St. Augustine: “Right is right, even if no one is doing it; wrong is wrong, even if everyone is doing it”.
Discussion over — right?
I sure wish that were the case. Yet here we are,1600 years after St. Augustine uttered those words, still fighting about right versus wrong. Sometimes, I don’t know whether to shake my head in sheer disbelief — or maybe just stretch out on my living room couch, munch on some popcorn, and marvel at the numerous YouTube and Tik-Tok videos by, or about, the numerous people who seem hell bent on burning society to the ground.
What is at the root of this overwhelmingly difficult fire to contain? The answer: moral relativism. And what is at the root of moral relativism? Our fallen nature. But for the purpose of this blog, let’s sort through what exactly entails moral relativism and why it is a staple in the secular world.
Thankfully, the video, How Moral Relativism Ruins Your Mind and Soul, produced by the TFP (Tradition, Family, Property) Student Action, sorts out this topic like a champ. And if you are now asking, who are these TFP guys so bold to make this video?
Well, TFP (for short) are a group of young Catholics who protest moral relativism and do street evangelization at college campuses throughout the world. Their YouTube channel has its own batch of numerous videos – at least 300 — though, in TFP’s case, they exemplify what it means to stand up for morals and values. TFP stands together, dressed in suits, while they hold large banners displaying the topic they are protesting: abortion, gender ideologies, the breakdown of the nuclear family and subjective truth being conflated with objective truth, to name a few. And all while frequently enduring a firing line of angry, often belligerent and insulting mobs of counter-protestors.
Yet TFP presses on quite courageously. It is really impressive, I must say. And I can somewhat relate in my own experience doing street evangelization: Just holding up a sign about the need for moral and values, or that these teachings come from Catholic Christian belief, is usually met by those who intentionally look the other way when passing by, or who scowl and shake their heads in silence, or who shout profanities and repeatedly give the middle finger, or who throw tantrums and purposely scream over conversations to gain control, and who are physically threatening or try to destroy protest signs and religious items.
For instance, one TFP video shows a college student attempting to steal a statue of Mary and ends up throwing it to the ground, causing the statue to break apart. The student then runs off, while the TFP team recollects their items and, again, keeps pressing on. They are certainly an outstanding inspiration for proclaiming the Gospel and defending what is right.
Side note: TFP also has an affinity for bagpipes: TFP proudly plays them outside of praying the Rosary or chanting in unison about why moral relativist ideas are destructive. I have to admit I am not a fan of the bagpipes – but I am still a big fan of TFP.
Now, without overdoing the gushing about TFP, here are some key points to keep in mind when watching the recommended video, How Moral Relativism Ruins Your Mind and Soul:
First, as I often say, it is important to get definitions in order when discussing a subject — and it is particularly important when discussing social topics, philosophy, or religion/spirituality, as these discussions can easily get emotionally charged and muddied with subjective worldviews and incorrect terminology. Therefore, the video begins with the definition of relativism: “truth that is based on opinion or personal preference”.
From there, we can now discuss truth as what conforms to reality, as well as how subjective views of truth fall to pieces and are sometimes even self-refuting. Based on this, TFP presents seven key flaws in moral relativism. Here is a brief description of each:
#1: There is no absolute truth.
Moral relativists often unwittingly refute their own arguments. For example, if someone proclaims there is no such thing as absolute truth, ask this question: “Do you absolutely believe there is no absolute truth?” In other words, if you are absolutely sure something is not true, you, well, do in fact believe in absolutes.
#2 What is true for you is not true for me. Everyone has their own truth.
TFP explains that this violates the principle of non-contradiction (as defined in the Merriam-Webster.com): “contradictory positions cannot both be true at the same time and in the same sense”.
So, when we ask the question, “Is murder wrong?”, it is either objectively wrong or not wrong at all. It can’t be both wrong and right. It is not conditional. Note: I am talking specifically about the word “murder” here – not about the necessity to kill in self-defense. TFP makes this same point in the video, including showing that if someone attempts to give a subjective answer about murder, then that person cannot claim to have a strong moral grounding.
#3: Since moral values differ from culture to culture, morals are therefore relative.
TFP astutely points out that all cultures across the world hold similar values, even if they differ some in how they apply the values. Those values include the right to life, justice, compassion, courage, honesty,and loyalty. Further, all cultures, in general, shun murder, theft, and dishonesty. Think: The Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule. In other words, natural law also has a hand in guiding morals and values.
#4 Perception is reality.
This one is at the crux of the debate about gender identity – that is, the idea that all humans are infinitely malleable in their identity; therefore, we can claim to be any form of being we “feel” inside, and we can apply any word to describe any way we want to identify, as long as we choose to perceive it that way.
For example, today, I am a 6’5” Chinese woman. Or the Empire State Building is made of Legos, just because I think so. Or the Earth is flat because that’s what I want to believe. Or if I wake up one morning and decide I am an elephant, that is completely acceptable, and I expect everyone around me to agree accordingly. Except there is one, pretty significant “gotcha” with all of that: Perception must conform to reality. The video shows clear examples of why subjective perception about objective reality is a nonsense argument at best.
#5: If the majority of people believe it, it has to be true.
This loops back to the quote by St. Augustine: “Right is right, even if no one is doing it; wrong is wrong, even if everyone is doing it”. And TFP points out: “A thing is what it is by its own nature”. That is, something can be true, even if the majority thinks it’s false; and something can be false, even if the majority thinks it’s true. What’s more, once universal truths are established – such as the Earth revolves around the sun, a leopard cannot change its spots, money does not grow on trees, and so on – that again goes right back to the overarching, universal truth: True is true, even if you think it isn’t.
#6: Morality is determined by situations and motives.
While morality is tossed around the secular world to mean whatever it means today, and not tomorrow or yesterday, TFP points out three criteria for determining morality: 1.) The act itself. 2.) The situation / circumstances. 3.) The motive.
Going back to the example of murder versus killing in self-defense, we can use the above criteria to decide what defines murder versus self-defense – and overall, what is good versus what is evil.
#7: Don’t impose your morality on me.
As TFP explains, the statement “don’t impose your morality on me” usually means “don’t impose any morality on me.”
See, when we live in a society of do whatever makes you happy, morals are a big blocker to that. It forces people to examine their own conscience. And because it’s not common to meet people who enjoy having their misunderstandings corrected, or who are not trapped in their egos, debates are steep, uphill, intense, sometimes nasty battles over who thinks they are right, instead of over what is truly true.
That right there is a product of moral relativism: It ironically entrenches people into holding certain positions and not wavering from them, yet moral relativism is supposedly all about making worldviews malleable. This then spawns tribalism, which in turn spawns unnecessary wars of oppressor versus oppressed or between ever-changing group identity movements that believe in one thing today and then something else tomorrow.
And this leads to a final point TFP makes at the end of the video: How many civilizations based on moral relativism have survived to this day? The answer: NONE.