October, 2025 – You’ve Come? Gone? A Long Way, Baby

Before cigarette commercials were banned on American television in 1971, I remember a really attractive cigarette commercial targeting women.  Their slogan was ‘You’ve come a long way, baby!’  The commercial was well done and if you were a woman and had never smoked, it made you want to.

My family and the church I grew up in didn’t do the smoking thing, and mainly because it was a vice and as Christians that was a no-no.  But I remember our high school being shown a video as to exactly what smoking did to the lungs.  It was very graphic, and if you had ever smoked, you no longer wanted to – and if you hadn’t ever smoked, you were sure you didn’t want to.

As we became more aware of what cigarette smoke did to the detriment of our lungs, my working in a small country grocery store during my high school years also made me aware of the cost of this potential vice.  So, as I watched the cool Virginia Slim commercials in the late 1960’s, I remember thinking that ‘no’, we had not come a long way, baby – rather, we had ‘gone’ a long way!

Referring to the heinous, tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk last month, September 10 to be exact, made me think – when did we ‘go’ a long way – so far away, culturally?!  I was raised in decency.  Not everyone was nice, but everyone got to have their opinion and were either liked or disliked for it – but there was never the feeling of a need to physically hurt the other person.  It didn’t even occur to us.

I think of the heated debates in the mid-1850’s between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas concerning the issue of slavery extension into the new/added territories.  They both had equally strong opinions concerning what they thought was right.  No doubt about it!   However, on March 4, 1861 during Lincoln’s first inauguration held outdoors, he had to remove his top hat due to windy weather.  He looked awkwardly for a place to put it.  ‘In a symbolic gesture, Douglas stepped forward, offered to hold the hat and did so on his lap while Lincoln delivered his address’.  What??!!

When did we ‘go’ so far!  When did we get to where we are ‘now’  – when a person no longer feels like they can even express an opinion without getting mocked, ridiculed, or even killed?!!  When did we go from civility to not only being rude, disrespectful, discourteous, but having a hate-filled and barbaric mentality.  The Scripture says that ‘all creation groans’!  Even the most uncivil person must sense that something is just not right!

Just my opinion, but I think that a spiritual blindness has led our culture to where it now dehumanizes.  Besides ‘removing God’ from the public schools in the early 1960’s, one of the consequences of being out of relationship with God – distancing ourselves from God – is violence.  We are never going to be at peace until we make peace with God, and with ourselves – until we accept, trust, and embrace the First Amendment giving everyone their right to free speech.  And it’s not because we would ‘have’ to; it’s because we regard each soul with civility as a dignified human being – their rights, opinions, and their right to live.  Whether we agree or disagree with someone is a non-issue.  The issue is that we can’t try to silence somebody with cruel, hurtful words, an act of violence, or the taking of another’s life!  We sure have ‘gone’ a long way, baby’!

As Stephen was being stoned (just simply for following Jesus), to the angry, hateful, barbaric mob of murders, his words were, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” – and then, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them”.   How did we get from “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” – Jesus’ words as He was murdered by that uncivil, barbaric crowd demanding unwarranted vengeance -– to where we are now . . .  ?

Several years ago, one of the songs on my concert list was “Only Jesus Can Satisfy Your Soul”  (and only He can change your heart and make you whole;  He’ll give you peace you never knew . . .  Only Jesus can satisfy your soul).