A Simple Solution

If a complex machine like a car won’t run, it’s usually due
to a simple problem. Most of the time (if you’re not out of gas)
it’s the battery, a small burnt fuse or a spark plug. Small,
simple problems can seem huge and complex when they involve
complex machines, but they still remain small and simple
problems that can usually be easily fixed. The diagnosis is the
key thing.
The front page article by Marie Leech (July 31) detailed
a small, simple problem that only appears complex. The head-
line read, “Downtown business owners worried about crowds,
noise.” The obvious problem is that a few people hanging out
don’t care at all about the people who conduct business
or live in the neighborhood. The problem is not going to be
resolved legally, politically or religiously. It’s too deep.
Neither lawyers, politicians or religious leaders can provide
a power supply within the human heart that energizes the
human to act lovingly toward others. Religion can only put
selfish pigs in remembrance of morality. But even young
children know the difference between right and wrong.
Only gasoline will enable most cars to run and only God
can move the heart to care about others to the point of
habitual self-sacrifice. This is narrow-minded thinking.
It’s also clear, realistic thinking.
When God enters into the human spirit, the human
wants to love others, wants to care about the comfort of others.
At that point, religion and the law seem superfluous. The golden rule
(“do to others what you want them to do to you”) becomes an active
rule within. It’s a simple solution to a problem that only appears
complex. Cameras and police officers can only take pictures,
arrest people, cause fear and incite rebellion. And the city council
can’t put love in the human heart.