Doing Nothing Gains Nothing

Standing on the sidelines is not an option

By Louis R. Avallone

The Bible teaches us that a “sin of omission” is failing to do something one can and ought to do. James 4:17 reads, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” Proverbs 3:27 says, “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.”

And yet, as a nation, we seem to be increasingly agnostic, or apathetic, about doing what is “right” for fear of being considered politically incorrect or otherwise offending another. Not comfortable with the genital mutilation of minors? Or drag-queen story hour for an audience of children at your public library? Or the idea the 2020 election was fair and free? Well, for too many Americans, they remain silent.

But remember the words of Martin Luther King Jr. when he said, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” Or perhaps you might consider the wisdom in knowing that “(t)he only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

Regardless, doing nothing is not an option for any of us, especially considering the crossroads we find ourselves in, and it is our obligation to work for what we believe in, insofar as it is God who gave us life and the liberty to do so. The liberty to care. To love. To pray. To listen.

By doing nothing, we can lose everything – including our country.

You only need to think of a friendship you have or a relationship with a family member to see what I mean. We can lose that friendship or family relationship – all by doing nothing. And if you never visited your friend or returned their calls or emails, you will lose the friendship by doing nothing.

Similarly, doing nothing will weaken our community – and loosen the ties that bind us together as a nation.

The traditional family, for example, has been under attack for over 50 years. We know that in 1960, just before the expansion of welfare programs in 1965, only 22% of black children grew up in single-parent households. Yet, over 50 years later, that percentage is now nearly 80%, effectively breaking apart the black family, which is something that centuries of slavery never could achieve. Yet we do nothing to change those programs.

We know that the Census Bureau reports that 14.5% of Americans are poor, which is essentially the same rate as in 1966, shortly after the “war on poverty” was launched. And even though we have spent $22 trillion intending to help the poor, and despite spending 16 times more today to provide cash, food, housing and medical care to people experiencing poverty, it’s just not helping enough. And yet we do nothing but continue to elect those who perpetuate those programs.

We know that Louisiana has more people in prison per capita (1 in 75) than anywhere else in the world – twice the national average. Yet we do nothing to reject those in our culture who encourage hopelessness, diminish personal accountability or minimize the respect for life (including one’s own).

And “doing nothing” means this: We take the attitude of “to each his own.” We look the other way on the importance of fathers in the lives of their children.

We remain silent on supporting the institution of marriage. It means that we allow parents to leave the parenting up to the school system, and we elect candidates more interested in their welfare than ours. It means we support one political party (or another) that cares a bunch but doesn’t help at all. It means we accept a watereddown, blurred line between right and wrong. It means we compromise our values more often because of what’s convenient for us than aspiring to what’s best.

The bottom line is this, especially in this important election year for Louisiana: We can no longer afford to “know” the right thing to do but fail to do it.

After all, if we keep doing what we’re doing, we’ll keep getting what we’re getting, and the worst part is the only explanation we’ll have for our children is we did nothing to get it.

Louis R. Avallone is a Shreveport businessman, attorney and author of “Bright Spots, Big Country, What Makes America Great.” He is also a former aide to U.S. Representative Jim McCrery and editor of The Caddo Republican. His columns have appeared regularly in 318 Forum since 2007. Follow him on Facebook, on Twitter @louisravallone or by e-mail at [email protected], and on American Ground Radio at 101.7FM and 710 AM, weeknights from 6 - 7 p.m., and streaming live on keelnews.com.