The fix? A slow-motion moral revival
Dr Bruce Manners
Senior minister
Avondale College Seventh-day Adventist Church
The riots in England over the past week began after the shooting of Mark Duggan, but the cause is more complex. British Prime Minister David Cameron admitted the riots were a sign society is “not only wounded, but sick.”
The British media responded. The Sun said, “This is anarchy, pure and simple.” The Daily Telegraph called the riots a new phenomenon where “violent disorder whose sole intent is criminal. . . . The thugs must be taught to respect the law of the land the hard way.”
Yet there’s another side. After the looting of a bike shop, one of its mechanics told the media, “Can you blame [the rioters]? They’re doing something criminal, but they’re also trying to get attention. We can carry on ignoring them for as long as we like but it’s not going to fix the problem.”
Cameron says he’s committed to mending Britain’s “broken society.” He blames “children without fathers; schools without discipline; reward without effort; crime without punishment; rights without responsibilities; communities without control.”
He wants to confront what he calls the “slow-motion moral collapse that has taken place in parts of our country these past few generations.”
This is huge because it’s easier to set up a controlling police state than a nation run by moral standards. It’s easier to introduce harsher punishments as a deterrent to antisocial activity. It’s easier to merely blame the rioters.
And this can’t be a quick fix. To fix a “slow-motion moral collapse” may take a slow-motion moral revival.
Let’s hope—and pray—that in the politics of the situation and the desire for quick solutions, the moral emphasis is not lost. This is key to a long-term and lasting solution.
Excerpt: The riots in England over the past week began after the shooting death of Mark Duggan, but the cause is more complex. British Prime Minister David Cameron admitted the riots were a sign society is “not only wounded, but sick.”
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