Judging the Nation by the Standards We Judge a Person

   What if we judged the nation's character the same way we would judge the character of a single person? What would we find if we judged the whole of the people by the same standards by which we judge an individual?
   Like, are we, as a people, honest and fair in dealing with all people? whether they be LGBT, unlawful immigrants, or blacks, and whether they be our politicians, our next-door neighbors or people we do business with.
   Are we charitable towards others? Are we not overly judgmental of them? Do we give them the benefit of the doubt, or seek to skewer them? How do we treat our co-workers in this regard, or our neighbors? How do we treat celebrities and politicians? Are we fault finders with them? Are we quick to see evil in them? Do we speak well of others, or do we delight in speaking ill of politicians and celebrities, neighbors and others? Do we stone them?
   How to we treat the poor, and the homeless, and the disadvantaged? "For inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."
   Do we lie? Do we take advantage of each other?
How about in our business dealings? How about in regards to one business dealing with another, or with its employees? How about us as employees? Do we seek to take advantage of our employers?
   Do we love our neighbors as ourselves? What about the refugees, then? Do we treat them as we would treat ourselves, or do we say, let's take care of our own before we help those from outside our country?
   I think of a scripture that says violence covers the mouth of the wicked, and I wonder at the violent shows and movies we watch. Are we a wild and idolatrous people? Do our pastimes tend to the violent? How about our video games? How about boxing and ultimate fighting? I believe a person can be in such sports without being wrong. I think of Muhammad Ali as an example of someone who was honorable, at least in my book. But, when the participants and fans start to enjoy the savagery of the sport, when they joy in the blood and the carnage, that does not reflect good character.
   What share of our nation spends time idling, drinking, and taking drugs? Again, what portion of our people are idolatrous, seeking for riches as their life's goal? How many turn the pursuit of happiness into the pursuit of money, believing that money is happiness? Money over God, this is idolatry.
   I guess the question of the morality of the nation could be asked from two perspectives, one, from the perspective of the government and how it conducts itself, and, two, from the vantage point of how we, the people act.
   Perhaps, next week, I will return to this topic, considering it from the vantage of government and government leaders and whether we are a moral nation in governing.