St. Blogs own Domenico Bettinelli, Jr. was on MSNBC's Coast to Coast recently. Click on the latter link and check under "blog reads" if interested.
Friday, February 25, 2005
Briefly on Iwo Jima at the Sixtieth Anniversary:
(A Rerum Novarum Remembrance Thread)
Lane Core Jr. reminds us that Iwo Jima happened sixty years ago this month (and next). Go HERE to read what he has posted and view some black and white photographs of a triumph during WW II that cost nearly 20,000 American lives. I commented on this event two years ago in a post which can be read HERE and which includes a memorial eulogy from a military chaplain circa 1946.
For those who kvetch repeatedly about the toll thus far in Iraq, maybe these posts will help you gain a sense of perspective on this subject. One can certainly hope so anyway...
(A Rerum Novarum Remembrance Thread)
Lane Core Jr. reminds us that Iwo Jima happened sixty years ago this month (and next). Go HERE to read what he has posted and view some black and white photographs of a triumph during WW II that cost nearly 20,000 American lives. I commented on this event two years ago in a post which can be read HERE and which includes a memorial eulogy from a military chaplain circa 1946.
For those who kvetch repeatedly about the toll thus far in Iraq, maybe these posts will help you gain a sense of perspective on this subject. One can certainly hope so anyway...
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Miscellaneous Bits on the Terri Schiavo Situation:
For those interested in contributing to Terri Schiavo's cause, you can do so by making contributions to a PalPal account. A special thank you is extended on Our part to Beth of My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy for the heads up on this matter. To make contributions, go HERE and click on the button to contribute what you can.
Also, We at Rerum Novarum have added the weblog links for both blogsforterri and also prolifeblogs to our side margin of links under the heading Ecumenical Jihad all things to the contrary notwithstanding.
For those interested in contributing to Terri Schiavo's cause, you can do so by making contributions to a PalPal account. A special thank you is extended on Our part to Beth of My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy for the heads up on this matter. To make contributions, go HERE and click on the button to contribute what you can.
Also, We at Rerum Novarum have added the weblog links for both blogsforterri and also prolifeblogs to our side margin of links under the heading Ecumenical Jihad all things to the contrary notwithstanding.
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
"Tales From the Mailbag" Dept.
(On the Terri Schiavo Situation and the Culture War in General)
The words of the emailer will be in purple font.
Shawn,
Hi XXXX:
I may post this email tomorrow or the next day as it is a Terri
Schiavo related thread.
I read your post and the associated writings, and I fully concur. This alone won't solve the problem; it's just basically a desperate (?) effort to get the facts out in this particular case since so many are of the perception that she is completely brain-dead and think that justifies her being killed.
Frankly, we need to define the principle of life and what it constitutes. Definitions are the tools of thought and without them, it is difficult if not impossible for some people to differentiate between what is logical and what is not. There is too much nebulosity involved in the present discourse on the other side. When you have John Kerry on the national stage supposedly "agreeing" with the pro-life position but feeling that he cannot "impose it on others" ala the Cuomo line of argumentation, it is evident that core principles of the debate needs to be defined.
The first principle that needs to be defined in this debate is "what is life and where does it begin???" The other principles that need to be utilized are a recognition of the laws of identity and non-contradiction without which logical discourse is impossible. And Kerry's stance (and those of people who "reason" as he does) directly violates non-contradiction and equivocates disingenuously on identity.
Many who are comfortable with the idea of the "right to die" (read: right to put down a human as if she were a dog) in the case of the persistently and permanently vegetative disabled have reconsidered their position when confronted with the facts of this case.
I am not as close to the situation as you are (so I am going on your word here) but some progress -even if minor- is comforting in light of the horror of what we are hearing.
However, you're right--it doesn't address their belief that it's OK to kill in certain circumstances. For now, with time being so limited and legal options running out, it's all we can do for now.
I agree with one caveat: the argumentation that opposes these people must be consistent and it must be unwavering at that. There are issues that tie directly into the right to life that need to be recognized and supported. Someone who supports the right to life undermines their own cause when they seek to undermine the right of their neighbours to their faculties (aka "liberty") or production (aka "property") if you will. Likewise, someone who promotes the right to faculties or production but does not support the right to life undermine their own cause as well.
