Last night I dreamed of a lawless world – a world in which there was not only no law enforcement but one where no one cared what was happening to anyone else – which was even scarier. I saw a boy get thrown off a building, women being raped and dragged through the streets, and fire everywhere. Two men with machetes were intent on killing me, for no reason I knew. I was able to kill both of them with their own weapons – slowly and with great effort.
The country I live in is a place where, for the most part, I take my safety for granted. However, we shouldn’t forget that there are places in the world – and to some degree, right here in America – where people cannot afford that luxury. I have always been fond of the romanticized idea of a world without borders or laws, other than the laws of survival and boundaries we control ourselves, through strength.
Well, not after that dream, oh no, and not now that I’m along in years, certainly. I think I’ll be satisfied with contemplating the idea of it – sure as hell, not the reality.
And, we also can’t forget that in any house, on any street, in any neighborhood of our civilized world, or behind any door, lies the possibility of a living hell for someone – a world beyond their control, terror suffered at the hands of a person they have put their trust in – the unseen lawlessness born from the brute strength of a man over a woman, or a parent over a child.
I read a newspaper article several years ago about a man who was to be executed for a double murder. The story was about his childhood and how he had been horribly abused by his father from the time of infancy. He knew nothing but fear and violence from the day he was born. Now, many people have suffered through domestic abuse and come out the other side with the ability to love, to forgive, to break free of those chains, to heal.
But many cannot. Not everyone has that capacity – nor the capacity to feel compassion for another human being. They can hurt others, even kill, without feeling. They are not whole. And they have not chosen to be evil. Evil has chosen them. And, as we know, evil lives outside the law.
So I thank the Lord for all my blessings. And I make a conscious effort to not take for granted each day I make it through.
