TOD 10.01.07

Relativism is the idea that morality is relative to the individual or the community rather than being fixed for all people at all times. This has long been the view in American academia, but in recent years it has also become the default setting for Americans in general, whether they realize it or not.

Presidential candidate John Edwards recently remarked that he hopes his children grow up to disagree with him about gay marriage, as if to say he is a bigot but just can’t get over it because of his upbringing. This is not surprising. What was surprising was that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace also recently said that he believes, based on his upbringing, that homosexuality is not right.

Such catering to relativism is unsurprising among political liberals, but the felt need to cater to it by conservatives is truly troubling. If something is wrong, say that it’s wrong. Don’t hedge by calling it “not right” “in my upbringing.” That is a subtle way of accepting the premise of relativism.