Is it okay to distort the truth to support a moral/political position?
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info@ustpaul.caIs it okay to distort the truth to support a moral/political position?
The “Pantheistic Temptation,” in political philosophy, is for a leader to interpret vox populi, the voice of the people, with vox Dei, the voice of God. This gives the elected leader a sense of being able to do whatever he or she wishes. Carl Schmitt wrote about this; however, he eventually became a National Socialist following Hitler who is a prime example of a leader succumbing to a Pantheistic Temptation. There are signs that Trump is vulnerable to a Pantheistic Temptation. Hannah Arendt makes the case that positive exemplars point the way of responding to those who become this kind of leader.
“Moral transgression” is an accurate term for the Trudeau government’s abandonment of voter reform. I try to make the case. I offer some reflections on the political issues briefly afterwards.
With Donald Trump poised to become President of the United States, the American people need discernment to determine how best to respond to him as President. The next four years could either lead to entrenched mimetic structures of violence, in which people mutually harm one another, or to mimetic structures of blessing—mutual empowerment.
Some things to remember as you work through your feelings about the US election.
Trump's latest scandal - a video recording where he brags about sexually assaulting women - helps us to reflect on three important topics in public ethics: clarity and precision of the language and concepts we use to talk about such scandals; the boundary between private and public; the interlocking nature of power and oppression.
I must say that like many others I have watched the rise of Donald Trump in the 2016 US presidential primaries with a bit of bewilderment and surprise.