Modern Villains
May-June 2012
On Judgment Day, you will answer to FATHER GOD, not mother earth.” I saw this on a bumper sticker and was struck by the implication that we must choose between God and the environment. In our polarized political climate, encouraged by a sensationalist news ethos and a sound-bite culture, it seems we’re always being asked to choose sides—and choose them absolutely: blue or red, faith or reason, traditional or Vatican II.
Absolutism crops up everywhere. When a high-profile figure makes a mistake, the fall from grace is swift and complete. Whatever good he has done, whatever legacy she worked a lifetime to build—all is erased from public memory.
But absolutism doesn’t jibe with Catholic teaching. Take that bumper sticker, for example. The Church urges us to encounter God in every place and time, including through his creation. Stewardship of the Earth is a matter of holy living (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2415), just like respect for life or regular reception of the sacraments. And even though we may not be publicly called to account for our actions, we’ve all sinned against others. How can we feel justified condemning anyone on the basis of a few sound bites on the evening news?
Yes, some people do terrible, indefensible things: Corporate executives swindle millions from customers. Authority figures victimize the children under their care.
But we know from our own experiences that ethical dilemmas seldom have clear-cut solutions. Our world is far more gray than black and white. Perhaps that’s why it’s so tempting to simplify any situation we perceive can be drawn in absolutes.
In many ways, we’ve imported a culture of polarization into the Church. It’s all too easy to use lightning-rod issues to define “Us” and “Them” (stay-at-home or working mom? organ or guitar? English or Latin?). Trouble is, this alienates us from each other when we should be worshiping together, drawing on each other’s strengths and supporting each other on the spiritual journey.
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Of course, right and wrong do exist. We do have a responsibility to call out evil and try to eradicate it.
Still, behind every instance of evil is a person loved by God. If Jesus could see the good in tax collectors and prostitutes, should we not make the effort to do the same to our modern villains? More important, should we not avoid the false absolutism that turns matters of personal preference into a battle between right and wrong?
Perhaps the cure for absolutism is to look for and respect the dignity inherent in everyone we encounter, even—perhaps especially—those whose viewpoints and choices differ from ours.
Kathleen M. Basi is a liturgical composer and freelance writer from Columbia, MO. Her articles about faith, family, and liturgy have appeared in several Catholic magazines, and she has also published octavos for assembly use.