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Legal
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On AbuseIs It Abuse If A Religion Approves It?Is it abuse if a person willingly accepts it? We normally think of abuse as something done to a person without their permission. But if a person agrees to that abuse because of personal beliefs, governmental policies, or because of the belief he or she deserves the abuse, is it still abuse? Governments treat people and genders unequally but is that abuse or bad policy? Some religions treat women as unequal to men and in some cases as second class people but is that abuse or only bad religion? Is it abuse if a government or a religion recruits children to be suicide bombers? Is it abuse or cowardliness if other governments and religions fail to speak out against this form of recruitment? Is it abuse if a man is allowed multiple wives but a woman is only allowed one husband? Is the abuse in the system that allows this or in the people that accept it? Is it abuse for a person to be forced to marry someone he or she doesn’t want to? Is it abuse if a child is denied an education simply because of her gender? Most abuse is about control, regardless of the origin: government or religion. Should abuse be deemed acceptable simply because a deity or a religion is invoked? If certain liberties or rights are denied people because of their gender or race, is that abuse or ignorance? We denied women the right to vote but that wasn’t the abuse. The abuse was in the reason held for denying women the right to vote. Women were considered too emotional, not logical enough, and not smart enough to understand what they were voting on. Of course, this was a fairly common view among white males who also denied voting to a group of people based on their race. While this view was widely held, it was wrong because the only proof was ego-based. Women and blacks had to demand their rights simply because the white male preferred the power and the advantage. In other words, the abuse couldn’t be corrected until those being abused demanded their rights and their equality. This is the case with abuses that still exist, especially in religions. Until the abused recognize their abuse and demand change, nothing will happen. Why? Because those in power never want to dilute or lose their power. Power must be taken, hopefully without physical force. Power doesn’t like being shared. People with power will not give it up unless forced to. But the fault is not only with those who have the power to exercise abuse, the fault is also with those who willingly accept the abuse. Abuse has certain legal and moral qualities to it but those qualities are not universal. Abuse varies by government, by country, and by belief system. If a woman or any person agrees to be treated according to those beliefs and those beliefs allow them to be treated as property or as a lower class, should this be defined as abuse? Without standards or a universally accepted definition of abuse, abuse cannot be eliminated. While some governments and belief systems are better than others, both cause abuse to one degree or another. If a system favors the wealthy, the poor are abused; if the poor are favored, the wealthy are abused; if one race or nationality is favored, the others are abused. Unintentional abuse is almost impossible to eliminate. Rules alone cannot do it because rules will always enhance one group while harming or limiting another group and, naturally, each group will try to advance itself. Abuse is still abuse even if a person accepts it because of governments or beliefs systems. Any institution or organization that denigrates one group or gender is abusive. It doesn’t matter whether it is not allowing women to be priests or forcing women to wear cloths that cover their face and form. The abuse is not in the act but in the reason for that act. If the reason is traced far enough toward its origins, it usually is based on the concept that men are superior or that men are afraid they cannot resist temptation or that women are "unclean". If women want to accept these limitations that is their right so long as they also have the right to not accept. If these limitations are forced upon women with no other option, then that is abuse. Abuse is not in the law or the rule but in the lack of viable options regardless of whether the laws or rules are governmental or religious in origin. If a person willingly chooses to flog themselves that is their right. But if a person is forced to physically harm themselves, it is abuse regardless of the source of the force. While perfection cannot be achieved in this world, abuse can be marginalized by modifying governments and belief systems that promote abuse. Abuse must be defined as a "rights" issue that is separate from governmental rules and religious creeds. Author: Don Miller
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2006 Articles |
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