The Upcoming Election: There is no issue, except virtue

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There is, of course, much talk about the upcoming national election here in the United States, but the only issue that is not being discussed is actually the only issue. Recently, I had the pleasure of reading the official message of the Roman Catholic bishop of Springfield, IL concerning the upcoming vote, and I was pleased to see that the Church authorities are taking this decision much more seriously than they did in the past. The bishop was very solid in his condemnation of the platform of the Democrat Party, while making it clear that the Republican Party platform does not advocate anything that is intrinsically evil. He reiterated again and again the central point: there can be differences in prudential judgments about how best to take care of the poor in society, for example, but concerning intrinsic evils there can be no disagreement. The Democrat Party's support of such intrinsic evils, such as the HHS mandate, the promotion of abortion to the point that it will be always available and always free, and so-called gay marriage make compromise impossible, since there can be no peace between what is virtuous and that which is vicious.

The support for "gay marriage" is, perhaps, the most disappointing element in this new mélange, because inherent in this support is the particularly vicious unwillingness to enter into real and substantive discussion concerning the purpose of marriage. In supporting "gay marriage," the Democrats are deliberately refusing to participate in what should be a national discussion around the question, "What is marriage for?" The Democrats have decided, evidently, that marriage is a vacuous relationship that has no end or goal, and that the "spouses" are wedded to one another for their own pleasure. This is very different from the understanding of marriage that is maintained in every traditional society and every traditional system of ethics [Buddhist, Taoist, Judaic, Christian, Hindu, etc.], and yet despite this very different understanding, somehow, by some magic, there is no need for our nation to have a prolonged discussion and discernment. No, you do not depart from 5,000 years of tradition without prolonged discussion, discernment and consideration.

On the abortion issue as well, there is no doubt that the party's behavior is particularly vicious [filled with vice]. The reason that I can say that with confidence is the continuous use of the law in order to squelch moral discourse. If, in any forum, moral questions are raised about abortion and those who support it, the Democrats consistently invoke the law, "Well, it's the law of the land," as if adherence to the law guarantees moral rectitude, and as if there is no possibility of the existence of such a thing as an unjust law. The Democrats use the law as a moral standard in order to kill any discussion of deeper moral questions, while, at the same time, they seem intentionally ignorant of the fact that unjust law does not obligate the virtuous. Just like the case of "gay marriage," if a moral and ethical discussion and reflection could begin and flourish, then the truth would soon appear, since virtue is rational, while vice has no basis in nature or in human reason.

This brings us to the point. There is no issue in this election, except virtue. We have to vote for the virtuous, and reject the vicious. Vice can only retain an upper hand through deception. Let us hope that all of this deception will end in November.