With prolifers and so-called "social conservatives" the right to life is the focus and with a degree of tunnel vision that is often exasperating to those of us who sympathize with what they strive to achieve.
George Bush is a case in point: he claims to support life but his administration endorses absurd regulations on faculties and production to the point to where his support of life is compromised. With libertarians and capitalists it is the rights to faculties (read: liberty) and production (read: property) which are the focus while they support a so-called "pro-choice" position which is self-defeating. With capitalists it is the right to production and sometimes faculties which is their focus -though the latter two oftentimes selectively apply the rights of the other to the extent that it helps them of course.{1} But I digress.
The culture of death we're in now will take time--and lost lives, unfortunately--before it's rectified. It seems that liberal groupthink loves the sanctity of life when it comes to criminals on death row, but no other lives are worthy. Sad commentary on their priorities and values.
Indeed.
ALL lives are worthy in the eyes of God; who are we to say we know better? I guess that doesn't matter to the Godless masses these days, though...
That is why we have to approach this with as much reason and logic as we can muster. They may not be people of faith but if they have good-will and are willing to consider an argument or position on its merits, then oftentimes such people can be reached even if it takes time and more effort than normal to do it.
Note:
{1} I go over this in greater detail at the following link:
The Fundamental Rights of Man Revisited (circa September 25, 2004)
You may find the approach taken against euthanasia in the above link to be particularly of interest since (at least implicitly) that is what Michael Schiavo is trying to do with his wife. I would argue that Terri's life may possibly be more solidly defended if a defense is made of her right to faculties (however diminished they happen to be) concurrent with the defense of life. (Along with tying into this the principle of society's collective or common good.) All of this is noted with greater exactness within the link above.
(On the Terri Schiavo Situation and the Culture War in General)
The words of the emailer will be in purple font.
Shawn,
Hi XXXX:
I may post this email tomorrow or the next day as it is a Terri
Schiavo related thread.
I read your post and the associated writings, and I fully concur. This alone won't solve the problem; it's just basically a desperate (?) effort to get the facts out in this particular case since so many are of the perception that she is completely brain-dead and think that justifies her being killed.
Frankly, we need to define the principle of life and what it constitutes. Definitions are the tools of thought and without them, it is difficult if not impossible for some people to differentiate between what is logical and what is not. There is too much nebulosity involved in the present discourse on the other side. When you have John Kerry on the national stage supposedly "agreeing" with the pro-life position but feeling that he cannot "impose it on others" ala the Cuomo line of argumentation, it is evident that core principles of the debate needs to be defined.
The first principle that needs to be defined in this debate is "what is life and where does it begin???" The other principles that need to be utilized are a recognition of the laws of identity and non-contradiction without which logical discourse is impossible. And Kerry's stance (and those of people who "reason" as he does) directly violates non-contradiction and equivocates disingenuously on identity.
Many who are comfortable with the idea of the "right to die" (read: right to put down a human as if she were a dog) in the case of the persistently and permanently vegetative disabled have reconsidered their position when confronted with the facts of this case.
I am not as close to the situation as you are (so I am going on your word here) but some progress -even if minor- is comforting in light of the horror of what we are hearing.
However, you're right--it doesn't address their belief that it's OK to kill in certain circumstances. For now, with time being so limited and legal options running out, it's all we can do for now.
I agree with one caveat: the argumentation that opposes these people must be consistent and it must be unwavering at that. There are issues that tie directly into the right to life that need to be recognized and supported. Someone who supports the right to life undermines their own cause when they seek to undermine the right of their neighbours to their faculties (aka "liberty") or production (aka "property") if you will. Likewise, someone who promotes the right to faculties or production but does not support the right to life undermine their own cause as well.
With prolifers and so-called "social conservatives" the right to life is the focus and with a degree of tunnel vision that is often exasperating to those of us who sympathize with what they strive to achieve.
George Bush is a case in point: he claims to support life but his administration endorses absurd regulations on faculties and production to the point to where his support of life is compromised. With libertarians and capitalists it is the rights to faculties (read: liberty) and production (read: property) which are the focus while they support a so-called "pro-choice" position which is self-defeating. With capitalists it is the right to production and sometimes faculties which is their focus -though the latter two oftentimes selectively apply the rights of the other to the extent that it helps them of course.{1} But I digress.
