In Moral Relativism Who's Responsible?

Nancy Salvato

As I watch the murder of Terri Schiavo play out on television at the behest of her husband, who for all intents and purposes is practicing polygamy since he insists that he is still her spouse after he fathered two children with his new lover, I can't help but be appalled at the indifference of those who haven't bothered to investigate the true facts of the matter. Those not following the case assume that right wing busy bodies are interfering with Terri's "right-to die." Regardless of the true circumstances of the situation, because of the prevailing attitude that humans should have the right to be humanely put to death, there is the assumption that she would be better off dead –starved to death. The details are irrelevant.

It adds insult to "injury" that the case of Terri Schiavo is touted in the mainstream media as more fuel firing the ongoing debate between those who are pro life and those who are pro choice. The inconsistencies about how she "fell" into her condition continue to be overlooked by grossly oversimplifying the situation in the traditional news outlets. There is a very real possibility that her husband tried to murder her back in l990. There were lots of broken bones in her body and it was never verified that her being found face down on the floor was due to a heart attack. There is an order that she is to be cremated upon her actual death. There would be no autopsy and no evidence available for a full investigation, should it come down to that.

Hearing about the progression of Terri Schiavo's murder on television doesn't make it any more real than any other atrocity broadcast on the evening news any given day of the year.

Compare the facts of the Schiavo situation to those surrounding Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Llario Pantano, charged with murder after he made a split second decision in a combat situation last April to shoot two Iraqi suspects who rushed him and his men. The operative word here is "combat." This man was serving his country and decided to defend himself and his men –in a combat situation. How could this be allowed to occur? Why would anyone want to be a soldier and defend this great country of ours under these circumstances?

According to Dennis Prager, leftist ideology, i.e. moral relativism, allows "feelings" to determine right from wrong. Conservatives base their positions on what is right rather than how they are feeling at any given moment. Certainly this second system allows for greater clarity when distinguishing right from wrong. Right leaning Conservatives might be seen as unyielding in their belief system, but as Ben Franklin is quoted, "If men are so wicked with religion, what would they be if without it?"

Only moral relativism can explain why Mine Ener, a Villanova University professor who killed her infant daughter and later committed suicide, was honored posthumously by naming a library study area after her. She slit her own baby's throat but because she suffered depression, she was not only excused from her behavior but seen as a tragic heroine.

I imagine that the scariest thing about living under a dictatorship, such as occurred under Saddam Hussein, is you could never be sure how to frame the words you say or to couch your actions so that in the long run you weren't found deserving of torture or death. You would be living in a world where reality was suspended due to the widespread insanity that was your every day existence. The notion of an inherent right to life, liberty, and happiness would be as unlikely as being able to flap your arms and fly away.

Contrast that with living in the United States of America, where there is no fear in speaking your mind and where opportunity is limited only by your imagination. Whether or not it is acknowledged, the major influence permeating our upbringing and which continues to allow our privileged existence, blessed as such, are the Judeo Christian values that form the foundation for this, the strongest country in the world. It was acknowledged by the founders and the framers that the creator endowed us with free will and the US Constitution was written to protect this freedom.

We need to stop trying to disallow religion in public places. We must stop promoting moral relativism as an acceptable substitute for the Judeo Christian principles necessary to distinguish right from wrong, accept personal responsibility, respect others, and which make us all members of a community. We must fight for what is right.

As I write this piece, several days after the feeding tube was removed, Terri Schiavo is dying and the whole world waits for the conclusion to this unthinkable act of injustice. Why is Terri Schiavo less deserving of the outrage that moves the moral relativists to protest death row executions, torture at Abu Ghraib, or the right to abortion? Death, murder, human pyramids…it's all relative.

Copyright © Nancy Salvato 2005

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Nancy Salvato is an Independent Contractor with Prism Educational Consulting. A teacher, she has worked with students ranging from preschool through college. Her credentials are in History, Language Arts, and Early Childhood Education. Nancy serves as the 6th Congressional District Coordinator with the Center for Civic Education, the Education Liaison for Illinois Senator Ray Soden, and is a member of the DROE Strategic Planning Process to Promote a Countywide Community of Learning. Nancy is currently developing a Constitutional Literacy Program which the DROE hopes to pilot upon completion. Her columns can be found in American Daily, The Common Voice, Education News, GOP-USA, Opinion Editorials, TheRant.us and The Washington Dispatch. She has been published in The Washington Times, Townhall.com, Iconoclast, & Free Republic Network, as well as other nationally and internationally published media outlets.

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