Recent events have caused us to wonder whether or not our fellow citizens are capable of critical thinking at this juncture in America's slow slide toward moral wreckage. We seem to be unable to cope at this point with the differences between what is possible and what is proper.
For example, there are women in America today who are bearing other people's children so that they can pay their bills. One woman in particular, who has done this three times and is thinking of doing it again, states that she may do it again to enable her family to afford a down payment for a house.
The ethical question of whether or not womb rental should be accepted at all is not even considered. In today's moral freefall it is irrelevant.
Furthermore, as in the case of "rainbow families" - same sex couples having children - the question is not whether it is right, but merely, "When can we get started?"
Then there's a case in Utah where the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is suing a school district for refusing to put the book In Our Mothers' House on the library shelves for young children to read. The book, which deals with lesbian families, is available from behind the counter, but the ACLU wants it publicly available to children without restriction.
It seems that the innocence of children has gone out the window in favor of tolerance of all things twisted and perverse.
Things are askew in the scientific world as well. There is discussion in some scientific quarters about the possibility of creating clones and three parent babies. Dr. Helen Watt pointed out during an interview on Vatican radio that the practice involved in creating genetically modified babies is problematic because fragmented genetic parenthood means that a child created in this way has no real parents, but rather a genetic mixture.
The scientific community, on the other hand, prefers to forge ahead explaining to its peers that, if this practice becomes widely used, many genetic defects will be engineered away prior to an acceptable embryo being implanted.
Many argue that all of these practices and actions involving reproductive technology can be used to improve the human race and make child rearing more equitable regardless of the sexual preference. But such shortsightedness is simply the result of one root cause - contraception. Prior to the wide acceptance of this practice, none of the questions we are dealing with today would have arisen.
Recently, Father Shenan Boquet, president of Human Life International, wrote about the root causes of the culture of death, explaining that among the more fundamental aspects of the culture of death we are confronted first with sin and then with people who are experiencing "a violent fracturing" of relationships, faith, and even the family itself. Father then confirms:
The issue is contraception. What is interesting is that even a couple years ago, to mention this truth would be to invite eye rolling from even some passionate pro-lifers. But more and more, our Protestant brothers and sisters, and even some wayward Catholics, are realizing the wreckage that has followed in the wake of the sexual revolution - a revolution that would not have happened without contraception.
It is possible, of course, to ignore this truth and proceed along our merry way. And, as society continues its fascination with sexual satisfaction and scientific solutions to reproductive problems - without thinking about the consequences - we can anticipate even more deconstruction of truth.
The challenge before us is simple: When will we start asking what it means to be a human being?
Are we invincible entities who can continue to make our own rules as we go along in order to satisfy our every whim?
Do we care about the ethical paralysis that our fascination with all things sexual has created?
It occurs to me that we must challenge the status quo. We must teach that the remedy for this absence of movement toward what is ethical is to use common sense, logic, and a moral compass.
Such solutions are laughed at by so many today that it can become disheartening, but if we lose our desire to fight back and bring the body politic back from the brink, what then?
As for me, I'd rather do all I can to administer the cure and accept the consequences. Let's go down fighting.