Alex and Dylan and all who work at, contribute to and comment at Big Brother Watch – thank you, and a very Merry Christmas to you and everyone out there. If for any of the readers of this blog this year or this Christmas season has been a time of pain, hardship or suffering, small or great, I hope and pray (to the Lord Jesus Christ) there will be better times ahead for you.
I also want to thank all those everywhere who speak up about or work to address real or potential abuses of power or defend us from such or other threats, including by refusing to do wrong or choosing to do the right thing, quietly or loudly, in public or private, and also whether inside or outside civil society, journalism, legal, accountancy, health and other professions or government including those in standards, policing, courts, security services and armed forces (I apologise to those I failed to mention). Also those who take the effort to complain, go to press, court or up the line or even whistleblow where appropriate. I want to thank you because all such efforts help increase the level of justice ie “mishpat” (one of the several Hebrew word pictures in the Tanach or Old Testament which describe healthy justice with mercy and discretion, in the context of custom and also the concept of righteounessness, fairplay, rightness etc), and your efforts decrease the “normality” and occurrences of injustice. Even if your efforts do not seem to make much of a difference, they can and do and they make it harder for others to do wrong. And as many of you no doubt know, it is always better to do the right thing and have a good conscience even if that conflicts with popularity, success or reputation, than to do the wrong thing and in some situations it is wrong to remain silent or not intervene (though obviously sometimes it is not or may be unwise).
I want to thank you for your ethical efforts, whether known or not – they help protect society. We are all better off for your efforts. I also want to thank people in differenet political or societal groups – I appreaciate this Blog, but also Liberty at the Guardian, the telegraph, the Times, the Independent and the Daily Mail and other national and local newpapers, blogs, sites and organisations, groups, communities, lobbyists and businesses.
I want to thank you all for your time, effort and patience – some of you lose out financially, get stressed out, some even get stress, trouble or even payback including accidental misunderstandings or malicious smears or slander, missed promotions or even getting fired. Some of your families may also suffer too – thank you to them as well. Some of you don’t get thanked or don’t see all the benefit of the good things you do. Some of you – including veterans – get injuries or illnesses including stress or severe PTSD because of the good things you have done or the bad things you have seen or experienced, and there is not enough that we in society can do to help or encourage you. Some of you get tarred with the brush or left to clean up the mess left by others’ mistakes, failures or worse.
But you all make a difference, and I hope you will keep on doing the good things you do on behalf of us all even when discouraged or when you are not appreciated, unless you decide you need to quit for other good reasons.
May I also appeal to some of those in power or influence – in society, business or government – who may feel threatened or tired of complaints. Some of us complainers including ordinary people have seen or experienced abuses of power or some of the unintended (or occasionally sadly maliciously or greedily intended) consequences of some of the decisions made or bad systems or lack of checks and balances. I know many of you have to make difficult decisions, and sometimes literally need the wisdom of Solomon to make choices or can’t divulge certain things, but there are some who abuse power or regard some in society as dispensable or not worthy of protection, dignity, appropriate levels of freedom of speech or conscience, or not worthy of vindication where smeared or slandered or worthy of an acceptable level of justice. There are a few who have power or responsibility who do not realise that only God has authority over or can handle knowing everything about a person’s life (and He is no micro-manager and respects dignity, privacy and free-will in all but the rare situations in life. We would all be dead if He dealt with us as we deserve, though there is a need for justice as well as mercy). Maybe you have been lucky and not seen information or power abused. A few of you may have been taught that you are better than those without power or influence. But, if you have been given gifts or opportunities by God (a few are sadly also given them by evil or climb up the ladder by abusing power or chicanery) then God bless you for using them, but your gifts carry with them responsibilities. You will give an account to God one day. Only God can say if you are better than others becuase only God has the perfect knowledge to grade people by what they did with what they had including personality, ability, health, opportunities, setbacks and cushions. Life is like a game of snakes and ladders though God is sovereign. He watches out for the vulnerable, whether rich or poor. Those in government are there to serve the people, we are not made to worship the few of you who want that. If any have abused power, you can always change if you choose, and for those who have not abused power, thank you very, very much – you must suffer temptation to glory in yourself or abuse power even subtely each and every day.
