Not long ago in the news, I heard a discussion about how the United States is drowning in regulation. Regulations by Federal, State, and local regulatory agencies are the standards set to protect individuals, society, our country, even our planet.  Our political landscape is one side calling for deregulation because regulations cause undue extra process and costs; the other for more regulation citing the 2008 investment bank (Goldman Sachs) scandal causing the Great Recession and the BP Gulf Oil rig explosion and ecological disaster, both the direct result of  deregulation.

“Experts” argued back and forth about the pros and cons of regulation without the slightest consideration to the question: Are increasing regulations systemic of a self-serving society?  Most regulations are the result of the need for standards, but many stem from corruption or corner cutting to enhance the bottom line of the balance sheet. 

I believe it is. Freedom from regulation, like freedom from violence, greed, tyranny, and intolerance, is the gradual result in a nation whose citizenry is increasingly committed to the pursuit of wisdom and the cultivation of an honest and loyal personality.  Liberty without a growing ability to treat others as we are willing to be treated is unrealistic and unlikely.  Today we are experiencing the fruit of our collective emergence  as a self-serving nation, reflected in our troubled society where the advancement of science and technology has eclipsed the stagnation of morals and values.

So what needs to be done?  How can we improve the mores of our society so that we can regain the trust in one another and the integrity in our actions so needed to peel off layer upon layer of regulation?

I believe the answer lies in one very simple but increasingly ignored action:   We live in a country where God has been replaced with narcissism. We must strive to put God back where God belongs - in our hearts and minds.   And we do this  most effectively by being open to discovering  new meanings in our understanding of God and the universe so that we may enliven the passion and appreciation for God that moves us to build a philosophy of universal concepts that may be shared by all.  Increasing  unity in the understanding of these universal and spiritual concepts has the potential to break through the philosophic chaos and spiritual stagnation that grips America today.

Exploring our beliefs in the light of the revealed teachings in The Urantia Book is the first most decisive step in fostering unity in the comprehension of the relationships between the physical and the spiritual. By expanding the concept of God and the universe, elaborating upon the uniqueness of personality, and presenting critical distinctions between soul and spirit, this book brings new depth to the study of philosophy and theology.  The concepts in The Urantia Book gain greater significance when reconciled with existing knowledge.  Heaven Is Not the Last Stop provides this reconciliation. The expanded perspectives in The Urantia Book and Heaven Is Not the Last Stop challenge many belief systems, including present-day Christianity. Like any challenge, the ideas presented in these books can be perceived as an obstacle, a heresy, or an opportunity. Approached as an opportunity, they can serve as a touchstone to uplift our belief systems. And through this achievement, one person at a time, decisions and actions will begin to reflect the trustworthiness and loyalty that fosters less involvement of government in the lives of citizens.