Pope Francis once wrote that moral destitution “consists in slavery to vice and sin.” Today we see that, in slavery to vice and sin, we find hatred and threats to life.
While we have infinitely more hope now with a Trump presidency than with a Harris presidency, we must continue to be watchful, as the culture of death will never stop. It lurks all around us, and it seeks the souls of our children, of scared mothers, and of the sick and elderly. It comes in the form of hatred for others, of spinning abortion as “reproductive rights” and euthanasia as “mercy killing,” and in a mentality that teaches that vitriol can be a normal part of life. The culture of death is steeped in a moral destitution that puts the self above others, and it begins when unchecked hatred manifests into hate-filled words and actions.
We don’t need to look far for examples.
A pregnant Kentucky woman—known as Mary Poe—is suing the state to reverse its near-total ban on abortion. She is just a handful of weeks pregnant with a child she does not want, but because of the current state law she is unable to have an abortion there. Poe explained, “I am bringing this case to ensure that other Kentuckians will not have to go through what I am going through, and instead will be able to get the health care they need in our community.” She continued, “I feel overwhelmed and frustrated that I cannot access abortion care here in my own state.”
This mother does not understand that the words abortion and care are polar opposites. Abortion takes the life of a child. It is not care. We hope that she comes to see the immense value of her child, and we pray that she makes the decision to spare his or her life.
Moral destitution can also be found in stories of those who take the lives of a loved one in a mistaken attempt to put an end to “pain and suffering” and in states that promote the ending of a sick person’s life.
And it can be seen in the disturbing stories of rants about the election results, though these are far from the only ones. Actress Rachel Zegler, who’s playing Snow White in the upcoming Disney movie, took to social media to spew her vitriol for those who voted for Trump. She wrote, “May Trump supporters and Trump voters and Trump himself never know peace.” While she later apologized, it seems likely she was apologizing for articulating her thoughts rather than for actually thinking them.
Then we hear the story of a Connecticut special education teacher who ranted about the election on Snapchat. She said in part of Trump supporters, “Please don’t test your gangster on me because you will end on a stretcher, gone forever. So serious.” She was removed from her job pending an investigation but has since resigned.
The violence that these women wish on others has been normalized and even applauded. In a country where this hatred is so easily spread, is it any wonder that we can also hate babies and the sick and elderly so much that we justify killing them? This hatred begins in our hearts and homes.
But though the roots of hatred seem to have taken hold, we have hope that we can dislodge them. We can break the chains of this slavery to vice and sin that lead to hatred and death. And while it may sound trite, the antidote is love.
My father used to say that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, meaning people will listen to you and take your words seriously if you speak kindly and out of love. This is what Christ did. We see examples of this throughout the gospels. Jesus never screamed obscenities at people. He never made fun of others or called them names. He steadfastly told the truths of the faith.
This is what we must do each and every day. We must resist the temptation to speak unkind words. We must give voice to the voiceless. We must proudly stand up for our faith. And we must teach our children to do so as well.
Only when we all do our part to treat others with respect, to show that all people have value and that everyone matters, and to speak up for our faith will we truly make a change. Only then will the hatred and the disdain for life at all stages end.
This article first appeared in LifeSiteNews at lifesitenews.com/blogs/after-trumps-election-the-culture-of-death-is-still-around-us-in-abortion-and-left-wing-violence.
Facebook Comments