The Will of the People

 

Marilyn Monroe, Photoplay 1953

Does Christianity make a difference in peoples lives? Does it have a practical effect? It seems to me that there is a lot of confusion about the matter. In my own experience, I know that many people believe that it's impossible to live a happy life without sexual gratification. The sexual act is translated into "love" and therefore it's impossible to live a happy life without that love. Indeed, for some, Heaven isn't Heaven unless sexual gratification is central to heavenly bliss. In short, sex has become an idol. And my general impression in conversation with such people is that the sexual restraint required by orthodox Christian morals is impossible. And, I've come to concur, that given a secular outlook on life, yes, it is impossible. But that's not true within the bigger picture which includes supernatural life. With God's grace, the impossible is possible. On the other hand, my interlocutors might object that it is possible for an atheist to be virtuous and chaste (look at the Stoics!). And I would then concede that it's possible. But then something important is missed between the contradictory possible and impossible of sexual restraint. The key is this: in our society, we tend to think at the level of the individual; how things might affect the individual (for a description of how grace might affect the natural or cardinal virtues at an individual level, follow this link). However, the Church is also a society of individuals, and it transforms society (the book reviewed here seems promising). That is, while it's possible for individuals to be chaste for a certain period of time, it's impossible for society to remain chaste without God's grace in those individuals.

Since it's election day, I'd like to comment on the importance of voting. In particular, Massachusetts has a ballot question about using Ranked Choice Voting (RCV). It's sold as increasing power to the people. That is, it gives the people a greater voice. I don't know that RCV will result in any sort of improvement. Unlike ideologues of Democracy, I'm not convinced that more Democracy or more power in voting is a good thing (the lawn signs say, "Yes on 2. More Voice"). Democratic instruments such as voting are useful in determining the will of the people, but what happens if the will of the people is wrong? Where utilitarianism and an individualistic philosophy is strong, the will of the people aims at increasing the pleasure and reduces the pains of individuals. There is no room for the common good as promoted by Christianity (in the form of loving your neighbor). As the cynics say, democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. The common good includes the minority, and very often, minorities are shortchanged with respect to the common good. They don't get to share in it fully. Today, those human beings who have yet to be born are such a minority. They have no right to vote, and are unheard. They depend on others to speak for their rights. And the abortion issue is down stream from sexual ethics. Indeed, the feminist cry for reproductive rights easily translates into "women should be able to fornicate as men do without consequences." That is, it's unfair for women to be burdened with a pregnancy when men aren't so burdened.

The will of the people is only a good thing when the people have a proper understanding of the common good and also will that common good.

Over all, however, the outcome of this specific election is unimportant. I'm convinced that our society is in decline. Sociologist J.D. Unwin (who, it seems, wasn't religious himself) saw a correlation between sexual license and the decline of that culture. The founding fathers of this country knew that the constitution they had written was for a Christian and moral people. The best I could hope for is that there be breathing room for a religious conversion on the order of one of the Great Awakenings this culture has experienced in its history. American exceptionalism, if there really is such a thing, depends on the religious character of our culture. And that depends on religious freedom, and the will of the people to respect it, or disregard it. I'm not sanguine about that. But I can pray.