Once again, thank you to everyone out there who is doing their bit for democracy or security in Britain and the US, & I hope and pray you have a very Happy Christmas and New Year. Thank you for making society a better place than it would be without your efforts.
pleaserespectmyanon
Sorry I forgot also to say: one thing some may not realise is that when someone speaks up about a wrong, it helps others who suffer or have suffered similar or equivalent wrongs but do not have access to appropriate justice with mercy and discretion. Sometimes people who have been wronged don’t quite believe what is happening to them, or others do not believe them or they rightly or wrongly lack credibility, so when other speak up or justice is served where due, it helps remind them they did sufer wrong and so helps them to forgive the wrong-doer. Because if the one wronged doesn’t believe they have been wronged, even if subconciously they know, they cannot forgive, heal or move on. Similarly, when people speak up for, intervene or mediate where appropraite (it is not always wise or safe), it helps discourage wrong-doing and similarly helps the “victim” of the wrong. Some for other good reasons do not seek juicial redress, and not seeking earthly justice for some things is a good thing, whether because time has passed, there is no access to fair justice without other bad consequences or because the matter is small. Just seeing others get justicial or community redress for some things where appropriate is encouraging. All abuses of power, including those of the judicial system and including politicised justice, discourage people, encourage further injustices and some people then become rightfully angry or despairing and some sadly wrongly turn to vengeance or do not go to authorities because they may appear untrustworthy. That harms everyone. Finally no healthy security or judicial system can stop, deal with or expose all wrong-doing. We – those not in power and those in power – would all be dead because noone is perfect, let alone all-knowing or able to handle such power. Even in healthy communities, some wrong-doings will slip remain secret to the wrong-doer and victim or should not be addressed by the government or courts, or even by the community, because the cost of control or dealing with minor infractions is tyranny and no privacy, and becuase some of those who do wrong things are so charming that the only way to catch them would be again no privacy to their potential victims or anyone else in society. They will be dealt with, as we all will be, on the day of judgement. And there is forgiveness and the chance of a new life or all who repent before the Lord Jesus. Sometimes that includes apologies to people they have harmed, sometimes because of the evil out there in some others, it does not because an apology would lead to others being harmed etc.
Merry Christmas and again, thank you.
pleaserespectmyanon
** webmaster re 2:19 am corrected, please delete the previous post if you choose. Sorry for the typos and length.**
Sorry I forgot also to say: one thing some may not realise is that when someone speaks up about a wrong, it helps others who suffer or have suffered similar or equivalent wrongs but do not have access to appropriate justice with mercy and discretion. Sometimes people who have been wronged don’t quite believe what is happening to them, or others do not believe them or they rightly or wrongly lack credibility, so when other speak up or justice is served where due, it helps remind them they did sufer wrong and so helps them to forgive the wrong-doer. Because if the one wronged doesn’t believe they have been wronged, even if subconciously they know, they cannot forgive, heal or move on. Similarly, when people speak up for, intervene or mediate where appropriate (it is not always wise or safe), it helps discourage wrong-doing and similarly helps the “victim” of the wrong. Some for other good reasons do not seek juicial redress, and not seeking earthly justice for some things is a good thing, whether because time has passed, there is no access to fair justice without other bad consequences or because the matter is small or even because the “victim” for other good reasons decides not to persue redress or tell others. Just seeing others get justicial or community redress for some things where appropriate is encouraging. All abuses of power, including those of the judicial system and including politicised justice, discourage people, encourage further injustices and some people then become rightfully angry or despairing and some sadly wrongly turn to vengeance or sadly (sometimes rightfully and wisely) do not go to authorities because they may appear untrustworthy (and the point of going to authorities is for the wrongdoer, if guilty, to be fairly dealt with, punished as and how appropriately and with mercy and dignity, after a fair, just and thorough investigation. Too much injustice in a society harms everyone. Finally no healthy security or judicial system can stop, deal with or expose all wrong-doing. We – those not in power and those in power – would all be dead because noone is perfect, let alone all-knowing or able to handle such power. Even in healthy communities, some wrong-doings will slip through the net or remain secret to all but the wrong-doer, the victim and God or should not be addressed by the government or courts, or even by the community, because the human cost of control or dealing with all minor infractions or monitering people 24×7 is tyranny and no privacy (and some monitering will abuse their power, so crime will not disappear), and also because some of those who do wrong are so charming that the only way to catch them would be again no privacy to their potential victims or anyone else in society, and even with complete info justice is not always served, sometimes for bad reasons, and sometimes in rare cases to prevent greater harm, including to the victim or even society including the victim. Such wrongdoers will be dealt with, as we all will be, on the day of judgement. And there is forgiveness and the chance of a new life or all who repent before the Lord Jesus. Sometimes that includes apologies to people they have harmed, sometimes because of the evil out there in some others, it does not because an apology would lead to others being harmed etc.
Merry Christmas and again, thank you.
Sorry for the typos and length.
