Inauthentic culture where we are today

Jean Paul Sartre once defined existentialism by saying, “Existence precedes essence.” In other words, something happens; then people decide what it means. This philosophy opposed the Christian faith where essence precedes existence, meaning God spoke meaning into the world; then people live it out. But at least Sartre conceived in his word “angst” (anxiety plus stress) that people face real consequences for their decisions.

Democrats during the Supreme Court nomination hearings of Neil Gorsuch showed in their concept of the “living constitution” that they have no such empirical bottom to their philosophy. They believe judges are free to redefine words for the times. But words are the bricks of the law. Deconstructing their meanings turns them to sand.

Such exigency turns principles fluid. Republicans, who refused last year to accept Merrick Garland’s nomination, hypocritically disdain Democrats, who refused this year to approve Gorsuch’s nomination.

And the passionate heat of political fires melts the bridge of agreement over which we drive our lives every day. We can no longer discriminate between male and female, marriage and sacrilege, murder and health care, justice and prejudice.

Sartre would pronounce our culture “inauthentic.” Imagine what God will say. Dr. Brian Hale Red Bank