Respectful Public Discourse and Franky Schaeffer

“We have a Republican ticket with probably the most brutal far right economic policy, coming from the same man who’s got the most anti-woman policy.” He claimed Ryan is “a real extremist … a person who is brutal toward women and equally brutal to the poor.” Even more hyperbolic, he stated “women are second class citizens in his world, as are the poor.”

Merriam Webster defines the word “brutal” as “grossly ruthless or unfeeling,” or “cruel, cold-blooded.” Schaeffer may disagree sharply with Ryan, but is it appropriate to call him “brutal?”

Schaeffer alleged that Ryan “does not believe in the rights of all human beings,” and “he holds up only one part of Roman Catholic teaching faithfully and has dismissed the rest of it on the basis of being an Ayn Rand disciple, not a disciple of Jesus Christ.” He said Ryan would “attack programs for the poor that are the safety net that keep people from a miserable fate, defund Medicare … and attack Social Security.”
Speculating about the chance of Ryan making it to the White House, he said if Americans knew of “Ryan’s anti-woman, war on women record when it comes to abortion, contraceptives, towing the Vatican line to the extreme,” then there would be no chance of he and Romney’s election. He further accused Ryan of having a “preoccupation with other people’s sexuality … [and] is the only part of Roman Catholic teaching which has actually transferred into Ryan’s agenda. The rest of it, when it comes to compassion for the poor, serving others, following Jesus Christ when it comes to the view of wealth as opposed to sharing, in those areas he’s totally departed and … is a disciple of Ayn Rand.”

Respect for human life is not about oppressing women. It involves raising a legitimate concern for the value of human life before both men and women, as well as concerns for our sexual morality and practice. Free market economics is about the practical means for expanding the wealth of a country so that all persons benefit. It has nothing to do with oppressing the poor, regardless of what Franky Schaeffer, Obama, or Marx say about the topic. True, the Roman Catholic Church, like the Mainline Protestant denominations, have promoted liberal and progressive political causes for a long time, but especially since the depression. This does not mean that every pastor or parishoner needs to tow the line.

When it comes to Ryan and Rand, I would only say that the interest most people have in Rand is not in her philosophy generally (conservatives will read Locke, Smith, Burke, and Friedman for this) but in her polemical points regarding collectivism and individualism.

The only point in this brief comment is that Christians can engage in this public debate without assigning sinister motivations to your opponents. However, this seems to be what passes for public debate today.