LAST CENTURY ARRESTS WOULD FILL OUR JAILS

In July of 1918, The REVIEW listed the arrests for that month. In addition to Assault and Battery, which is a current crime, others were charges for some actions that seem to be overlooked today.

Intoxication, seditious utterances, being a slacker, and being a loafer were justifiable reasons for police action against the perpetrators. It seems foreign to us now to think that these abuses were reason for arrest. It was during World War I, actually about three months before it ended, but it still seems a bit extreme.

We see on the news daily all the slackers and loafers in some of the big cities, especially in San Francisco, for example. But they aren’t arrested or even warned by police to stop slacking or loafing.

And what about seditious utterances? Some people utter more sedition today than was heard one hundred years ago. Facebook and Twitter are full of such unpatriotic statements. But nobody goes to jail for this now.

One online definition of sedition is “conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of a state or monarch. Synonyms are rabble-rousing, incitement to rebel, subversion, troublemaking, provocation.” Sedition is short of Treason, however. Wow, this sounds like the recent speeches of too many politicians.

The Bible encourages the opposite of sedition in Titus 3:1-2 where it reminds us “to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men.”

Not every criticism is sedition, of course. In the USA we have freedom of speech and we may praise or criticize anyone, whether they hold a public office or not. But it’s important to maintain a level of civility that seems to be lacking in some people. The adage, “If you can’t say something nice about a person, don’t say anything at all” seems to be long forgotten.

And of course the Bible sets a high standard for speech in other verses.

Ephesians 4:29 says, “Do not use harmful words, but only helpful words, the kind that build up and provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those who hear you.”

And in the book of the Bible that contains so much wisdom, Proverbs 16:24 says, “Kind words are like honey—sweet to the taste and good for your health.”

Think of how nice it would be if only helpful and kind words were used in all of our communications.

COPYRIGHT 2018 BY CARL E GUSTAFSON