The idea of this blog is to explore the many dimensions of human dignity. It will not attempt to define it, but comment on different aspects that make it up.
I love it when life synchronizes. I attended another concert over the weekend and during the encore, everyone was standing up, clapping and sheering enthusiastically. But you know how you clap and cheer for an encore because you KNOW it’s going to happen? So you just keep clapping until the performers reappear… That’s what was happening at this concert. The clapping subsided when they sat down to play again. Then John Gorka (one of the artists) said something along the lines of:
“Thank you for clapping until we got back. Usually we’re kind of rushing back out…so, thanks for letting us preserve our dignity”
I was struck by his comment. The idea that people might not have the respect for the artists to at least clap until they returned to the stage was a little surprising. Also, the idea that dignity is contained in the acceptance of that performance was highlighted by the fact that I had chosen Sacredness of Creation as the Carlow Core Value to practice this week.
John Gorka’s quote synthesized Sacredness of Creation and dignity. (What a great way to end the week!) Sacredness of Creation doesn’t just mean being nice to the plants and the animals. Humans are a part of creation (whether it’s God’s or not is up to you) and we have a special place within it. Humans are creators. We build buildings and bridges, but we also create abstract things, like music and art.
Appreciating and respecting the artistic creation of another person lends them dignity. There is sacredness in their creation, and the expression of it should be appreciated. You don’t have to like it, but respect it.
Whether you’re religious or not, believe in the Pope or not, no matter what background you come from, the concepts of love and compassion are as universal as the concept of dignity.
On May 13, 1981, Pope John Paul II was making his usual trip through the crowds in Vatican Square when four shots rang out through the crowd, each of them hitting the Pope. The crowd watched in horror as their beloved Pontiff collapsed, bleeding heavily. He was rushed to the hospital, where he underwent a 6-hour long surgery that he barely survived. There were also two bystanders that were injured in the attack.
The almost-assassin was 23-year-old Turkish terrorist Mehmet Ali Agca. Without delving too much into politics, Agca was part of a political group who hated the Pope and all of his ideals. He had recently escaped from prison, where he was being held for murdering a prominent Turkish newspaper editor. So he was a bad guy… and the world was happy to see him sentenced to life in an Italian prison for attempted murder.
The Pope made a full recovery, to the relief of many (yes, yes, especially Catholics). Of course, the knee-jerk reaction to an act of terror is exactly that—terror. Terror brings anger, hate, prejudice, misunderstanding, and all manner of negative feelings and emotions. Look at Americans’ reactions to the September 11th attacks. The last thing that anyone wanted to do was forgive the people that caused those emotions.
Pope John Paul II taught the whole world a lesson in 1984 when he visited Agca in prison. In an intensely hushed meeting, with only the Pope’s press secretary and photographer in attendance, John Paul II managed to make a global proclamation of forgiveness. He reconciled with his attempted killer, saying later that the teachings of Christ spurred him to do so.
Even when you take the religion out of it and you still have a dramatic story showing an act of dignity upheld. The Pope put aside all differences between him and Agca, and out of a love for his fellow human exemplified the true meaning of “love thy neighbor”. He upheld the dignity of one who the majority of people were ready to condemn immediately, demonstrating the overreaching and non-judgmental power of love.
This is an excerpt from the Social Doctrine of the Church. It applies to everyone…not just those who follow a Christian God:
Discovering that they are loved by God, people come to understand their own transcendent dignity, they learn not to be satisfied with only themselves but to encounter their neighbour in a network of relationships that are ever more authentically human. Men and women who are made “new” by the love of God are able to change the rules and the quality of relationships, transforming even social structures. They are people capable of bringing peace where there is conflict, of building and nurturing fraternal relationships where there is hatred, of seeking justice where there prevails the exploitation of man by man. Only love is capable of radically transforming the relationships that men maintain among themselves. This is the perspective that allows every person of good will to perceive the broad horizons of justice and human development in truth and goodness.
If you still think I’m a religious whacko because I chose this as my example of dignity upheld, just remember the other philosophies operating in this story. It contains elements of Kant’s Categorical Imperative, Kateb’s ideas on dignity as a universally human attribute, Rawls on self-respect, and even, somehow, Singer’s ideas about relationships and human worth. Not so mainstream religion, now, is it?
Preparation for the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh last September was akin to locking down a castle in the face of a siege. No one could get in, and no one was brave enough to venture out. Hundreds of extra police officers were hired for the weekend, and they were armed to the teeth, expecting the worst. Stories of past G20 Summits in other cities had Pittsburgh in a tense state, waiting for the swarms of demonstrators and protestors that were expected.
Of course, those protesters came. Or they tried to. In order to protest in the City of Pittsburgh, you must be granted a permit. Sounds reasonable, doesn’t it? Sure. I think it is reasonable for the city to have some control over who is protesting and where, in order to retain some modicum of organization. So, like any law-abiding citizens, the protest groups applied for their permits to protest at the G20 Summit. The city only actually granted 2 of those permits. Why? To stave off potential destruction?
The city refused to cooperate with the demonstrators, stifling their protests by citing their law books so that they didn’t seem wrong. They were operating from the horror stories of other cities, and attempting to subtly save themselves the possible destruction the protestors would cause by conveniently not approving the permits until it was too late.
They were wrong in a big way, however. The City of Pittsburgh managed to violate the dignity of all of those protestors by denying them their rights to free expression and free assembly. Their reasoning was based solely on the “potential” for violence, which pushes this to an issue of paternalism.Did the City have the right to deny those permits just because it was the “safe” thing to do? I don’t think so.
The dignity of those protestors was violated when their freedom to express themselves was stifled, and the dignity of all of the citizens of Pittsburgh was violated when the City violated our right to choose what is best for us by stifling those protests “for our own good”.
Dignity is inherent in those freedoms, and is violated when they are infringed upon.
I was at one of the best concerts that I have ever experienced in my entire life a couple of weeks ago. It's going to take a lot to top it, anyway...
The concert was John Hiatt and Lyle Lovett, honestly two of the best musician/singer/songwriters in the rock world. My opinion.
One of John Hiatt's biggest hits is "Thing Called Love".
Check out these lyrics (it's amazing how this class creeps into everything):
Don't have to humble yourself to me
I ain't your judge or your king
And baby, you know you ain't no Queen of Sheba
And we may not even have our dignity, no
This could be just a prideful thing
But baby, we can choose you know,
We ain't no amoebas
But
[Chorus:]
Are you ready for this thing called love
Don't come from you and me,
It comes from up above
I ain't no porcupine, take off your kid gloves
Are you ready for this thing called love
And you ain't some icon carved out of soap
Sent down here to clean up my reputation
And baby, I ain't your prince charming
Now we can live in fear, or act out of hope
For some kind of peaceful situation
Baby, don't know why the cry of love is so alarming
But
[Chorus]
The ugly ducklings don't turn into swans
And glide off down the lake
Whether your sunglasses are off or on
You only see the world you make
Before the laws of God and the laws of man
I take you for my wife, yeah
To love, honour, cherish and obey,
Now, I didn't have no plans to live
This kind of life, no
It just worked out that way
And
[Chorus 2x]
Just a crazy little thing called love
Its justs a crazy little thing called love
This song means much more to me now. It's not just about romantic love. It's about the universality of love. It doesn't matter who you are (the Queen of Sheba, Prince Charming) love and dignity begin with a relationship between two people. When people treat each other with genuine care and affection, it sets an example. We just have to be ready for it.
People aren't porcupines (so take off those kid gloves), we can touch them, literally and figuratively, and we should.
