I have long been a fan of a genuine Jesuit, retired Georgetown professor Fr. James Schall, S.J. A glance at his website, which contains his vitae and syllabi shows why.
Recently Fr. Has reflected on the increasing number of topics that we cannot talk about in public speech, which is no longer viewed as a search for truth through reasonable argument. Fr. Schall:
Recently Fr. Has reflected on the increasing number of topics that we cannot talk about in public speech, which is no longer viewed as a search for truth through reasonable argument. Fr. Schall:
We no longer want to hear speech if it “offends”
someone’s feelings or self-defined identity. We would rather “just get along”
than to have to decide about the truth of any issue or confront the
consequences of its violation.
We thus have become infinitely “tolerant” of anything but
truth itself. Speech is not directed to truth or falsity of an issue but to the
“sensitivity” and “compassion” of those who hear it. “Objective” standards are
subject to the listener’s “right” to hear only what he wants to hear. Thus,
whatever is “permitted” in positive or civil law becomes a “right” for those
who follow it. Furthermore, we cannot criticize the law as if there were some
“standard” by which to judge its worth. There are no standards as there is no
nature on which to base them. “Hate speech” laws become effective tools to
suppress any objective judgment about the rightness or wrongness of what is
legislated or practiced….
Read more, and pray for the grace to speak the truth. Remember, it will cost, but your reward will be great. Jesus once said, "....but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God...."
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