The culture of death we're in now will take time--and lost lives, unfortunately--before it's rectified. It seems that liberal groupthink loves the sanctity of life when it comes to criminals on death row, but no other lives are worthy. Sad commentary on their priorities and values.
Indeed.
ALL lives are worthy in the eyes of God; who are we to say we know better? I guess that doesn't matter to the Godless masses these days, though...
That is why we have to approach this with as much reason and logic as we can muster. They may not be people of faith but if they have good-will and are willing to consider an argument or position on its merits, then oftentimes such people can be reached even if it takes time and more effort than normal to do it.
Note:
{1} I go over this in greater detail at the following link:
The Fundamental Rights of Man Revisited (circa September 25, 2004)
You may find the approach taken against euthanasia in the above link to be particularly of interest since (at least implicitly) that is what Michael Schiavo is trying to do with his wife. I would argue that Terri's life may possibly be more solidly defended if a defense is made of her right to faculties (however diminished they happen to be) concurrent with the defense of life. (Along with tying into this the principle of society's collective or common good.) All of this is noted with greater exactness within the link above.
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
More on Terri Schiavo, an Activist Blogosphere Effort on Her Behalf, Etc.:
The recent Rerum Novarum inculcation thread on Terri Schavo and the fundamental rights of man elicited some email from those who are in the trenches for her cause. In light of the seriousness of this matter, I have selected the following email and am for publication at Rerum Novarum as per the Welborn Protocol. This appear to be a form letter of sorts sent out to bloggers who have discussed this issue either recently or in the past. Nonetheless, that does not mean that the letter itself is not well thought out or well intended. The writer's words will be in purple font with minor changes made to give life to the links that she sent.
Dear Shawn,
I am writing to invite you to become part of an organized effort among over 100 bloggers to help bring a just resolution to the plight of Terri Schiavo. Terri Schiavo is a disabled woman who has been denied appropriate medical treatment and whose life has been threatened for the past fifteen years. Right now there is a massive effort in the Blogosphere to first save her life and then restore her rights to appropriate medical treatment. You can help in this effort. Here's how:
1. Educate yourself on her situation. A good comprehensive website to start with is her family's official website [HERE]. You can find the latest breaking news on her case [HERE]. In addition, there are many other linked websites and blogs you can visit, and you can find your own sources with the help of your favorite search engine.
2. Get the word out. Email your family and friends, your local radio stations, newspapers, and anyone else you can think of.
3. Join the effort [HERE]. Since you have a blog, consider joining the blogburst and post about Terri on a daily basis. Contact the key people in Florida provided [HERE]. You also have an opportunity to participate in a pledge drive to raise funds to place a full page ad in the St. Petersburg Times, Terri Schiavo's local paper. Go [HERE] for more information. No doubt, there are other ways to get involved in the works. Check back [HERE] often for updates.
I know we can't all do everything, but if we all do what we can, we can make a difference. Please join our efforts to help save Terri Schiavo's life and provide her with the medical treatment she has been so long denied. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Beth Cleaver
Beth's Weblog
Blogs For Terri
Certainly I am quite willing to give an assist to this noble effort. However, let it be noted that (thus far) I am (to my knowledge) the only one who has provided a principle of argumentation capable of consistently defending Terri Schiavo in the entire blogosphere without indirectly undermining the other fundamental rights that singleissue advocates inexorably ignore. In doing this, I have taken it upon myself to reiterate and refine further a classical economic and legal model for an authentically conservative society where situations such as Terri Schiavo's would not occur or be sanctioned by any legal system worthy of being called "just." While this may not be as direct a service to Terri Schiavo as many who are involved in this struggle at the front lines; at the same time, all movements have to have both short term and long term strategists.
My approach to this is both long term and also (for the most part) transcends this circumstance to consider the underlying ramifications behind the so-called "rights" which certain parties claim to have over other people which in reality they do not. And in doing so, I must reiterate until enough people finally start grasping it what the bottom line of any defense of Terri Schiavo that crosses religious boundaries must entail.
That bottom line is the recognition that there are three fundamental rights of mankind that precede all laws ever written by mankind. Furthermore, all three of these rights stand together and must be recognized as such if defending one of them is to succeed in a permanent (as opposed to a transitory) manner. I have noted this countless times in the past and also admitted that before that I did not explicitly have the Terri Schiavo situation in mind in doing any of this.
