"Don't Impose Your Morality On Me"

By Anonymous -
Steve Wagner wrote an excellent post yesterday commenting on Mary Ann Glendon's "The Women of Roe v. Wade" article. Gledon writes:

“But it took some time before growing numbers of Catholics, Protestants, and Jews stepped forward to point out that when people advance their moral viewpoints in the public square, they are not imposing anything on anyone. They are proposing. That’s what citizens do in a democracy—we propose, we give reasons, we vote. It’s a very strange doctrine that would silence only religiously grounded moral viewpoints. And it’s very unhealthy for democracy when the courts—without clear constitutional warrant—deprive citizens of the opportunity to have a say in setting the conditions under which we live, work, and raise our children.”

After revealing the precise quote from Glendon, Steve applies her teaching by playing it out in a hypothetical context of a conversation"

"When I express a moral view in the public square, I’m not imposing my view, I’m proposing a view for your consideration. If you think I’ve forced my view just because I think I’m right, you’ve misunderstood. I’m offering an opinion you don’t have to accept. Sure, I think you’d be foolish to reject my view, for this reason and this reason and that one over there, but there’s no force involved."

Scott Klusendorf adds his wealthy two-cents by proposing it this way:

“Look, I’m not imposing my view. I’m making a proposal. That’s what citizens do in a constitutional republic like ours. Are you saying that I shouldn’t be allowed a voice or a vote in our democratic process? If so, who are you to impose that view on me?”


Cross-Blogged at Apologia Christi

Comments

BK said…
Oh boy, don't get me started on this topic. It is erroneous to think that any viewpoint can or should be excluded from public discourse or becoming the potential basis for law simply because it is religiously motivated. There is nothing in the wording of the Constitution that requires a "secular viewpoint" for the underlying goal of the proposed legislation before it can become law. There are limits based the First Amendment's prohibition towards establishing a particular sect as the church of America, but that is a far, far cry from disqualifying ideas that may have their genesis in religious thought.
8/22/2005 11:51:00 AM
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