wants to know what I think <\/a>about \u201cthe potential hypocrisy of those who ignored Bush\u2019s record on capital punishment in 2001 (or unjust war, capital punishment, and torture in 2007), but are absolutely distraught (bear in mind I am not opposed to a protest of Obama \u2013 only to a selective protest of Democrats and a pass being given to Republicans) at Obama\u2019s speech in 2009.\u201d<\/p>\nUm, since there are so many variables at work here regarding so many hypothetical people with so many conceivable states of knowledge about so many things about which I myself am ignorant, it\u2019s rather hard for me to answer a question like that.<\/p>\n
For instance, did ND give Bush an honorary doctorate in law or just have him speak? If the latter, I see no hypocrisy. Is a Protestant who knows nothing about Catholic teaching on the death penalty (which is not intrinsically and gravely immoral) the moral equivalent of a Protestant who is openly defiant of the clear teaching of the Churcn and natural law on abortion, which *is* gravely and intrinsically immoral. I\u2019m inclined to doubt it. Are Catholics who know their faith well enough to know \u201cabortion is bad. Don\u2019t honor people who strive to promote it\u201d necessarily hypocrites if they labor under the impression that \u201cprudential judgement\u201d means \u201cnobody gets to tell me I\u2019m wrong\u201d (since that is the common notion current in American Catholic culture everywhere)? I\u2019m not convinced of that since I have no idea what the state of knowledge and culpability of my extremely hypothetical person is.<\/p>\n
And on and on. I would have no problem with either Bush or Obama merely being asked to speak. I would have a problem with giving either an honorary degree in law. But I\u2019m in no position to pass judgment on the alleged hypocrisy of remote hypothetical people. To quote somebody famous, that\u2019s above my pay grade.<\/p>\n
Please address all brickbats\/kudo to my combox.<\/p>\n