Having been chided to address Notre Dame’s invitation to Obama on the merits I will do so. My instinct is that this will be a massive waste of my time, but we shall see. A common current of the opposition is the claim that the offer is honoring President Obama. Stated in various ways is the belief that offering this platform is an affirmation of everything Obama has ever said and done, most significantly his recent actions with regard to abortion and ESCR. Complimentary to this, is the belief that his views are so beyond the pale so as to not merit recognition in civilized society.
Recognizing this, we choose our measure. Some will argue intrinsic evil (a concept many people mistakenly think means really bad grave evil) should be used as an absolute measure. As MM has pointed out, if that is the measure, then torture is on the table as well as other issues. Some proponents would argue that this is fine. The practical effect of making inelligible most men we call leaders seems to be feature and not a defect. There is another measure that one could use and it is relativistic, specifically popular support. In this case context is important. As someone will no doubt be prone to remind, Pope Benedict has often warned about the dangers of relativism. He is however speaking of philosophical relativism, not political relativism. Politics, by definition, is the weighing of relative goods to produce some goal like justice or the commonweal. While it is tempting to believe that the scourge of abortion will be ended by exposition of the truth – a Platonic hope so to speak that men do evil because they do not know truth – we moderns recognize our knowledge of right and wrong and our choice to choose it. Think the penitential rite, “I have sinned throught my own fault…”
So what is the relativistic standard I propose? It is to meet people where they are at. It is to recognize that regardless of one’s opinions, the President of the United States, whoever he or she is, is not a minority or fringe figure. As I stated in various ways prior to the election, if you believe that the choices placed before you (the two candidates with any chance of being elected) are routinely so evil so as to not offer you a choice, then your obligation is greater than mere protest. No one holds the Amish responsible for abortion in this country or the war in Iraq. If you desire the peace of not being a part of the world then monastic solicitude may be for you. I don’t offer it as an insult. Monastics provide a valuable witness, a witness I wish were more present in this country. We also need evangelists in the culture at large. The goal is conversion of a people. That movement of wills is not merely exposition, although exposition does have real value. That movement of wills is also the conditioning of society to recognize and choose good. Rome was not built in a day. Even the monastics haven’t achieved heaven on earth. And no progress can be made until we start looking to advance the good.
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