Alex Gale reflects on morals and the word "no".
So Bill English had the gall to suggest prisons were moral failures! A politician and a modern leader talking about morals? Really! That sounds to me like an oxymoron!
You know, he could be right ... but talking about prisons reminds me of the time I talked to a guy who had just left the prison service. When I asked him what had changed during his several years of service, he replied: "We are now getting prisoners who don't know the meaning of the word 'no' and wardens who come to work only to collect their pay." He may have been cynical about the matter, but many would agree with his observations regarding the former.
And, in the meaning of the word "no" may lie the answer to the prison dilemma. You see, "no" is one of those words that helps us define what it means to be human. Animals don't say "no", they only react and respond, but man has the ability to respond to moral boundaries and take responsibility for his actions. In fact, the word "no" may well be the most important word in the English language.
It's one of the first words kids seem to learn to use with force, and a word parents should not be afraid to use either. It's a positive word in that it defines safe boundaries, responsibility and accountability.
With regard to prisons, we have two choices: we either have more prisons or we have more responsible citizens.
Either the "inner policeman" or more of the men and women in blue! But then we have to face the question of how we raise more responsible citizens in an age where we find it difficult even to trust someone's word, and where dishonesty is the undercurrent of much of our culture. The obvious place to start is where children are raised. The biblical ideal of two biological parents being the best people to raise and train a family has been proven most effective time and time again.
The old-time Puritans called the family the place of first government, and with good reason, because parents have a prior right and responsibility to teach children what is fundamental and important for life.
Politicians, though, seem to have claimed the role as theirs and have devalued the place of the family by making all other forms of relationship equal.
Having been party to the consequences of this, they now make themselves out to be the saviours of resultant issues with, guess what, more stupid ideas and more government control - hence Labour's idea of scrapping the Family Commission and replacing it with some organisation that will give more State interference.
Turiana Turia's suggestion a few years ago that unmarried Maori girls should get pregnant shows how irrational our politicians can be, and no, they take no responsibility for the mayhem that results. It's the blind leading the blind.
As a culture, we get what we value. If we valued families as we should, I suggest we'd uphold and reward relationship models that provide stability, loyalty and security for kids rather than the loose, anything-goes setups that we have today that so often do the very opposite.
They are the product of the "do what feels right" philosophy that means people do exactly that. With little or nothing as a moral framework inside themselves, they end up making choices they sometimes regret, often with far-reaching consequences. Some even end up in prison.
It is sobering, in this respect, to realise that so-called religious revivals of the likes of Wales in the 1800s, where thousands of people found the reality of the living God, produced societies where policemen and judges had virtually nothing to do. Such was the moral impact of Christianity on people. Therein lies the answer to better people.
Prisons are moral issues because people are moral creatures made in God's image, and the sooner politicians stop trying to manipulate society to their own ends, and then claiming they have the right to fix the very problems they have created, the better.
They probably won't do that in the present climate, but as a responsible and moral human being, you don't need to wait for them to butt out. You can grab a bible and read for yourself the best "game plan" for life there is. As well, if you are a parent, you can give your kids the best start to life by taking them to a good Bible-believing church where they will learn about the important things in life, the things to say "yes" and "no" to.
As the Good Book says, "Train up a child in the way they should go and they will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6)
- Alex Gale led churches for more than 20 years. He is also a writer.
