Tuesday, November 27, 2012

"Lustre of Our Country" - a Review of Noonan's Classic | National Catholic Reporter

"Lustre of Our Country" - a Review of Noonan's Classic | National Catholic Reporter by MSW. MGB: I have not read the book.  The question for bringing morality into politics, especially sexual morality, is whether the population at large is entitled to an opinion on individual behavior.  In some cases, it is.  In most, it does not beyond making sure children are cared for and adults can form relationships which allow them to transition from members of their family of origin to a family of choice.  This is not simply secularism, but is a result of a belief that God has granted each person free will. The extent to which the imposition of group will on individuals is the extent to which a society is a police state.  Sometimes, police power is worthy, especially to protect the innocent.  However, such cases must be weighed for their practicability.  

Politics itself is not idealism, it is the art of the possible.  In a modern society, some things are not possible, such as regulating abortion in the first trimester under the assumption that the child is a person.  These cannot be finessed by simply overturning Roe on jurisdictional grounds.  The unborn are either people under the law or not - and mandating that they be considered as such has implications in law that the pro-life movement itself is unwilling to face, which is why there has been no progress on this issue.

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