In chapter 33 of my book I talk about learning from history or you will repeat it. Never has that lesson been more important than this past week. The Health and Human Services department announced, with great fanfare and even more emphasis from the Press Secretary, that all health plans, offered to employees of religious organization requires that they include access to birth control and prevention methods. This regulation forces religious organizations to offer health plans to their employees, that includes these options, without regard to the fact that these religious institutions oppose abortion birth control, sterilization and other measures that prevent conception and birth. The key words here are “require” and “force.”
Regardless of your views on birth control or abortion you should greatly fear this legislation. Any governmental rule that is designed to impose its rules on any of our religious organizations begins to take us down a path that we do not want to travel. Our nation was founded on the concept of separation of church and state, as well as freedom of religion. Our ancestors came to this country to avoid religious persecution and to enjoy a country free from prosecution and punishment by their government. Even our currency states that “In God we Trust.” Now, our religious institutions are faced with a government telling its people what they should and should not do with their health care insurance and providers. These institutions are left with only a very few options. They can comply with the law and sacrifice the core of their beliefs and conscience, they can refuse to comply and face penalties and consequences, or they can eliminate offering health care protection for their employees. All of these options are bad options.
So why should you be concerned? The answer lies in history, of course. Throughout the course of human events, governments have tried to force their citizens to accept rules and regulations. Often, these rules began simply, some with the greatest of intentions. But, people being people, these regulations have a tendency to grow and mature and then one day, you awake to discover that your freedom to vote, protest or even worship when and where you want are no longer available to you. You have become the victim of these rules and your freedoms, once taken for granted, have quietly slipped away like water dripping from a leaking faucet .From Rome, through the revolutions in France and the United States to persecutions in the Middle East and Asia, people have watched as governments quietly impose regulations on “other people.” Then, silently and often without notice, those “other people” become “you.” All it takes is apathy and a firm belief that it will never happen to you. Yet, as history teaches us, it does happen and it will happen to you if you simply look away.
What we have also learned from our history books is that government can also get it right. In our own American history, we have corrected many injustices, from not allowing all people vote, to giving that power to everyone over the age of 18. That is the beauty of the American system and of the overall structure of our Constitution. No matter how insane or impossible we try to be, ultimately, through the proper use and understanding of our laws, we will get it right. We have also learned, through many painful lessons, that if we do not act ourselves, nothing can ever be changed or corrected. Dr. Martin Luther King stated “I have a dream.” and although it has taken a very long time, his dream is slowly becoming a reality.
We have also learned from history that nothing good ever comes without hard work and effort. Never assume that someone else will take care of the problem for you. You must become that agent of change. If there is an injustice out there, you must be the person who helps to make it better. When something is wrong, become involved in your own way. Our country was founded by people who thought they knew a better way and dreamed of a land free from religious persecution and injustice. They took action and now too, so must we. History has taught us that much. We must learn from it, or surely, we will repeat it.