David Brooks hits it out. of. the . park.
Our country took a decisive turn in the road in 1973. What is taking place in our senate finds its roots in that fateful decision. Blackmun and friends snatched away an important debate that needed to happen. The result is what we have today.
The stakes are simply too high now and getting higher. The fight over life is morphing into a fight over death. And after that, a fight over making life. At the core of the fight? Worldviews. What does it mean to be human? Why are we here? What has gone wrong with the world and how do we fix it? How now shall we live?
In a relativistic culture that has lost a belief in universal principles and morality, the only thing that really matters is power. Whoever controls makes the rules and decides what is right and wrong. That is what is taking place.
Why should the minority voice be protected? Without moral absolutes, all you have is pragmatism -- which is exactly how I hear the minority making a moral appeal to not change the senate rules. "Today's majority is tomorrow's minority" is the standard argument. No appeal to a binding moral principle -- just pragmatism.
Pragmatism is fickle. Maybe what works for me is to get what I want -- at your expense. Then what?
How would a pragmatist respond to the pragmatic argument I just presented? "You would do the same if you were in my shoes". Which is true -- but again, lacks principle. It does not get us anywhere.
What is the overarching moral principle that will compel the majority to preserve the power of the minority? What is the moral principle that is true for you and true for me -- and true for everyone else too?
Sadly, our culture punted overaching moral principles -- so here we are.
What to do about it? Brooks suggest overturning Roe and starting over. Would I love to see Roe overturned? Absolutely. Would that solve the problem? Not a chance. The problem is worldviews (at a more fundamenal level, obviously, the problem is sin). Ultimately, we need a shift in worldviews away from the path we are on to one that believes in moral "oughts" for everyone.
How does that happen? Here is the hard answer. It happens one person at a time. It starts with me and my fellow followers of Christ engaging in the marketplace of ideas. But it does not stop there. It continues with us laying down our pursuit of the personal peace and prosperity and entering into a messy world full of hurt and anger and caring for people. We need to share the gospel and do the gospel. It cannot be all words.
It is sad to watch the senate deginerate into the house -- but it was inevitable. Will our government ever recover? I don't think so. Not until we see a fundamental shift in worldviews. A shift that will happen -- one. person. at. a. time.
HT: World.