The Pope's speech to the German Parliament

[fpb]

http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/the_listening_heart
As ever, the man is worth listening to. But the responses in the comments thread just show how bloody useless it is to deliver intellectually distinguished and morally valuable speeches in a world where most people know no history but are stuffed full of out-of-context factoids and believe themselves entitled to judge.

Comments

Re: Five

[ihuitl.livejournal.com]

I go where my reason and observation lead me: so if I come to the conclusion that the founders were incorrect in believing in natural law and a creator (regardless of religion), then so be it.

That does not mean I must disagree with them as far as the value of representative government, or legal rights, or that they did not have genuine disagreements with Britain that warranted breaking away. Many of their enlightenment contemporaries ascribed rights to being granted by the State, such as Spinoza, Kant and Durkheim, so there was hardly a unified idea of the origin of rights to begin with. Yet we have common ground on the end results. And of course, I should mention Jefferson's best line:

"As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths disclosed, and manners and opinions change with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also, and keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy, as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors."

Re: Five

[fpb.livejournal.com]

Which, considering that representative government was an idea seven hundred years old, would have meant that Jefferson should have supported the up-to-date tyrannical ideas of the most advanced rulers of the age, the likes of Frederick of Prussia and CAtherine of Russia, whom all progressives in their time loved and admired and tried to follow. That was the progressive party: the United States were trying to cling to an armoury of mediaeval notions with mediaeval names - county, council, alderman, sheriff, habeas corpus, militia, etc etc. But then Jefferson could be quite silly if he put his mind to it.

Re: Five

[ihuitl.livejournal.com]

Jefferson and the other founders took the existing democratic institutions and ideals and developed them further, breaking away from those modern tyrannical examples. That is exactly in keeping with the spirit of his quote: namely, times change and institutions progress. He also anticipated future improvements and changes after his death...which is exactly what happened.