In political campaigns most would agree the concept of “buying votes” or using bribery (unless you’re counting campaign promises) qualifies as corrupt and unethical practice. Many more would go so far as to attack a candidate’s character and moral fiber, to only further question the limits of their personal motives. Suppose the bribes are made by a third party, totally removed from and unbeknownst to the candidate. Now suppose that party is the American Catholic bishops.
Every four years the bishops offer documents to guide their Church members in their voting decisions. This year’s guide, titled Forming Consciences For Faithful Citizenship, maintains “that the church is against abortion, torture and deliberate attacks on noncombatants in war.” Paraphrasing the bishops, Michelle Boorstein for the Washington Post, delivers the message that “Catholic voters have to weigh a range of intrinsic evils and pick among candidates who never match up exactly with the Catholic Church on everything.”
Religion has been and remains a forefront issue in the election, causing great divide among Catholics. Boorstein will confirm that the conjecture I made earlier – that the American Catholic bishops would use bribery to sway voters – is in fact a reality. To encourage American Catholics to visit their website and read their guide, the bishops decided to giveaway an iPod! In yet a further attempt to reach young Catholic voters, a video version of Forming Consciences and corresponding quiz have been uploaded on YouTube.com. A Facebook page has even been developed!
I cannot help but wonder if, in catering to a teen culture, including its materialistic realm, the bishops are sending the wrong message? The mocking-style of writing taken by Boorstein leads me to believe she is also skeptical. While utilizing technology and trying to make politics less foreign and more conversational are good in theory, the bishops just might be trying too hard.
For whatever reason I cannot seem to shake the image of divorced parents trying to out-do the other, by making bigger and better offerings and/or gestures (bribes!) to win their children over. This is not to say either parent is bad, for their actions are based in good intentions, but any message in the way of guidance is all but lost on the sight of a shiny reward. Surely this is not true of all children, nor will the prize potential cloud all Catholics to the well-meaning advice of their bishops. Nonetheless it is absurd to think of the Catholic Church, particularly the larger institution, not even individual parishes, giving away an iPod!
If young Catholics really are this impressionable, John McCain should stock up on iPods now…
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1 comment:
Bribing? Seriously?
As appalling as these actions are, they work. In no way am I defending them, but again, they work. As President of the Democrats on campus, I am guilty of "bribing" students to come to my events and meetings. The apathy is rampant across the PC campus. But this post goes to the heart of the culture that is not solely a PC issue. How does one motivate the college age demographic? It can be a daunting task. But time and time again, material things have proven to be effective motivators. The question then becomes, why is the culture as it is?
Answering such a question is beyond the scope of this tiny commentary. However, it can spark the discussion. Morgan's post is a great starting point. Not only does she question the separation of church and state that we supposedly have in this country, but also the materialistic culture we have built and continue to feed. Changing such a culture is even more of a challenge than motivating the college demographic. So I'll end with a question: how do we change this culture?
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