Who's Watching the Gatekeeper's?

Who’s watching the “Gatekeeper’s”?  You know, the self-appointed people who make it their business to determine what is right, wrong, good, bad, legal/illegal for everyone else.  My Libertarian leanings are acknowledged here.  However, there is more going on in the regard to simple human freedom and the responsibility that accompanies individual freedoms. 

Stay with me.  I’m not endorsing or advocating some of the things under attack, or being “gated,” but I am simply asking who is watching those who are in charge of what is acceptable and what isn’t in culture, government, policy, morality, etc.?

Most recent is the game of football.  There is a movement to get rid of the game.  Don’t laugh if you are from the South.  It’s real and it’s not going away.  Concussions are bad.  No one would argue otherwise.  Football needs to be as safe as possible and especially for students.  However, it seems those using the NFL head injury cases (Junior Seau, etc.) as their base are ignoring the fact that every one of the players currently suing the NFL over head trauma made a personal decision to play the game.  Not to mention the fact that they benefited financially from it.  And many are flat broke by other decisions they freely made.  They chose to put themselves at risk.  They knew football was potentially dangerous and violent.  It’s like driving 120 MPH, knowing full well it’s against the law, crashing and then suing the guy you wrecked.  C’mon man accept responsibility. 

Why aren’t these “Gatekeepers” going after UFC, wrestling, boxing, or for goodness sake “X” Games athlete’s?  How about skydivers?  What about mountain climbers?  And let’s not forget those crazy Red Bull human flight contraptions jumping off cliffs in California.  And dare I mention riding motorcycles without a helmet.  Watch out Harley owners you will be next!  Personally, I think riding a motorcycle without a helmet, or driving a car without a seatbelt simply lacks commonsense and ignores the facts.  But it’s your body.  You make the choice.  But be willing to accept responsibility for the choice! 

You can do the homework.  From tobacco, school lunches, coal, sugared colas in NYC, football, gun ownership, and corporate or personal opinions on morality that are now deemed “hate speech” simply because a business or individual holds a different opinion than the Hollywood agenda.  Isn’t it interesting that alcohol kills far more people than guns, or football and NO ONE in this group goes after the alcohol industry!  Why?   I guess too many “Gatekeepers,” imbibe! 

I’m not advocating behaviors and life decisions that mean death.  I don't like sugared colas, but can you guarantee that coffee won’t be next on Bloomberg’s list?  I am simply asking at what point did the exercise of personal freedom have to go before a panel to determine what is permissible and what isn’t?  Here’s the problem.  At some point everyone and every activity will be drawn out of the circle!  Legalism has always been this way.  The Apostle Paul fought it all over Galatians.  The legalizers kept drawing circles tighter and tighter.  Freedom scared the bejeebers out of them.  They couldn’t stand someone being able to believe something different and letting them be responsible for it.  Conformity became the dominant name of the game. At the end of the day it’s ALL about one word: CONTROL!  The Gatekeepers believe they know what is best for you and you don’t.  So the only way to get you to conform is through policy, law, or public condemnation that closely resembles character assassination.  Those who believe in the exercise of freedom believe the culture/market ultimately self-corrects.  The truly bad ideas become like tape that didn’t make the show on an editing room floor.

 

My car speedometer goes to 140 MPH.  Do I drive 140 MPH?  No.  Could I?  I suppose (but the engine would blow up first, LOL), but I don’t.  I exercise judgment.  I choose not to go 140 MPH.  If I do, I risk being arrested for speeding and reckless driving.  Just because I have 3-4 regular Cokes in my fridge doesn’t mean I’m going to drink them.  In fact I don’t.  However, someone may come to my house that prefers all that sugar and caffeine to one of my diet drinks.  I will gladly serve them one upon request.  However, should they develop diabetes, heart trouble, or obesity, they will face the consequences for their choice and the exercise of their freedom.  Their free choice of a sugared drink is not my responsibility.  But some believe it’s not only their job, but their calling to “police” the rest of us.

Let’s push this even farther, but before you read on this isn’t a “Right to Life” rant.  The “Gatekeepers” adamantly support the right to abortion.  You don’t have to be rocket scientist, or doctor to surmise that the actual act of abortion is violent to the fetus. Watch one and tell me otherwise.  Yet, in America it is perfectly legal.  Every day women make decisions, hopefully with responsible medical professionals and counselors about this issue.  They are free to act.  They must accept the consequences regardless of their choice.  But let’s be clear, they make the choice. 

Yes, I am pro-life (all the way, I don’t support the death penalty because I am truly, Pro-Life, which might even surprise the “Gatekeepers”), but if a woman makes the decision to get an abortion it’s my role as a pastor and Christ-follower to provide unconditional love, counsel and support to her, just as I must to the woman who chooses not to have an abortion.  I don’t even get to judge according to Scripture.  That said, I would not counsel abortion, but neither would I brand a woman who has had one with a scarlet letter.  She must accept responsibility for her free choice and she will live with it the rest of her life. 

Now isn’t it ironic that the very people choosing to gate keep on gun control, football, food, tobacco, marriage and a host of other issues allow the exercise of freedom for terminating a life, when in 38 states it’s felony murder to kill a baby inside a woman’s womb by harming her by way of gun, beating, vehicle, etc.?   I’m with Paul, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty.” 

Freedom is messy.  It’s what makes our country and my faith choice different.  You can stand on a street corner with the proper permit and blast Christianity, Islam, or Atheism.  You may be wrong, but you are free do exercise free speech.  And while I may find your speech offensive and hateful, it is the exercise of your freedom that allows me to exercise my freedom of a polar opposite view.  And that freedom comes with great responsibility!  It’s a freedom that actually embraces your right to be offensive to me without trying to control you. 

I find great irony in the fact that most ideologues spout the free exercise of the exchange of ideas, but they are unwilling to let it play out, unless you share their view.  And what is the definition of arrogance and narcissism?   By the way, before you dismiss this, as a rant for one side of the political aisle, don’t! “Gatekeepers” live on both sides of the political aisle.  They hold freedom hostage.  It’s just my opinion so feel FREE to disagree.