A Father's Fiery Rage Against the Cold Machine

July 03, 2011 by J. E. Dyer

Continued from Page 1

This sad conclusion is more than merely a case of one broken marriage. It seems emblematic of a wider spiritual vacuum: a loss of any vision for human life beyond the mechanical and defensive. The words of Proverbs 29:18 spring naturally to mind: "Where there is no vision, the people perish." One thing the last half-century makes plain is that government programs have no power to endow us with a transcendent vision. Human government is limited in the same way all law is. It does not articulate a vision of the good that will animate its people. It can only define mistakes, and then go on the hunt for them.

Ironically, the Thomas Ball family is a triumph of the family-law paradigm. Within the context of that paradigm, everything in the Balls' case went according to plan. The family's fate is not a failure of state policy. It's the best the state can do. That should impress upon us two things: the urgent wisdom of putting less faith in law and government, and the paramount need to cultivate—by other means—a motivating vision of marriage and family for our society.

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About J. E. Dyer

J.E. Dyer is a retired Naval intelligence officer and evangelical Christian. She retired in 2004 and blogs from the Inland Empire of southern California. She writes for Commentary's CONTENTIONS blog, Hot Air's Green Room, and her own blog, The Optimistic Conservative. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

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