Mistaking Values For Misuses Of Values

The mistake I’ve seen many on the Left make again and again – and one I’ve made myself – is that of mistaking the value for the misuses of the value.

That wrong things get done for beauty does not mean that beauty is bad. 

That wrong things get done for family does not mean that family is bad. 

That wrong things get done for money does not mean that money is bad. 

That wrong things get done for society does not mean that society is bad. 

And that wrong things get done for Western Civilization does not mean that Western Civilization is bad.

All of the above can, and should, be done better.

So we have some conservatives claiming that the liberals are evil. They are not evil; they are confused. They are mistaken; however they are mistaken sincerely. Once again, they confuse the value for the misuses of the value.

When tele-evangelists lie, that discredits Christianity. When police commit brutality, that discredits the law. When men rape their children and beat their wives, that discredits family. The people who turn against such things don’t do it because they are evil. They turn against such things because they see abuses being committed in their names. The abuse tarnishes the value by association.

The solution is therefore to clear up this confusion. Wrong things can be done for anything, whether or not it is good or bad. People will have families, people will form societies and people will want to make money. This is a human reality that must be faced. It is not faced by doing away with such things. It is faced by doing such things in a wise and intelligent manner that makes wisdom and intelligence relevant to the affairs of the world and thus improves the world.