Austin Hall Library

Nancy Pelosi and the Significance of Words

It is difficult to miss the controversy swirling this week around Speaker of the House and part-time Catholic theologian Rep. Nancy Pelosi. Appearing on Meet the Press Sunday, she identified herself as "an ardent, practicing Catholic" who has "studied for a long time" the question of when life begins. She then went on in her interview with Tom Brokaw to seriously misrepresent the teaching of the Catholic Church and its 2000 year history on the subject of abortion. The official Catholic response to such an authoritative pronouncement by a high-ranking (third in the line of succession to the president) public official was swift and unequivocal--and, it is fair to say that the various responses (from several archbishops and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) indicated that Rep. Pelosi should either be more ardent or study a little longer.

But, this post is not about politics. It is about the significance of words, which was driven home to me as I read the various responses by the Catholic hierarchy to Rep. Pelosi's theological pontifications. Abortion is intentionally referred to by the Catholic hierarchy as a "grave moral evil" and a "grievously evil" act. This language is very significant, but its meaning could be easily overlooked.

In the language of ethics and moral theology, a moral act is an act that proceeds from the free choice of man with the intellectual awareness of the moral goodness or badness of the object chosen. A morally good act is an act that is proper to man as man. A morally evil act is an act that is unsuitable to man as man because the agent wills what is unbecoming to his nature. The act is formally evil whenever the agent chooses an act that he thinks is wrong--even though objectively it is right. The act is materially evil whenever the agent chooses as right an object that is objectively wrong. An act is grievously evil when the agent wills what is so inappropriate to his nature that to engage in that act is to totally deny and overthrow the order of his nature. An act is venially evil when it is directed away from what is proper to man as man, but not so much so that it is a total subversion of his nature.

I am not a Catholic theologian; I hold no position of authority in the Catholic Church, and I had nothing to do with the official responses to Rep. Pelosi's remarks--thus, my interpretation of the above-mentioned terms carry no force of authority. Nonetheless, some basic familiarity with the language of ethics and moral theology certainly illuminates the significance of the words carefully chosen by the Catholic hierarchy.

Calling abortion grievously evil is to say that it is an act so inappropriate to a human being that to engage in that act is to totally deny and overthrow one's human nature. It is quite simply an act that is less than human, even though conducted by a human being. By intentionally using such language, the Catholic hierarchy is not ignoring the confusion and heartbreaking circumstances that sometimes surround abortion, nor engaging in the condemnation of individuals. It is merely describing an act so profoundly at odds with human nature (the killing of one's defenseless offspring) that it is fundamentally a subversion of what it means to be human.

Just a Guitar Away From Eternity

I just have to say it. Some things just seem to go too far--especially in church. It is axiomatic that one should not be confused when entering a Christian religious service about whether to enter into prayer or roll a joint and sway with the music. When will we learn that certain actions are more evocative of the latter than the former?

Who knows how Christianity in America has come to its present state--jeans, Hawaiian shirts, spiked hair--and that's the ministers. Places of corporate worship are now often called "worship malls" and "family life centers", and they contain within them "main streets" coffee kiosks, and "food courts." And so often what happens in and around these churches is a source of confusion for the faithful.

I recently ran across the following post in an online blog, the name of which I cannot recall:

"A group of Lutheran contemporary worship leaders was left angry and frustrated by the realization that Lutheran Carnival X is not a literal carnival. The worship leaders had spent much of last week canvassing neighborhoods for unchurched children, handing out fliers that promised games, animals, and even a 'Jesus Freak Show' in an upcoming worship service. Their enthusiasm turned to disappointment and hostility when they learned that the term 'carnival' is simply used to describe a collection of blog posts on a particular subject. 'I've got 200 kids expecting to see a bearded virgin next Sunday,' complained Jerry Cromer, worship leader at Cirque de Life in La Jolla, California. 'What are we going to talk about when they show up? Jesus?'"

Unfortunately, such confusion is not limited to Lutherans. There is a common tendency these days to  confuse historic Christian faith with wish-fulfillment or positive self-help group meetings. But, feeling happy, warm, and cozy is not necessarily indicative of spiritual progression. Warm feelings of contentment and light-heartedness can be arrived at by contemplating a sunset, walking on the beach, drinking a twelve-year-old single malt scotch, or, I am told, by smoking a joint and listening to Bob Dylan. But these momentary senses of being one with the universe tend to fade, leaving one where they started, or sometimes much further back.

