The
proper definition of freedom is not being able to do what we want, but being
able to do what we ought. This freedom to do what we ought relates to our
fundamental human rights which relates to our fundamental human needs and tendencies.
A reader sent me THIS LINK to a very
interesting interview with a priest named Fr. Marcel Guarnizo who connects
these ideas in terms of same-sex attraction and marriage rights and since thinking means connecting things it’s
certainly worth a closer look.
Humans
all have natural tendencies which stem from our desire for self-preservation.
We have natural tendencies toward food, drink, shelter, sleep, etc. If anyone tries
to take these things from us or prevent us from getting them, they are
violating some of our most basic natural human rights. Even the freedom of
speech comes from our natural tendency to communicate; freedom of religion
comes from our natural tendency to worship or to connect with something transcendent.
Beyond
self-preservation of the individual, humans also have a natural tendency toward
procreation. Our sexual tendencies relate to the preservation of the species
and also self-preservation in terms of passing on our traits and culture to our
children. This is why all humans have the right to reproduce and why marriage rights find their rational basis in the context of procreation.
Any natural
human tendency can manifest itself in non-normative ways in terms of excess,
deficiency or defect. In the case of the natural tendency toward food we have
non-normative excesses like bulimia and non-normative deficiencies like
anorexia. In the case of sleep there is narcolepsy and insomnia. Paranoia is a non-normative
state that relates to our natural tendency for self-preservation in a
disproportionate way. Being suicidal would be another non-normative state
working against self-preservation. The
same is true for our sexuality. Nymphomania
would be a non-normative excess of sexual tendency and impotency would be a deficiency. Sexual tendencies toward children, close
relatives, other species (animals) or members of the same sex are also non-normative as they do not foster self-preservation in terms of the preservation of
the species.
How
can we objectively say a tendency is non-normative? It’s not necessarily a
discussion of moral vs. immoral. Sometimes it’s just about data. If you were
late to work only 4% of the time, would it be fair to describe you as
“normally” late to work based on the data? If you were late to work 96% of the
time, would it be fair to describe you as “normally” on time? The percentage of
those who claim to have same-sex attraction in the U.S. is less than 4% (interview
link above sourced the 2013 National Heath Study). This makes it objectively and
statistically correct to say same-sex attraction is a “non-normative” tendency without
any discussion of the inherent dignity or morality of the individual.
Basic human rights and thus our laws are based on universal and normative human tendencies. With same-sex marriage we have a situation where we have made universal legislation based on a non-normative tendency. This is not only unreasonable, but also
irresponsible. In trying to do justice we erode a fundamental rule of law;
making it biographical or relating to a special interest.
Other
than same-sex attraction, we never celebrate non-normative human tendencies.
There are no pride parades for anorexia. But we should be concerned and ask “Why?”
We should seek the root cause or causes instead of just telling people to
embrace it and demonizing those who question it. Truth is the
foundation of compassion and mercy. Any mercy without truth is not merciful; in
fact it is quite the contrary. Unless we recover our intellect, we will not be
able to recover our civilization.
INTERESTING
SIDE NOTE:
The
interview mentions nations like Croatia, Slovakia and Macedonia recently amending
their constitutions to protect marriage as being between a man and a woman.
Could it be that these nations oppressed by communism for decades understand and
appreciate basic human rights and justice more than we do?
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| I want YOU to recover your intellect! |