Maybe it helps that I did not have any particular issues directly in mind initially except the overarching ones of (i) authentic freedoms as opposed to pseudo-"freedoms" and (ii) the role of law a just society in safeguarding said authentic freedoms. By implication, this involves an entire spectrum of issues{1} including those involved in the Terri Schiavo situation.
In summarizing this thread, I will again reiterate a point I have made on various occasions in the past including recently{2} -with slight modifications where warranted:
[Any] ranting about violations in [various legal/moral/social/political, etc.] areas have to be addressed systematically my friends and from the same core premises. This will require learning a new hermeneutic of argumentation to some extent but if we want to actually win this culture war -and not merely receive constant "stays of execution"- it is something that all of us who care about these issues must learn to do.
At its foundation, that is what must accompany all of these efforts on Terri Schiavo's behalf. Because if it does not, then one of two things will happen (i) Terri will be spared but this same circumstance will arise again -either with her or with someone else in a similar predicament or (ii) she will lose and those who campaigned for her life will learn nothing from their experiences to prevent a future event like hers from occurring.{3} My interest is in these kinds of situations not happening again. And that is why I approach this issue as I do and always will.
However, one person has a slim chance of getting an idea to be accepted across a broader continuum of philosophical or ethical outlooks. Therefore, those truly interested in helping not only the Terri Schiavo's of today but also those of tomorrow{4} do well to learn this and learn it fast lest again they make a prophet out of Santayana much as many people before them have done.
Having noted all of that, it seems appropriate to end this post with an article on the situation from Fr. Rob Johansen. Hopefully readers will be able to see in light of what Fr. Rob had to say why (i) it is important to approach this subject in a number of ways and (ii) why what I have proposed is the only viable way to procedurally mitigate against future situations such as this cropping up in our society. But that is all I will note on this subject at the present time except (of course) to note that Terri and her family will be in my prayers.
Notes:
{1} To see how they pertain to the subjects of a person's liberty/faculties and their production/property, see this link where I make a few clarifications to an earlier post where there was a bit of confusion on the part of some of the readers. (Including the individual whom I wrote the defense for in the first place.)
{2} The original form of this statement (reiterated HERE) can be accessed from the same source.
{3} And as far as future situations such as the Schiavo one, it is only a matter of when (and not if) it happens again. (If her supporters do not wise up on this and wise up soon.)
{4} In both cases, there are many of these whom the bulk of her supporters would not recognize. A classic example of this can be viewed in the link within footnote one. And as long as this fact goes unrecognized, we will inevitably have more Terri Schiavo situations crop up with greater frequency in the future. To kill the weed you have to pluck out the roots. And it is plucking out the roots which is what I recommend and have long recommended at this humble weblog.
The recent Rerum Novarum inculcation thread on Terri Schavo and the fundamental rights of man elicited some email from those who are in the trenches for her cause. In light of the seriousness of this matter, I have selected the following email and am for publication at Rerum Novarum as per the Welborn Protocol. This appear to be a form letter of sorts sent out to bloggers who have discussed this issue either recently or in the past. Nonetheless, that does not mean that the letter itself is not well thought out or well intended. The writer's words will be in purple font with minor changes made to give life to the links that she sent.
Dear Shawn,
I am writing to invite you to become part of an organized effort among over 100 bloggers to help bring a just resolution to the plight of Terri Schiavo. Terri Schiavo is a disabled woman who has been denied appropriate medical treatment and whose life has been threatened for the past fifteen years. Right now there is a massive effort in the Blogosphere to first save her life and then restore her rights to appropriate medical treatment. You can help in this effort. Here's how:
1. Educate yourself on her situation. A good comprehensive website to start with is her family's official website [HERE]. You can find the latest breaking news on her case [HERE]. In addition, there are many other linked websites and blogs you can visit, and you can find your own sources with the help of your favorite search engine.
2. Get the word out. Email your family and friends, your local radio stations, newspapers, and anyone else you can think of.
3. Join the effort [HERE]. Since you have a blog, consider joining the blogburst and post about Terri on a daily basis. Contact the key people in Florida provided [HERE]. You also have an opportunity to participate in a pledge drive to raise funds to place a full page ad in the St. Petersburg Times, Terri Schiavo's local paper. Go [HERE] for more information. No doubt, there are other ways to get involved in the works. Check back [HERE] often for updates.
