Arkansas Watch - It’s time to consider eternal ramifications

— Rep. Marion Berry is the Arkansas congressman from the 1st district, over in the Delta. He is retiring this year. He does not have to worry about future political ramifications of his actions, either from re-election by his constituents or in terms of losing political plums from the party bosses. In other words, he is free to vote, assuming it has not atrophied away through his long time spent in Washington, his conscience.

It appears he is going to vote against the health care takeover unless it has clear language prohibiting public funding for abortion. This has the mavens in his political party, who seem to lust for innocent blood like some sort of psychopath out of a horror flick, extremely upset. They want taxpayer-funded abortions. They want you and me to pay for other peoples’ abortion whether we like it our not. Berry is telling them “no,” that this is a deal breaker for him on the health care bill. He does not seem to care what the mavens think anymore.

What does he care about?

Why is he taking this principled stand as one of his last official acts?

I can only speculate about motives, but I know what I would be thinking about. Like many in Congress, Berry is not only near the end of his political career, but he is not too many years away from the end of his time on this earth. If it were me, I’d be thinking about eternity. I’d be thinking about the eternal bliss of Heaven and the unquenchable fires of Hell.

I know many “successful” people in politics are too drunk with power to be rational, but a rational person should realize that as wonderful as this life can be, our hope must ultimately be in someone greater than this life.

While one is young and the glitz and excitement of the marbled halls of power are all about a person, it is too easy to forget that. But perhaps Berry is one of the lucky few who let all that humble him instead of bring him to unbearable arrogance.

Maybe there was enough left of the Arkansas roots in him that he knew that he did not want to go out like that.

Marion Berry is not the only one who needs to factor in eternity to their present day course of actions. All politicians need to realize it.

And not just politicians,but businessmen, bakers and housewives. In other words, all of us.

The purpose of this life, in the classical view, is to let the seeds in our soul blossom and reveal what we are. This is so that the angels will know if we are to be gathered into the harvest or cast into the fire to be burned. I like to think that Marion Berry has decided that he wants to be counted among that number “when the saints go marching in,” rather than join the red-handed mavens as they are shown their eternal home.

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Mark Moore is the lead writer for an Internet blog on matters pertaining to Arkansas culture and government, Arkansas Watch, and on Tuesday nights is the host of an Internet based radio program, The Guide for the Perplexed.

He can be reached through The Times at prtnews@ nwanews.com.

Opinion, Pages 4 on 03/24/2010