Tuesday, March 12, 2013

How to Destroy a Worthy Cause

The surest way to set back a worthy cause is to mingle utter stupidity with truth. This is one of the many reasons why good causes are so unpopular these days.
This sad excuse for an editorial provoked this jeremiad. Some of the statements contained within this article are true; others are absurd. A few tenuously related facts slapped together, and… wham! Instant conspiracy.
The writer of this piece will make headlines – and not in a good way. A horde of activists and “neutral” journalists in America will turn their guns on him, and he won’t have anything except a web of disconnected facts and a few outright whoppers to defend himself.
The depressing thing is that there is an element of truth in what he wrote. There is indeed a concerted effort to sabotage the family. Some of those promoting this destruction are homosexual activists. Marxism did aim to destroy the family. But the slapdash manner in which he phrased his statements destroyed his own argument. (For example, homosexuality pre-dates Marxism by thousands of years.)
The most famous example of self-destruction in a good cause: Todd Akin. Akin, a pro-life Missouri congressman, rightfully opposed abortion in all cases. He also managed to set back the pro-life movement with one incredibly uninformed comment about women and rape that he couldn't defend.
Patently absurd statements are suicidal. It’s a world of gaffes, where one foolish statement can ruin a career. And we live in a world where those in positions of power seek to punish men who fight for good causes, and will seize upon any awfully worded statement (or phrase taken out of context) to do so. The last thing the enemies of goodness need is live ammunition in the form of poorly thought out "arguments" from good men.
Is all this unfair? Of course. But it’s not a fair world. Jesus commanded us to practice prudence in our earthly endeavors, lest our enemies get the better of us. “Behold, I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be ye therefore wise as serpents and simple as doves.” (Matt 10:16)
Either speak the truth with charity and wisdom, or speak it not at all.

2 comments:

  1. SHUT UP!!!!

    I kid, I kid.

    You're spot on, Paul.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Amen to that. It has often been said that it is the fool that needs to speak. Sometimes, it is those that need to be heard loudest that are the most foolish. We also find that those with the loudest opinion, oft happen to have no opinion at all. They are only loudly annoucing someone elses words.

    ReplyDelete

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