We're on the fifth book of the bible. How did we get here? Uhhm, I'm no rocket scientist but I'm going to go with option A: logic. What's option B you ask? I have no idea. The transliteration for Deutoronomy in Hebrew is "second law". I have learnt this through extensive research and by that I mean typing in "Deutoronomy" in Google's search tab and using the esoteric art of hitting enter on the keyboard.
(In the voice of Jam Master Jay) "And it goes a little something like this"
The Isrealites walked through the desert for fourty years (which was normal back then because they didn't have Garmins but more importantly, Someone in the sky told them to do so).
Shame, spare them a thought. Ok, stop it. You just spared them two.
REMEMBER, gluttony is a sin!
The book (of Deutoronomy) consists of three sermons or speeches delivered to the Israelites by Moses on the plains of Moab, shortly before they entered the Promised Land. This story sounds so familiar. Moses = ANC. Promised land = Democracy.*
The first (Eric) sermon was a summary of their travels, akin to 'Long To Freedom' without pictures. Man, if we could go back in time and tell them about Zapiro their minds would be blown away!
The second sermon preaches two things.
One: The laws given by God should be followed comprehensively and
Two: (which comes after One, i sh*t you not) preaches exclusivity to one God which kinda makes sense. There's nothing worse than having multiple centres of power in any particular region. Don't believe me?Look at Zimbabwe and the cast of Gossip Girls. Power sharing may look cool on paper but it is rarely successful due to its intrinsic bias towards those with the the most powerful position in the social hierarchy.
I'm not sure about this supreme rule though, sounds somewhat autocratic or even authoritarian. Maybe even auto-shmatic. Apologies, that last word was unnecessary, I was just following the comic rule of 3.
Living in any environment that requires it's people to be subservient generally stifles progression as they are not afforded the opportunity to question their beliefs and attempt to pursue reformism.
I believe everyone should be able to choose a belief system whose values will allow them to become a genuinely better individual and a positive contributor towards society.
The third book offfers comfort to the travellers and encourages repentance.
Basically if you cock something up, you need not worry, you just have to apologise for it and your sins will be absolved. You see, the Truth & Reconciliation Commission was actually a borrowed concept. Moses is still waiting for that royalty cheque.
My worry is that these types of proceedings don't bring about any serious form of justice but instead create the impression that it's acceptable to perform felonious acts on the premise that you apologise to the victim(s) and promise you won't do it again. Great idea on a kindergarten playground, not so effective in the real world. I'm no legal expert but white collar crime is a tad bit more serious that eating your classmate's crayons. I could be wrong. "Sorry Josh, my mom didn't pack me any lunch today". Don't worry about who Josh is, some of these stories are fictitious.
So, what's the point?
*Firstly, it's important to acknowledge the sacrifices that people have made on our behalf that allow us to enjoy certain liberties such as freedom of expression and the right to own land but they should not use these events as a constant bargaining chip to garner political support. Thanks for the freedom. By the way, did you fix those potholes? Thanks. Having said that, isn't that what you were elected to do?!
Secondly, monotheistic religions are the most popular religions in the world and although you're encouraged to accept one belief system i think we should all attempt to find out more about other religions and review some of our own philosophies. It wouldn't hurt you to find out more about The Bible, The Kuran, The Torah, the views of atheism, agnosticism, traditionalism or anything in between. Let us not perpetuate the information asymmetry that allows society to dictate how we perceive those around us and creates a quagmire amongst the different citizen of our beautiful country.
Yoh, there were a kak load of big words there!
Last and definitely least. We all need to be accountable for our actions. Take responsibility. Ensure that all the opportunities the you are awarded are on merit and use them to make a positive contribution to your community no matter how small the scale.
I believe in "one law". Do unto others as you want them to do unto you.
What laws do you believe in?
