Last week (https://aikenindependent.com/2017/01/31/public-policy-debate-lead-worldviews-education-citizenry/) I discussed the divisions that exist in our republic not only politically, but in the faith based community.  I shared my hope that these divisions will lead to more citizens than ever before in recent history to study history and the worldviews at play.

I believe individuals have the right to be angry.  I also believe in righteous anger, which causes individuals to engage in causes they never planned on engaging in.  I thank God we live in a free society where individuals can harness their anger, which combined with other emotions, have the potential to accomplish great things which will ultimately benefit all of society.

There are numerous individuals, even in the last 100 years, who changed the course of history as a result of anger, but they did so in combination with other emotions like compassion, empathy, forgiveness and a willingness to listen, in order to bring change peacefully.  Some, examples include Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, Aung San Suu Kyi, Robert F. Kennedy, and a man whose 106^th birthday we celebrate this week, Ronald Reagan.

Those six recent peacemakers encompass several races and multiple continents.

Nelson Mandela, who worked peacefully after spending close to three decades in prison due to advocating public violence, demonstrated that people can individually change, thus broadening their overall impact on the world they live in.  After prison, Mandela rose to lead the very government he violently opposed, an accomplishment unimaginable the day he went to prison!

God still works in interesting, miraculous ways!

Those who were throwing parking stanchion’s in windows at Berkley University last week have the same potential as Nelson Mandela; however, the impact their lives will ultimately achieve depends upon how their lives continue to evolve.  Will you join me in praying they will experience an evolution similar to Nelson Mandela.

I am closing this week’s editorial with two bible verses related to anger, and a quote from one of our founding fathers as it relates to virtue.

Matthew 5:9 – “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

Ephesians 4:26 & 27 – “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger and do not give the devil an opportunity.”

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”  John Adams

Anger, in and of itself, is not a bad thing.  Anger impacts all of is, regardless of race, creed, nationality or socio-economic status.  Without the constraints of other emotions and sound doctrine however, it leads to destruction, as we witnessed last week in Berkley, benefiting no one.

We need a restoration of virtue in our republic if we want peace.  It is in that vein I share a link to quotes from the founders of our republic, and their view on the importance of virtue.  (http://hscottcooper.com/quotes-on-liberty-and-virtue/)

Scott Cooper