it’s close.

The right to defend yourself, your family, your home, or your country when there is a very real threat to your existence is justified.

Some say this is where it gets a bit grey.  Maybe it is an ever so tiny, tiny, bit grey.  But that is painting with a tiny, tiny brush.  The broad strokes are very clear.

al Qaeda flew planes into the Twin Towers, and the Pentagon, and wanted to hit the White House.  There is ISIS.  The Taliban.  Hamas was formed in 1987 and has been murdering ever since.  Terrorist groups all.

There are(were) many other groups, unfortunately as well.

Nazis.  Mafia.  KKK.  Street gangs.  Drug Cartels.

There are individuals.

Serial Killers.  Vigilanties.  Domestic abusers.  Armed robbers.  Rapists.  Road Ragers.  Jilted lovers.

Ending another’s life without justifiable provocation has gone on since life began.  The human mind can be a very dark and weak space.  You would think that mentally pulling the trigger would be far tougher than physically doing so.  You would hope.

There is a very fine line between civility and incivility.

But, you have no right to take another’s most basic right.  That’s the right to live.

If you believe in an eye for an eye, the punishment for crossing the line should be swift and severe.

If you don’t what is the solution?

We’ve been searching for it since the beginning of mankind.