Occasionally, there is a voice of sanity out there. But, like prophets, such people aren't all that popular, especially in their own circles. Alice Thomas Ellis (her pen name) is one such  clear-thinking writer. She was an accomplished novelist, but her short essays are a great place to start getting to know her thoughts. For an introduction to her views concerning the modern tendency to popularize historic Christian worship and other ideas, read her two short works Cat Among Pigeons and God Has Not Changed.

A Timely Quote

Charles Pe'guy wrote:

"There has never been an age in which money was to such a degree the only master and god. And never have the rich been so protected against the poor and the poor so unprotected against the rich. . . . And never has the temporal been so protected against the spiritual; and never has the spiritual been so unprotected against the temporal."

Pe'guy was a little known French poet who died in battle in World War I. I collected a few of his works at the suggestion of an extremely well-read friend in Virginia. I cannot say that I am a fan, but it appears that T.S. Eliot was, who praised him as "one of the most illustrious of the dead who have fallen in this war." Eliot also noted that Pe'guy was "a remarkable example of a writer who managed to influence many people, largely because he had so confused a mind that there was room for everything in it somehow."

Filled with intensity and spiritual seriousness, Pe'guy's works are not readily available in English. But, Liberty Fund has republished Temporal and Eternal, which contains adapted versions of two long essays by Pe'guy first published in English in 1958.

In addition to the one above, the following is one of my favorite quotes by Pe'guy, found in the 1905 essay "Notre Patrie" ("Our Fatherland" in French): "It will never be known what acts of cowardice have been motivated by the fear of not looking sufficiently progressive."

Before Your Embrace Universal Healthcare

On the way to my office recently I heard an NPR report on the debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama regarding universal healthcare. Admittedly, the cost of healthcare for the average person these days is almost beyond belief. But, before one embraces the idea that government provided universal healthcare is a good answer to the problem, one should read Theodore Dalrymple's Life at the Bottom: The Worldview That Makes the Underclass. I have previously posted about Dalrymple and his insightful book (here), but I mention it again for a different reason.

Dalrymple is a British physician who served the poor in hospitals and prisons in England for forty years. The case histories and his experiences with England's welfare state are shockingly enlightening. In short, socialized medicine misses the main point of the plight of the underclass--cultural and spiritual impoverishment. In fact, universal healthcare, while intended for good, may very well exacerbate the problem of the underclass. According to Dalrymple, a physician with vast first-hand experience in this area, it is not the absence of full medical coverage that most significantly harms the underclass. It is the moral relativism and tolerance of the progressive elites that ultimately foster self-destructive pathologies in the very people they intend to help.

The Politics of Modernism

One cannot help noticing the current political fascination with "change." According to one major news network, the perceived ability to "bring needed change" continues to be the number one attribute sought in a candidate and mentioned by voters in exit polls. Experience is mentioned as a distant second and empathy is listed third. One major candidate even adopted the campaign slogan "Ready for Change, Ready to Lead."

At one level, this is a fascinating phenomenon--fascinating because the word change is used like a direct object, with no reference as to what specific change is needed in what. At another level, it is a deeply disturbing phenomenon. It reminds me of the thought of Ezra Pound, one of the major figures in the Modernist movement. Pound, in Make It New, explains that the meaning of all his work, particularly The Cantos of Ezra Pound, is "new-ism".

Admittedly, I find Pound virtually incomprehensible for the most part, and I lament the fact that the customarily  insightful T.S. Eliot is reported to have referred to Pound as a great poet. Nonetheless, he has made a recent but significant impact on Western culture. Pound promoted the Confucian doctrine of "process" and even said it would save the world, by which, as John Senior says, "he means destroy the West." In his writing, Pound essentially repudiates ideas and is thus left with nothing observable but a process.

People who conceive of existence in this way--as a process rather than being--always attach themselves to the current, the novel, the au courant. The pursuit of change as an end in itself in the political realm is simply a warmed over version of Modernist philosophy. The lust for the new derives from a loathing of the customary, the traditional, the norm.

Modern politicians may not express their ideas in this way, and may not even know the philosophical roots of their own political inclinations. Most politicians, after all, are not deeply thoughtful people. Nevertheless, the hazy expressions championed by politicians and parroted during exit polling must come from somewhere. They come from ideas, and are often caught rather than explicitly taught.

