our crux and our crucible

I was sitting here this morning reading social media and listening to the so-called media, and I became increasingly frustrated. This growing incivility with the Supreme Court nomination is a lot of noise that is missing the point. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, the words "crux" and "crucible" came into my mind. I don't know why and from where. I wasn't even sure I knew what these words meant.

So I pulled out my trusty 1828 Webster Dictionary app and did my search. I was amazed at what I found. 


Here's my story about the crux and the crucible.




What we are witnessing in our civil discourse in recent times is a fundamental fight (war) over abortion. The willingness to subvert age old practices of "due process" and to weaponize "shaming" to get one's way must be coming from somewhere. Everyone thinks they are logical and have evidence to support their truth, but all of this screaming "racism" and "sexism" and pointing fingers is just the fruit of bias.

The problem around abortion and its associated public policy is further advanced by an inherent  human flaw. At the core of the human condition is

the unfailing tendency to use reason and observable evidence to support what we already believe while pretending to use reason and observable evidence to determine what we believe.

What we have is a core bias by some that women have absolute control of their body and that their unborn baby can be an unwanted circumstance. In this case, it is only fair (Constitutional right) that the woman can eliminate the unborn child. After all, they deserve life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. On the other hand, others have a core assumption that an unborn child is a person who also has Constitutional rights. They too deserve life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. A person either interprets the Constitution through their lens of culture or interpret culture through their lens of the Constitution.

So, you see, anything that threatens one's view and interpretation of the Constitution is central to civil war. Anything that challenges our rights or what we deserve is viewed as worth fighting over.

It has been documented and well researched that since the beginning of time the greatest virtue for all humans is justice. But, justice is impossible to resolve because each person's position is sourced in conflicting biases. A bias is an endearing belief that is never questioned but used to judge everything else.  A 'crux' is anything that puzzles or vexes. Among many issues of justice, abortion is clearly perplexing to our society.

Biases are built features of human nature (our earthly existence).   A 'crucible' is something made of earth that can endure extreme heat without faltering. Well, guess what, human bias is formed out of an earthly existence that can endure the greatest challenges. Human biases are "crucibles."

Where does this leave us? The short answer is futility. This is no surprise. The result of Adam and Eve's desire to determine what is right for themselves and enact justice on others is an inherited nature that guarantees disorder and incivility. 

Practically speaking, we must stop thinking we have a corner on justice and can determine what is right. We must start discussing who or what we are going to trust for our thoughts, feelings and actions. In the case of justice, one either trusts the culture or trusts the founding fathers.

The proper target of trust can take care or both our crux and our crucible. By the way, the issue of trust has even bigger implications than we can imagine.

Don't dismiss this message. At least give it pondering consideration ....