Land of the free, home of the evil?
Marcus Karaffa, Guest Reporter
November 28, 2007
George Fox has become a university that prides itself on caring about social injustices outside of America. These include genocide in Rwanda, civil war in Sri Lanka, sex trafficking in Thailand, and other atrocities. We have written letters to our elected officials, slept in the streets, and invited guest speakers to challenge us. We have spent time in earnest prayer and studied the Bible to not only tackle these evils physically, but spiritually as well.
While these are very important tasks, our community is neglecting something vital. Many Americans have the stereotype that most, if not all, social evils occur outside of the "land of the free and home of the brave." However, this false pride overlooks the many terrible problems our own country faces.
In Matthew chapter seven, Jesus stresses the importance of dealing with our own problems (the log in our own eye) before we try and fix the issues in our brother's or sister's eye (the speck in theirs). While this passage may appear to be merely about judgment, it is a command to address our own many evils.
The list of social injustices our country commits is extensive: the 47 million uninsured, our contribution to the ecological crisis, the 3.5 million who sleep on the streets every night, the invasion of Iraq, the potential preemptive strike on Iran, and so many others. To overlook these pressing matters would be to do exactly the opposite of what Jesus commanded in Matthew chapter seven.
George Fox University can make a difference. We can start reversing these ills by simple steps such as setting up a better recycling system, donating the clothes we do not use to those who are struggling financially in our own city, praying for those who are overlooked by our government, and standing up against war and its unnecessary violence. We should also take action by making our voices heard through the democratic process of voting in an educated manner.
What this campus has done to aid other countries is very commendable. However, George Fox University cannot overlook the evils in our own country any more than we should overlook the good. We must study the Bible to see the social sins that we commit, repent, and begin to pray and take action to remove the log in our own eye. We can make a difference in our own country. To do this, we must no longer overlook our problems, but address them alongside of those ills outside of America.