Sunday, October 16, 2016

"they shall hear my voice" - Democracy for Wealth or Justice

Around Tokyo



Democracy for Wealth or Justice


There is a story about a Catholic priest and Native Americans in the 18th century.

The Catholic  priest lived among and preached in a tribe of Native Americans for 30 years.  But finally, the Native Americans decided to kill the priest in their process to fighting British settlers, and actually they killed the priest and many British settlers.  But eventually, the tribe was defeated and dispersed by British settlers or the US troops and finally forgotten to disappear from the history.  Only some records about the Catholic priest were left behind.

So, Catholicism cannot save Native Americans and other people in Africa, Asia, and Americas who have faced invasion by Europeans.  But due to activities of Catholic priests, some real states of events that happened in the process of expansion of European civilization to the world, sometimes through colonization, have been known today.

Today, there are only little colonies of Europeans in the world.  Human, social, and political rights of all the races and tribes are recognized by almost every country in the world.  In a sense, a kind of justice  has been prevailing outwardly in the world as symbolized by US President Barack Obama.

With progress of democracy, the mankind has obtained more wealth than what had been thought possible.  Even the U.S. got richer along with expansion of its democratic system covering Minorities.  Japan also drastically increased its wealth after WWII by adopting the American-style democracy.  Though China is not yet a democratic nation, it adopted market-based economy, highly influences by concepts of democracy, which has resulted in big economic growth.  Prosperous Western Europe has also put its base on democratic political systems 100% since Nazi Germany that hated Judaists collapsed in WWII.

So, the mankind has learnt that democracy is a key to expanding economy and crating huge wealth.

But democracy is also a tool to realize justice.

If the final goal of people is economic weal and they use democracy as a tool to realize the final goal, democracy cannot solve some critical problems in the human society.  If the final goal of people is justice, they will rather sacrifice economic wealth in their endeavor for justice by manipulating democracy.

However, like some tribe of Native Americans in the 18th century, some people today look like launching a tragic war against something they cannot never win, though they are given wisdom of democracy.

And it may be because they are not fully taught about the teaching of God.



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Joh 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.