Deadly Virtue
by Rev Eddington
"(It) was (in one sense) very bad for us...Our enemies were so awful, so evil, that we, by contrast, must be remarkable pure. That illusion of purity, to which we were entitled in a way, (became) our curse...."Strong words perhaps, but still well said. It was this "illusion of purity" as Vonnegut calls it, that at least helped make possible the McCarthy era, and the grievous excesses of the House Committee on Un-American Activities, in the years following WW II. In defeating the evil of Nazism we came to see ourselves as inviolate; and any criticism of any domestic or foreign policy of the United States was therefore un-American and those making such criticism were fair game for having their careers destroyed. It was this same illusion of purity, I believe, that unfortunately and tragically got us into Vietnam, and we still have yet to completely come to terms with the aftermath of that conflict.
Moving on, and bringing us right up to the present day now, it was during the debate that took place this past weekend in our own New Hampshire State House over the expansion of our State's capital punishment statute, that a statement was made which I thought defined quite well where the line between virtue and deadly virtue lies. Before getting to it however, just a word or two about this issue as it relates to my topic this morning.
. I acknowledge that capital punishment is an issue about which reasonably minded persons can honestly differ. I further recognize that support for the death penalty often arises from a
revulsion over some of the depraved acts that human beings can, and do, perpetrate upon other human beings on occasion. I believe that our capacity to feel such revulsion over the willful destruction of human life by another human being, and our willingness to deal with such destruction is a virtue. Absent such a virtue there might well be no human race. How we deal with such destructiveness is the moral issue here--and not the fact that it has to be dealt with in some very serious fashion. For some persons, enacting the death penalty is a morally appropriate, if not virtuous, means for dealing with the destruction of human life. I have to respectfully differ; feeling, as I do, that to go that route takes us into the realm of deadly virtue.
The statement I alluded to a moment ago was made by Representative Robert Cushing, an opponent of the capital punishment measure, and whose own father was murdered outside his home [in 1988]. Rep. Cushing's statement, which he made during the debate on the bill, was:
"For me to change my beliefs because my father was murdered would give over more power to the murderers. We become what we abhor. I do not want to be consumed by hate...""We become what we abhor.." That, as I see it, is the line of demarcation between virtue and deadly virtue. When, in the pursuit or the upholding of one type of virtue, we find ourselves doing things or causing things to happen which we know in our hearts we find abhorrent, or that we know to be working against what we know to be right, then we have slipped into the realm of deadly virtue.
One more consideration before closing: One way to avoid the snare of deadly virtue would be to avoid taking any kind of stand or position or action with regard to one's moral principles or ethical values. But that would be a pretty deadly and defeatist approach to life and living itself. Neither nihilism nor moral indifference are proper antidotes to deadly virtue. I think we should take our stances firmly, and also with the use of our critical faculties, with an awareness of our human fallibilities, and always with an eye to the greater common, human good. To use some of Forrester Church's words one more time:
"Whenever virtue squeezes out fidelity to the commonweal (or common good), we fall victim to idolatry. Apart from community, righteousness become self-righteousness."Bear in mind those last few words, "Apart from community, righteousness becomes self-righteousness." While we rightly praise those individuals who take the courageous and often unpopular moral stance, more often than not those same individuals have the wisdom to work out their stances in conversation with a community they trust and upon whose critical dialogue they rely. Martin Luther King was a very courageous, and often lonely, individual, but he also remained in dialogue with certain quarters of the African-American community of his day as well as with his most trusted associates for the very purpose of keeping his righteousness from becoming self-righteousness.
To bring this even closer to home... I have appreciated, over my years here, those times when our own Executive Board has had to make decisions as to how to best stand for our own UU values and principles. Should we support this particular activity or initiate this particular program? Its not always an easy call, but it is always one that weighs our values and seeks the collective wisdom of all its members. It is a collective wisdom that I value.
To quickly touch on another close-to-home area, I was particularly grateful for the tone of the gathering we had following the service last month to initiate the Welcoming Congregation program. Along with the very clear sense that embarking upon a program of being affirmatively welcoming of gay, lesbian, and bi-sexual persons was the right thing to do, there was also the desire expressed that we have open, honest, and respectful dialogue amongst ourselves in ways that will deepen the meaning and value of this liberal religious community for all of its members. There is not a whole lot of new ground to be broken or new understandings to be gained if all that takes place is a "preaching to the converted."
Finally, the best way to deal with the dynamic of virtue and deadly virtue is to remain mindful of one of our more definitive liberal religious precepts, which is that there is and always will be more light to be revealed and more truth to be uncovered about the truths we hold dear. No canon of virtue is ever closed. While we finally have to do what our heart tells us is right; we also must keep out minds open, awake, and aware of new truths to be revealed.
Copyright © 1998 by the Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashua NH. All rights reserved. Used on the Gaia Church site by permission.