The Lives that MATTER
50 years ago today (the date of the publication of this post in 1973) a tragic Supreme court decision became a landmark case for the culture of death and a symbol of man's self-imposed depravity. In our day, we find our society and beliefs tossed about primarily by the media. Our culture today gives the conditions for lives that matter and if we believe them we, not just have everyone else's dignity laid in ruins, but also thereby our own. Our culture tells us that life is something we are in control of and it is our right to be in control of it. We do not define our worth nor anybody else's. Our life is not something we have ever been in control of much less anyone else's. Our value is not greater or less because of the money we have, the way we choose to live, our physical attributes, what we know, our talents, nor even what people think of us. The day we tell our neighbors they don't matter is the day we start believing it of ourselves.
When we adhere to the "my body, my choice" lies. We assert that a person is worthless because they are an inconvenience, but not just any person, our child. If we set that as a universally true principle, we assert in the measure we inconvenienced our parents so also we lost our worth. You are (worth) more than what it takes to love you. It is a fundamental scientific fact that a mammal's life begins when a spermatozoon cell meets an ovum. From that point on until natural death, a person's dignity does not change, their value does not increase or decrease. We cannot assert our lives anymore or any less important than anybody else's. Our time, comfort, health, or wealth are not any more or any less important than someone else's. If we stand by and let crimes be committed against others when we have the power to do something about it, no matter how little, then we assert that the said victim's well-being is not worth my time, effort, or expense. We cannot assert anything of the sort without also implying a lack of worth in ourselves.
In conclusion, we matter. There is no group whose attributes determine their worth. Who are we to make an exception to this? There is no justified cause for abortion, racism, euthanasia, violence, anger, etc. We are one human race i.e. family. We certainly do make mistakes. we are not always the people we wish ourselves to be. We are all sinners here, none without some form of guilt. Morality is not asserted to bring shame upon those who violate but to healing, freedom, and prosperity. Therefore, none can condemn without condemning oneself, because we matter and are worthy of forgiveness. There is no them it is just us. Suicides are tragic because people believe they don't matter. Well, that's a lie because they do. Good luck trying to refute these truths without also undermining your worth? Once a parent always a parent? If we hope to one day attain heavenly beatitude, is our hope not in adoption? When you see others see Christ first. Though there is a certain disconnect between the rights movements and the dignity of the human person, there ought not to be since it is hardly an exclusively Christian notion that every human shares an irreplaceable and indisputable dignity that place the same infinite value on each human life. The difference is Christians believe, this is God's love and role that causes such.
Whether it be a large matter,a small matter,
a black matter,
a white matter,
a Catholic matter
a female matter,
a brownish matter,
a faraway matter,
a right at home matter,
a private matter,
a sin matter,
a virtue matter,
The main thing that matters
is that we share our matter and our matters.
It matters not how,
it matters not what it costs.
As a matter of fact,
we are family, families love, and nothing matters more than that.
1906 By common good is to be understood "the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily."26 The common good concerns the life of all. It calls for prudence from each, and even more from those who exercise the office of authority. It consists of three essential elements:
1907 First, the common good presupposes respect for the person as such. In the name of the common good, public authorities are bound to respect the fundamental and inalienable rights of the human person. Society should permit each of its members to fulfill his vocation. In particular, the common good resides in the conditions for the exercise of the natural freedoms indispensable for the development of the human vocation, such as "the right to act according to a sound norm of conscience and to safeguard . . . privacy, and rightful freedom also in matters of religion."
1908 Second, the common good requires the social well-being and development of the group itself. Development is the epitome of all social duties. Certainly, it is the proper function of authority to arbitrate, in the name of the common good, between various particular interests; but it should make accessible to each what is needed to lead a truly human life: food, clothing, health, work, education and culture, suitable information, the right to establish a family, and so on.
1909 Finally, the common good requires peace, that is, the stability and security of a just order. It presupposes that authority should ensure by morally acceptable means the security of society and its members. It is the basis of the right to legitimate personal and collective defense.
Written by Carter Carruthers
