Razing Arizona

In rereading the history of Jefferson's election to the presidency in 1801, I am reminded that politics is a very nasty business.  Philosophies of government and natural rights are often lofty and inspirational, leading us to revere the high-minded achievements that have resulted in the America we claim to know and love. But at its core, politics is a device employed by human beings nevertheless capable of the very destructive and seductive impulses that produce tyranny, be it soft or hard.
 
Take this new Arizona bill. S.B. 1062, in short, is designed to provide a measure of protection to business owners who wish to run their businesses in accordance with their religious convictions. Basically, it offers them the opportunity to use their beliefs as a defense in court should they be sued for refusing to provide a service that violates their religious conscience. While I don't intended to dive into any of these specifically, I encourage you to read the following links on the matter, in the interest of context (don't be turned off by the titles - there is reasoned and rational information in each link):

Arizona Capital Times: Reality vs. Rhetoric in the SB1062 Debate
Arizona Capital Times: ASU Law Prof: SB1062 'means almost nothing'
The State Press: SB 1062 Offers Warped View of Religious Freedom
The Matt Walsh Blog: Yes, Of Course a Business Owner Should Have the Right to Refuse Service to Gay People

I can see the argument from both sides, to be sure. The vitriol is a flash fire burning out of control, and Arizona is being razed and excoriated with vehemence. No matter the outcome of the bill, there will be no "victory" for believers in this battle, or in any battle, where new laws issued by governments grant new "rights" with regard to religious belief. Natural rights, and those ensconced by the First Amendment, are no longer a sufficient defense against the forces at work, even though they should be. Rights issued by governments can be taken away. There has never been a time in our nation's history where the boundaries of freedom, liberty, and religion have not been at the flashpoint of our conflicts. The pendulum swings, sometimes decidedly. It remains to be seen if it swings back, or if it has been severed from its pivot.

What dismays me most is the effect this has on our society, our communities. Too many of us are now conditioned to see at work only the worst intentions of our neighbors, which may or may not always be the truth. To choose sides in any single matter is to be declared by the other as an enemy combatant in all matters. Tyranny of this sort, from such there is no escape, except by the rediscovery of grace.

This is the nature of our politics.  I submit that our history reveals that it has always been so.  For all of the evidence of the better angels of our nature, much more so is the evidence of our demons.  

This may yet be a government of the people, by the people, for the people, but it is clear that as people, we remain most decidedly, wickedly human.

Heaven have mercy on us.