Crackpots on the warpath

“PEACE be with you, bro or sis.” I feel like saying these words to those who in discussing sensitive issues like the RH Bill and lately, divorce, spew venom to those who differ with them, and that’s likely, those who still defend their Christian faith in these issues.

The underlying tragedy that explains this unfortunate phenomenon is that many people have lost the sense of unity of knowledge. In pursuing knowledge, they cannot relate to the spiritual and supernatural realities. They stay simply on the material and purely natural levels.

This, plus a host of other reasons and factors, like some sad experiences with the Church, with priests, etc., that make them lose their sense of balance and proportion and become more emotional than rational, and that veritably turn them into crackpots on the warpath.

Everything now is a matter of opinion, of one’s personal experience, of one’s preferences and estimations. Things have become so subjective that the objective truth, let alone, God-given faith, are all but forgotten, and even ridiculed.

Notice the arguments and tools used. Calling for women’s rights even at the cost of the rights of the children, the family and even the unborn. Polls and surveys are now the sources of truth and of what is good and evil in life. And impertinent slogans and rallies now replace civilized discourse.

One lady columnist argued that the unborn are not yet children and therefore are not yet subject to rights. She said that those bills proposed in Congress recently are unfair to the mothers, since they seek to give protection only to the unborn.

She conveniently forgot what the Philippine constitution said under Article 2, Section 12: “The State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect and strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social institution. It shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception…”

Earlier, she made herself like a one-woman demolition crew against the Catholic Church by exposing the supposed wealth of the Church. Frankly, she drew pity more than anything else. She can be the face of many of those who are pro-RH and pro-divorce, driven more by hate, discontent, ignorance and error than anything else.

There’s no metaphysics, no serious philosophy, much less, theology. Everything seems to derive from pure reason alone, based on personal, social, economic or political considerations. And the discussion is supposed to stick in those levels. Straying from them would be deemed foul.

So we now have a cacophony of views and opinions that echo the discordant voices in the Bible episode of the Tower of Babel. And I’m afraid we have to brace for more action and confusion, since after the RH and divorce, for sure there will come other hot-button issues like gay marriage, abortion, euthanasia, etc.

In fact, a well-known lady columnist in a mainstream paper now openly bats for abortion. While she was coy about it years back when she was just talking about contraception, now she has no qualms about supporting abortion.

That’s another proof that the RH bill which only allows contraception, as of now, will end up legalizing abortion in our country. I know that the slippery slope is one informal fallacy in logic. But this time, with what we see in other countries and what are emerging now in our country, this slippery slope is anything but a fallacy.

To weaken the position of the Church, some opinion-makers try to frame the Church position as a Catholic option that should not be imposed on others who are not Catholics, or who are Catholics but do not want to follow the Church teaching.

Forgotten is the fact that the Church also gives teachings that are ethical in nature, and that ought to bind everyone since they are universal in scope.

In fact, a well-known priest-lawyer has said as much. With his solomonic posturing, he makes all sorts of legalistic distinctions without arriving at a clear conclusion. If anything, his concludes that the RH bill is ok because the Church cannot impose its views on the others.

There are, of course, others who think faith, religion and the Church have no place in the public discussion of issues. That would be fine if the issues are purely social, economic or political in nature. But if they prominently touch on spiritual and moral questions, why would faith, religion and Church be excluded?

Truth, of course, should be pursued in charity. But also, charity should be pursued in the truth.