tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193964913557211073.post8927345353160289800..comments2023-04-01T12:33:52.804-07:00Comments on Nero's Fiddle: On Unsolicited Opinion and TapewormsTom Bennetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10262757246725216175noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193964913557211073.post-81075675401106807522010-02-25T15:00:50.736-08:002010-02-25T15:00:50.736-08:00JJ: I could care less about her attention whore-ne...JJ: I could care less about her attention whore-ness. I am even emotionally blunted enough to be basically unmoved by her decision to get an abortion (what atheist wouldn't?). Hell, I don't think abortion is some dire sin against the universe.<br /><br />Am I ultimately anti-choice? Yes. I think Christians ought to preserve, nourish, and promote life at every level. What troubles me about Angie is that hers is not a story to be pitied in our culture, but one elevated to the level of the heroic.<br /><br />I mean, wow. This is what heroes are in the digital age? Someone who courageously does whatever she wants and bravely annuls all undesirable consequences? Someone who summons her deep reservoir of character in order to...go with her basest impulses?<br /><br />Pardon me, but I've always felt the designation "hero" belonged to that narrow class of self-sacrificing individuals who <i>restrained</i> their baser nature in accordance with the needs of the created order.<br /><br />Like, here are some suggestions for Angie.<br /><br />(1) Abandon single motherhood. I understand that relationships don't always work out. But maybe, in the interests of your son, you should try to find an upstanding, responsible, caring man to be your child's step-father. So what if he doesn't "ignite your passions" or whatever. Or if that's really important, try to find someone who can.<br /><br />(2) Disregard, or massively de-prioritize, your feelings. Angie, hormones are a powerful thing. They cause both men and women to experience an array of feelings. Get over it. Do not make life-altering decisions solely on the basis of ephemeral impulses.<br /><br />(3) Take seriously the judgment and opinions of others. Part of virtue is recognizing your obligation to the social fabric of society. The hero's lot is primarily one of service. This is why it takes <i>courage</i> to be one. Courage is willing and executing actions that will probably result in negative consequences for you. ["Negative consequences" as in, eg, shouldering a lifetime of responsibility and other-directed care as opposed to being flamed for two weeks over the internet.] The hero is mindful of a duty to many that trumps the duty to self-regard. Only in the context of a highly-developed social network can the hero clearly perceive what that duty really is. This is precisely because our minds are tricksome, and we are more likely to deceive ourselves than know what is actually required.<br /><br />(4) Fulfill a calling that is higher than yourself. Heroes live and die <i>for something</i>. In classical Greek literature, that traditional pagan motive is glory. So, eg, Hector fights Achilles for two reasons (1) his social duty requires a defense of his liege lord; (2) win or lose, his name and deeds will be preserved forever. In Christian terms, this is about the basest motivation for heroism you can find, <i>but it is infinitely better than post-modern bourgeois hedonism</i>. Seriously, don't believe in God, Angie, I don't care, but at least pretend to be aiming for transcendence, you know?<br /><br /><br /><br />Angie's case overwhelms me with sadness because she is exactly what you should expect in the post-Christian world. Our light has gone out; we have nothing to live for except ourselves, and not even "ourselves" in a mature, modern, ontologically consistent sense, but "ourselves" as fleeting meatbags comprised of flitting, unpredictable, and, most importantly, transitory desires. <br /><br />Angie didn't want the baby on Tuesday, but next Thursday she might feel differently. There are no regrets, however, only an accumulation of data points or lessons to be taken into account the next time she has an unplanned pregnancy.Tom Bennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10262757246725216175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6193964913557211073.post-35091414592072431292010-02-24T15:28:39.013-08:002010-02-24T15:28:39.013-08:00And now for my unsolicited opinion...
I don't...And now for my unsolicited opinion...<br /><br />I don't really see the gloom-and-doom of your last paragraph in this abortion story. Angie certainly is an attention whore, but so is everyone on the internet. That chick that cooked everyday and blogged about it, and now it's a movie? Attention whore.<br /><br />Otherwise, she's just a girl getting an abortion. Her IUD failed, she doesn't want another kid, for personal as well as health reasons, which is a pretty legitimate situation to get an abortion, by many peoples standards.<br /><br />I say Angies main sins are being crass (referring to the fetus as a tapeworm was in bad taste) and being an attention whore, and she will get duly smacked-down in the media (and blogs) for both.J.J. Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16708962983252144731noreply@blogger.com