Uncivil discourse, or how we alienate of people of faith

Padraig18

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Tue Nov-16-04 11:03 AM
Original message

Uncivil discourse, or how we alienate of people of faith

Edited on Tue Nov-16-04 11:12 AM by Padraig18

Although too late to do us any good this year, much notice has been paid to the importance of the 'morals' or 'values' factor in terms of influencing voter behavior in the general election just past. While there is some dispute as to what degree this issue influenced voter behavior, there is no dispute that it did influence it to a moderate or greater degree. I personally believe that it is a good thing that this matter has come to the forefront, because it gives us an opportunity to successfully address it and effect positive changes in our own institutional behavior towards matters and people of faith.

Speaking as a person of faith--- a Roman Catholic, specifically--- I would venture to state that not only has our party failed to deal with matters of faith and their importance to voters, but it has, in fact, forgotten how to even hold a civil dialogue with these same voters. Dismissiveness, or even outright gratuitous insults aimed toward people of faith has become the norm in some quarters of our party, and it is to our party's detriment that this is tolerated. How often have I witnessed in these very forums absolutely vicious, ad hominem attacks upon practicing Catholics and the institution of the Roman Catholic Church itself, the sole purpose of which seems to be the 'bear-baiting' and mean-spirited derision of those who love the Church? 'Quite often' is the answer.

Rather than seeking to find common ground with Roman Catholics (e.g.) on such issues as the environment, universal health care, the elimination of hunger and maldistribution of wealth, opposition to the death penalty, social justice, equal pay for equal work, opposition to the use of military force in any but a purely defensive or 'just' war, it seems as though the most vocal among us deliberately seek out those issues upon which we may (or may not) disagree, and apply the whip to them with a glee that would put the Marquis de Sade to shame! Absolutely NO respect is accorded to those who may, as a matter of conscience and personal conviction, believe that human life does begin at conception--- none whatsoever. Those who believe that abstinence is the ONLY 100% effective way to prevent unwanted pregnancy and the spread of HIV and venereal diseases are openly ridiculed for their beliefs. While certainly not all Roman Catholics accept the Church's stand on these matters, nonetheless a majority (or large plurality) of us will quite understandably come to the defense of our Church in the face of such assaults, as would most any family member when they perceive that another family member is unjustly attacked by an outsider.

Let some loudmouth, asshat pastor, bishop or cardinal make some off-the-cuff statement on a particular subject, even though he is speaking as an idividual and not as spokesman for the Church itself, and there will be 15 free-for-all threads here bashing both individual Catholics and the Church within a matter of minutes. Oddly, though, let the Church do something like the Diocese of Springfield IL did this week--- see passed into law an $11 fee on all real-estate transactions, the purpose of which is to fund rent-subsidies for low-income individuals and families--- and any thread posted on the subject will drop like a stone. Does anyone fail to see how absolutely unjust and counterproductive such knee-jerk, institutional hostility toward people of faith is?

In closing, let me state quite plainly that our problem in reaching out to people of faith is not one which arises from a lack of shared values; if anything, we share FAR MORE values with most mainstream religious denominations than do our opponents. The problem we have is a monster of our own making--- our utter lack of civility, common decency and respect toward those who hold opinions different from our own. Until we can learn how to open and maintain a respectful dialogue with people of faith, we will continue to alienate them in ever-increasing numbers, to the detriment of both our party and our nation.

Thank you.