Jeb Bush is in the hot seat.
Again, I am not trying to defend him necessarily, I just like to point
out how public debate and media are so shallow and counter-productive these days. The fact that people are focusing on the
phrase 'stuff happens' and not listening to anything else that he said or meant
is sad. It seems to show that people are
almost looking to be offended, and once they are they become blind to
everything else and see only what offends them.
The main point of his statement was that laws may not fix
this problem; it is more about people, and "we need to reconnect ourselves
with everybody else." That can be broken down into two parts: 1) laws are
not the answer and 2) we need to reconnect with the people around us on a
personal and everyday level. These can
be agreed with or disagreed with and debated.
And that is a discussion than can have meaning and depth. That can do good even if we can't agree in
the end. Harping on 'stuff happens' and
being offended does no good.
The other media issue that is being distorted this weekend
is the 'gay priest at the Vatican.' This
should not be news, but it is because it is being handled in a way that makes
it news. The origin of that is the
priest himself, who wants to use his story to influence the synod that opened
today. Next is the way that the media
has been covering it.
That he wants to use his personal story to influence the
synod is not in itself bad. However, he
shouldn’t make it a public issue and a media circus. He should know better than to think that the
Vatican will easily be swayed by outside opinion or pressure. I think he could have a much bigger impact
(especially with this Pope) by participating in the synod. Change in the Catholic Church come more often
from inside than from out.
The media if focusing on the fact that he is homosexual than
on the other things that he announced: that he was in a relationship and as
such is breaking his vow of celibacy. Gay
or straight, announcing that you are in a relationship is grounds to be
stripped of a post in the Vatican. Yet,
this is a fact that most media outlets has buried deep in their articles, even
leaving it out from the first ones I saw.
If people have an issue with celibacy that is one thing, but making it
look like the Vatican punished him just because he was gay is misrepresenting
the story.
As far a being a gay priest in the Vatican, there should be
no surprise that there are. And that the
policy is a sort of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ approach shouldn’t be a surprise
either. If you have vowed to be
celibate, what should it matter what your orientation is?
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