Desperately Needed for Bloggers Everyone:
a microsecond of charitable thought before hitting the send button saying anything
"......the American Constitution is not
linked to a concession of absolute truth. It is the Declaration of
Independence that is anchored upon self-evident truth, and the relation
between the two documents is virtually unexplored in the Supreme Court.
Indeed, only Justice Thomas has really thought about it seriously,
hence my admiration.
Does Barack Obama believe in the truth of the human person? Not surprisingly, he values the self-evident truths of the Declaration of Independence-even as he argues that the deliberative democracy established by our Constitution casts suspicion upon a claim of absolute truth. The founders, Obama observes, uniformly rejected all forms of absolute authority, whether that of the monarch, the high priest, or the majority. And yet, as John Paul II told us, democracy detached from absolute truth can be little more than another form of totalitarianism. Obama has similarly observed that absolutists can be correct-as the blunt wrong of slavery illustrates. “Sometimes,” Obama notes, “absolute truths may well be absolute.”
To reconcile the pragmatism of democracy with claims of truth requires that our minds be nourished by wide perspectives discussed freely and respectfully; it requires a heart full of grace, not anger. Within our own Catholic community, we need to bear in mind one further caution from our new president: that claiming public territory outside the church requires persuasion, not intimidation or force. Translating particularistic faith beliefs into rational argument is the stuff of democracy. “I may be opposed to abortion for religious reasons,” Obama said during the campaign, “but if I seek to pass a law banning the practice, I cannot simply point to the teachings of my church or [invoke] God’s will. I have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all.”
Of course, that is the very reason Cardinal
Justin Rigali and Bishop William Lori were so quick to remind candidate
Biden of the scientific basis for the church’s life perspective. Indeed
one might ask, with the church having brought forth its scientific
claim in so forthright and objective a manner as it has in modern
encyclicals, is it not proper for the burden of evidence now to shift
to those who, for religious or nonreligious reasons, believe unfettered
abortion ought to be permitted?
It is a valid question; and were the right-wing Catholic blogs not so preoccupied with demonizing me and other brothers and sisters in Christ who backed our president-elect, perhaps the question would receive some competent discussion.
See My Right Sidebar section titled: just right over there, a little bit higher >>>
--EXCERPTS/CURRENT BOOKS AND ARTICLES I AM READING
FROM: A Tangled Web: The Election & the Blogosphere....read the whole article, link to source.
Photo: looking above the tangled web BY Azazelle