I know we can't all do everything, but if we all do what we can, we can make a difference. Please join our efforts to help save Terri Schiavo's life and provide her with the medical treatment she has been so long denied. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Beth Cleaver
Beth's Weblog
Blogs For Terri
Certainly I am quite willing to give an assist to this noble effort. However, let it be noted that (thus far) I am (to my knowledge) the only one who has provided a principle of argumentation capable of consistently defending Terri Schiavo in the entire blogosphere without indirectly undermining the other fundamental rights that singleissue advocates inexorably ignore. In doing this, I have taken it upon myself to reiterate and refine further a classical economic and legal model for an authentically conservative society where situations such as Terri Schiavo's would not occur or be sanctioned by any legal system worthy of being called "just." While this may not be as direct a service to Terri Schiavo as many who are involved in this struggle at the front lines; at the same time, all movements have to have both short term and long term strategists.
My approach to this is both long term and also (for the most part) transcends this circumstance to consider the underlying ramifications behind the so-called "rights" which certain parties claim to have over other people which in reality they do not. And in doing so, I must reiterate until enough people finally start grasping it what the bottom line of any defense of Terri Schiavo that crosses religious boundaries must entail.
That bottom line is the recognition that there are three fundamental rights of mankind that precede all laws ever written by mankind. Furthermore, all three of these rights stand together and must be recognized as such if defending one of them is to succeed in a permanent (as opposed to a transitory) manner. I have noted this countless times in the past and also admitted that before that I did not explicitly have the Terri Schiavo situation in mind in doing any of this.
Maybe it helps that I did not have any particular issues directly in mind initially except the overarching ones of (i) authentic freedoms as opposed to pseudo-"freedoms" and (ii) the role of law a just society in safeguarding said authentic freedoms. By implication, this involves an entire spectrum of issues{1} including those involved in the Terri Schiavo situation.
In summarizing this thread, I will again reiterate a point I have made on various occasions in the past including recently{2} -with slight modifications where warranted:
[Any] ranting about violations in [various legal/moral/social/political, etc.] areas have to be addressed systematically my friends and from the same core premises. This will require learning a new hermeneutic of argumentation to some extent but if we want to actually win this culture war -and not merely receive constant "stays of execution"- it is something that all of us who care about these issues must learn to do.
At its foundation, that is what must accompany all of these efforts on Terri Schiavo's behalf. Because if it does not, then one of two things will happen (i) Terri will be spared but this same circumstance will arise again -either with her or with someone else in a similar predicament or (ii) she will lose and those who campaigned for her life will learn nothing from their experiences to prevent a future event like hers from occurring.{3} My interest is in these kinds of situations not happening again. And that is why I approach this issue as I do and always will.
However, one person has a slim chance of getting an idea to be accepted across a broader continuum of philosophical or ethical outlooks. Therefore, those truly interested in helping not only the Terri Schiavo's of today but also those of tomorrow{4} do well to learn this and learn it fast lest again they make a prophet out of Santayana much as many people before them have done.
Having noted all of that, it seems appropriate to end this post with an article on the situation from Fr. Rob Johansen. Hopefully readers will be able to see in light of what Fr. Rob had to say why (i) it is important to approach this subject in a number of ways and (ii) why what I have proposed is the only viable way to procedurally mitigate against future situations such as this cropping up in our society. But that is all I will note on this subject at the present time except (of course) to note that Terri and her family will be in my prayers.
Notes:
{1} To see how they pertain to the subjects of a person's liberty/faculties and their production/property, see this link where I make a few clarifications to an earlier post where there was a bit of confusion on the part of some of the readers. (Including the individual whom I wrote the defense for in the first place.)
{2} The original form of this statement (reiterated HERE) can be accessed from the same source.
{3} And as far as future situations such as the Schiavo one, it is only a matter of when (and not if) it happens again. (If her supporters do not wise up on this and wise up soon.)
{4} In both cases, there are many of these whom the bulk of her supporters would not recognize. A classic example of this can be viewed in the link within footnote one. And as long as this fact goes unrecognized, we will inevitably have more Terri Schiavo situations crop up with greater frequency in the future. To kill the weed you have to pluck out the roots. And it is plucking out the roots which is what I recommend and have long recommended at this humble weblog.
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