Intrinsic Evil in Time of War

A good friend forwarded this link yesterday. It is a recent short but thoughtful opinion piece from the Wall Street Journal. The author raises a few good questions and ultimately infers a sort of utilitarian ethic in the final paragraph of the article.

The use of arms in time of war and, particularly, the treatment of non-combatants, wounded soldiers, and prisoners must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. Rigorous conditions of moral legitimacy for acts done in wartime are necessary for any people to remain civilized and undeserving of condemnation.

Featured Today--The Travel Cafe

This is a very interesting coffee shop in downtown Billings, Montana. It is The Travel Cafe and it is a combination upscale coffee shop and travel agency. Take a look at this picture of the inside (View this photo), taken from the open air doorway into the shop. If you look closely, you will see a cowboy pushing a baby stroller--in this hip coffee shop. I am afraid Billings has arrived! This shop is a novel idea and it has been around for several years, so the combination must be working. But, although the people are very friendly, the atmosphere is not as conducive to serious reading as the more traditional coffee shops in town.

Here is another one of the more traditional (View this photo) shops in town, the 17th Street Station. It is a very comfortable neighborhood coffee shop that I frequented in years past (when I lived nearby) at the end of a very early morning run. I occasionally met a friend there, or we ran there together, and we talked about what we were reading, and the big ideas we found in books.

The Farmer's Market

This is a picture of a downtown Billings street before the crowds  gather for the Saturday Farmer's Market. Local farmers from the nearby Hutterite colonies come into Billings and the streets fill up very quickly. By 8:30 AM the crowds are heavy. I am sitting in the coffee shop as I write this and I can see the throngs pass by only several feet from my window.

The local Hutterite farmers grow everything imaginable on large, neatly cared for farms outside Billings. The vegetables are huge and fresh. The stall next to my window is selling onions the size of oranges!

Driving in from the cabin this morning, not long after dawn, I saw a contingent (perhaps a dozen) of hot air balloons rising over the city and drifting toward the Yellowstone River and cliffs. The balloon pictured in the close-up drifted just over my vehicle.

Today I plan to spend my time with Gordon Zahn's In Solitary Witness: The Life and Death of Franz Jagerstatter. I started it last night after a twilight walk near the cabin. Jagerstatter was beheaded (forced to lie on his back and watch the coming blade) in 1943 because he defied Hitler's totalitarian regime by refusing to fight for the Nazi Army. In one of his letters from prison, he wrote: "If nothing else, it is always possible to save one's own soul and perhaps some others as well by bearing individual witness against evil." 

Live from Beartooth Coffee Roasters

This picture, taken at 6:30 AM today, is the front entrance to a coffee shop that has been a favorite of mine for many years (formerly under a different name)--Beartooth Coffee Roasters. If you go to its website, you will see a picture from a little different angle, and with the sun shining on it. I am also including a couple of shots from inside the shop.

At one time in life, I visited the Beartooth Coffee Roasters at least daily, sat in a corner with a good book, listened to the light jazz playing in the background, and enjoyed the whole experience. It is a "roaster," meaning that coffee  beans are actually roasted on premises. That means the wonderful aroma of fresh roasting coffee beans almost overwhelms you when you open the door and walk in. It also means that one can order fresh roasted beans directly from the coffee shop from anywhere. I just spoke with the owner and she tells me she now owns another, more "funky," establishment on the West side of Billings. In fact, it is called the Funky Monkey Juice & Java. I assured her I would soon visit that shop.

On the flight to Montana, I managed to get all the way into Book II of Samuel Butler's translation of Homer's The Iliad. I am currently deep into Homer's recitation of of the vast number of ships and military leaders of the Achaeans, but my favorite lines thus far come from Achilles to Agamemnon (referring to his preoccupation with his own gratification): "Most noble son of Atreus, covetous beyond all mankind, how shall the Achaeans find you another prize? We have no common store from which to take one." Achilles states the perfectly rational obvious, but self-indulgence has no room for reason.

Off to Big Sky Country

I leave shortly for Montana. Accompanying me will be Richard M. Weaver's Visions of Order, Plato's Last Days of Socrates, Gilbert Highet's The Classical Tradition, G. K. Chesterton's St. Thomas Aquinas, Josef Pieper's The Virtues of the Human Heart, and Gordon Zahn's In Solitary Witness. I will also take with me Homer's Odyssey and Iliad as Audiobooks on my iPod. Should be a good week.

While there is no Internet service at the cabin, I will make my way into town and visit the local coffee shops with regularity. I should be able to send a few posts from there.