Guiding Principles For Public Witness
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We think we live in a country with freedom of speech. We do not.
You can be cancelled, fired or ostracized based on almost anything you say on social media. What is worse, what you say may acceptable today and tomorrow it is not. There is no standard for truth or justice in social media and the cancel culture. What you say or post on your personal social media will be held against you professionally and socially.
More than that, the very structure of social media itself is often a trap for people who indulge in being overly opinionated and who are looking for an excuse to avoid the more pressing demands of the real world.
So should you speak out (i.e., post) publicly against evil and falsehood? And if so, when?
While there isn’t any exact formula, the following five prudential principles can help you make good decisions about when you should and shouldn’t weigh in on a given issue.
Let us begin in the name of the Father…
First of all, you don’t have to tell everyone everything. Sure, you can never speak or endorse a lie, but sometimes you can just keep silent. No one should be spouting their opinion on every issue, or every current event. If you’re constantly proclaiming your views to the world, that’s a sign, probably, that you need to step back and be more selective about picking your battles.
Secondly, one must determine the seriousness of the falsehood being disseminated. Is this a crucial issue, say, about Christ and His Church, or about life or death? Is it something you think immortal souls depend on? Or is it something less urgent, say, a pet peeve, or a false conception you’re tired of hearing about?
Thirdly, what is your authority and potential impact? A Bishop has a greater authority and potential to effect change in the minds of people than a laymen when it comes to matters of faith and morals. A doctor may have a greater authority and impact defending the unborn than an accountant. So we must ask ourselves, do I have a competency or authority or potential impact that others will not have? If so, then I have a greater responsibility to speak out on that subject. Am I competent to respond effectively relative to others who might speak the truth?
One strategy could be that rather than speaking from your own authority, instead recommend to people some more competent authority to read or listen to on an issue. The best authority to lead people to is Jesus in the Gospel and his teaching in the Catechism.
However, if every competent authority is silent, then someone must speak out. It may be that you have to speak, because those who could speak better and more effectively have chosen not to.
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Fourthly, what are the goods you realistically stand to lose for speaking the truth? Do you stand to lose the esteem of those who are complicit with sin and the persecutors of truth? Then, so what? why would you want their esteem in the first place? Do you stand realistically to lose your job? Well, what is the likelihood you can get another? Do you stand you lose your company? How many families rely on you for work?
This isn’t the only consideration, but it is a crucial consideration. You owe those close to you, and especially your dependents, more than you owe an anonymous public. Of course, that includes your example, and your family may benefit from seeing you be publicly ridiculed. But in any case, you have to ask, how will your stand affect you and those around you?
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The Fifth principle asks, what is your motivation? Why do you want to speak out or why would you chose to remain silent? There are good and bad reasons for both. Do you want to speak out because you are experiencing a personal inconvenience that makes you angry? Conversely, are you afraid to speak out because it may cost you some personal inconvenience but not a real loss of significant good things?
Our fears and disordered attachments to our ego, comfort and selfishness can cause us to speak when we should be silent and to remain silent when we should speak out. We must examine our motivations and ask ourselves,
“Am I the kind of person who is more likely to be timid and silent when I should speak out; or am I more likely to be brash and speak out when I should keep my mouth shut?”
Know yourself and try to counterbalance your excesses so that you can stay the middle course which is closest to virtue.
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The Need for Prudent Courage
We must be courageous which means we must be willing to sacrifice lesser things for the sake of greater things – even to the point of sacrificing our lives. However, courage must be guided by prudence, therefore we need to be strategic.
There are two tragedies in life: To die on the wrong hill; and to not die on the right one. We must have the courage to lose things for the right cause; at the same time, we don’t want to stupidly throw away our reputation our profession or our freedoms for dying on every hill in sight.
Plan out ahead of time what hill you are willing to die on professionally, socially and physically. What hill would you die on? What issue would you be willing to truly sacrifice for? Try to make this a realistic as possible. Would you be a witness to or participate in a wedding that goes against the teaching of Jesus on marriage? Would you participate in gender diversity training in your company? Would you be silent when someone mocked religion, or the official structure of the Church?
Good people may disagree with you on whether you should die on these hill; but that might because it’s not their hill but yours. However, if there is no hill that you will die on – if there is not greater cause for which you’d sacrifice yourself – then that means you are a coward.
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Finally, there are millions, maybe even billions of people in the world who think the atheistic secularism consuming our world is crazy. But they are scared and discouraged. They need and want to be encouraged by courageous Christians who are willing to sacrifice lesser goods in order to defend greater things. Discouragement is best overcome by the witness of the brave. So be among the brave. Not the reckless, not the cowardly, but the brave.
February 15, marks the sixth anniversary of the deaths of 20 Coptic Christian men from Egypt and one Christian man from Ghana— who were martyred for their faith by ISIS. The 21st martyr, Matthew Ayariga was not one of the Egyptian Christians and he had his chance to escape by denial when the terrorists asked him if he rejected Jesus, but he saw the immense faith of the others and was encouraged, he reportedly said, "I am a Christian and I am like them," knowing that he would be killed.
Martyr means witness. No one can witness to the truth like those who are willing to sacrifice on its behalf. So may God guide our witness.
Note:
Normally the 5th principle asks what is the proportion between the risk of what you might lose and the evil being promulgated? I removed it from this meditation because all 5 are being weighed together.