One Question

Wesley J. Smith, J.D., Special Consultant to the Center for Bioethics and Culture Network is a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute, an attorney and consultant for the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, author of the article on assisted suicide for Microsoft's on-line encyclopedia, Encarta, a celebrated author, a gifted speaker and my friend. Father's Day, Sunday, June 18th, 2006, Smith had this to say on the back of a Starbucks Cup that soon became a collector's item: "The morality of the 21st century will depend on how we respond to this simple but profound question: Does every human life have equal moral value simply and merely because it is human?"^[1] This is the one question.

One Answer

In the English language, a "yes or no" question (i.e., a polar question), is a question whose expected answer is either "yes" or "no". Yes or no questions always present a pair of alternatives of which only one alternative can be given in response to the question. To avoid any ambiguity in my answer to the question: "Does every human life have equal moral value simply and merely because it is human?" I want to employ the use of "echo answers" from the Welsh language. An echo answer or echo response is a way of answering a polar question with or without using the words "yes" or "no". In other words, the verb used in the question is simply echoed in the answer. For example, in response to the question: "Does every human life have equal moral value simply and merely because it is human?" I must answer either: "Yes, every human life does have equal moral value simply and merely because it is human." Or "No, every human life does not have equal moral value simply and merely because it is human."

One Destiny

My answer to the question: "Does every human life have equal moral value simply and merely because it is human?" is: "Yes, every human life does have equal moral value simply and merely because it is human." Wesley says if we answer "yes" to his question then "we have a chance of achieving universal human rights." Wesley goes on to say, if we answer "no" to his question then it means that "we are merely another animal in the forest." As I look at the abortion battle in Black America and ponder our destiny, it appears the silence in our pulpits and consequently the voting patterns in our pews, reflect the not so well-hidden racial agendas of wealthy white elites who believe Black Americans "are merely another animal in the forest."

Brothers, we really need to talk.

Reference(s):
1. Wesley J. Smith, Featured on Starbuck's take-away coffee cups as part of its "The Way I See It" 2006 Campaign (http://bit.ly/b83dKq)