“You shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them...
You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God...
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy...
Honor your father and your mother...
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
You shall not covet..." (Exodus 20:3-17). These are the Ten Commandments, which are the basic tenants for many modern society. While society has had a falling out with strong Christian values, these tenants still influence modern society. The U.S. Constitution still holds many laws against robbery, murder, some cases of adultery, and lying (in court). In this way smaller forms of many of these things, that aren't against the law, such as lying, cheating, disobedience, and crude language, are still societal faux pas. This are said to be our pillars of modern society, however, I would like to question how much support these pillars offer and how different they really are from the Sawi's.
The Sawi culture doesn't seem to have these same values, instead, they have two main powers that support everything. The first and most prominent is that of treachery. Betrayal is the medal of honor to the Sawi. To them, the ultimate achievement is to befriend someone, gain trust, and then betray them in cold blood. In the U.S. this is a crime with a life sentence in prison attached. The Sawi live by treachery and vengeance, with only one way to end the wars that are spawned by revenge: the second pillar. The other pillar that supports the culture of the Sawi and can end the madness of war is that of the Peace Child. The Peace Child is a sacred sacrifice that offers atonement and a time of peace between two tribes. This gift of a peace child is the only way to topple the other pillar of betrayal.
While the Sawi's society may seem completely different, there are some similarities. Both modern and Sawi accept the concept of sacrifice, and because of the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus, we have the Ten Commandments as modern tenants. While our society claims to be based against treachery, it's human nature, and therefore is still haunting modern society. We cheat, we lie, we take revenge, we're greedy, and we even hurt or kill. Modern or Sawi, we're all guilty, to an extent. How different are we really? We have different roots and claim different tenants, but after all, we're only human, and so are they.
No comments:
Post a Comment