By
definition, morality is a communal agreement about behavior or attitude, and by
definition, is relative to a particular group. For example, one group agrees to
share the use of a local pond. By agreement, the pond can only be used for swimming
and fishing, but no powered vehicles are allowed. By definition, then, it
becomes immoral to boat on the pond. If someone wants to use their boat, he
must either defy the moral code by boating, or politic to change the moral code
to allow boating. It’s during the politicking process, that I’m concerned with
for this blog post.
The
process of arguing morals within a particular group, can take a variety of tangents.
But the common thread is, one person (or several/many people) wants to engage
in a behavior that another person (or other people) believes to be against the
agreed morality. And so the debate is engaged, and the group is divided into
the boaters and the swimmers, the fishers and the players, the environmentally conscious
and the polluters. Every member of the group is forced to align with one side
or another of the debate, each for their own reason.
As the
debate rages on, the common goal of the group (in this case, the use of the
pond) is forgotten in exchange for the goal of winning the debate. Once this
happens, the division of the group is complete – winners and losers. NOBODY
wants to be a loser, so the debate degrades further into name calling and
bullying. At this point, oftentimes, the boaters (the ones who originally desired
to alter the moral) take matters into their own hands and, boldly violate the
moral code causing further division of the group into law abiding and law
breaking. Then comes sanctions followed by sympathizers who just want to keep
the peace. The debate has become personal and THIS MEANS WAR!
I
purposefully used the common use of a local pond to outline exactly what is
happening in our nation about a variety of topics. I was asked recently for advice
about how an Orthodox Christian should “function” within their work environment
while such debates are occurring within the office. The example given was in
regard to “non discrimination policies” and what categories should be included.
The initial thought of the Orthodox Christian was simple, and genuine. “We do
not discriminate! Why isn’t that enough?”
The
reason it isn’t enough has to do with boaters and swimmers. As a society, we
discriminate ALL THE TIME. (Think local pond) Society is a group of people who
have agreed to discriminate based upon certain categories. Yes, we DO discriminate
every day. We discriminate “against” pedophiles, bank robbers, short people,
tall people, skinny people, fat people, married people, single people,
gangbangers, polluters, dog walkers, dog owners…..you get the point. It isn’t
that we don’t discriminate, but HOW we discriminate. The moral code – the agreement
of the group – is what we are debating, and currently there is a growing agreement
that certain characteristics should be included in the “not allowed” category.
Just
like the local pond, we each have aligned ourselves with a particular group for
our own personal reasons. And just like the local pond, the debate has degraded
into personal attacks and NOW we are either haters or sympathizers. So, how do
we “function” as Orthodox Christian within this environment? I suggest we
consider Saint Paul’s advice:
I wrote to you in my epistle not
to keep company with
sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly
did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the
covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of
the world. But now I have written to
you not to keep company with anyone named a brother,
who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a
drunkard, or an extortioner -- not
even to eat with such a person.
For what have I to do with judging those also who are
outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God
judges. Therefore "put away from yourselves the evil person." (1
Corinthians 5.9-13)
If we
heed the advice of Saint Paul, we will remember the proper focus during the
constant debate of society morals. We are held to a higher standard as members
of the Church. We participate in the process only so far as we are able to
avoid the degradation of the process into haters and sympathizers. However,
just like our local pond, I believe the degradation is unavoidable.
Whether
the topic is discrimination policies, marriage, property rights, immigration
status, it really doesn’t matter. The process is the same and continuous. The
boaters will eventually be allowed to use the local pond, simply because the
swimmers don’t want to be considered haters. And they will find another place
to swim, until someone wants to go boating. THEN…the whole process will start
all over again.
