n a world of increasing nonsense, it is surreal beyond measure that both PETA and the Westboro Baptist Church should exploit the death of Tim McLean of Winnipeg, Canada.  These two equally represent a depravity of moral sensibilities that has no equal. The only thing that it is left for PETA to do is to declare the slaughtering of animals as akin to the Holocaust.  And the only thing that it is left for the Westboro Baptist Church to do is to accuse McLean of being some sort of ambassador of none other than Satan. 

The unwitting pairing of PETA and the Westboro Baptist Church is so brazenly incongruous that each group ought thereby to consider itself has having a fundamental reason to re-think its views.  The Westboro folks most certainly do not have any concern for animals that exceeds the basic tenets of not treating them cruelly; whereas PETA certainly does not give a damn about the souls of human beings taken as human beings. 

The real problem is not so much groups such as PETA and the Wesboro Baptist Church, but a society that has made it possible for these people to take themselves seriously.  Society has done this in three ways.  One is by retreating from objectivity.  The other is by not holding people accountable for their assertions.  The third is that news has been reduced to none other than a form of sensationalism. 

On a single occasion, the Westboro Baptist Church receives more publicity for being utterly foolish in its assertions than most people will ever get in a lifetime for saying what is thought and useful.  More significantly, on any reading of the Bible, even God thought that there were better and worse times to chastise people.  Indeed, in the biblical story of the original sin committed by Adam and Eve, God is said to have waited “until the cool of the evening” before chastising them.  So even it is true that there are signs of utter moral corruption everywhere and God has every intention of destroying us all, it does not thereby follow at all that protesting a funeral when people are mourning the loss of a loved-one is appropriate.  The word "callous" comes more readily to mind. 

There is nothing at all about believing in God or the idea of an eternal judgment that requires accepting anything like views that the Westboro Church puts forth. 

As to PETA, there can be no doubt that cruelty to animals is wrong.  But it is ludicrous beyond measure to suggest that there is no substantial moral difference between killing a human being and killing an animal.  As I noted in a blog-entry commenting upon Peter Singer: The argument really cannot possibly be that animals and human beings are moral equals to one another; for then it would follow that animals have just as much of an obligation to protect human beings from cruelty as human beings have to protect animals from cruelty.  Not even the most ardent defenders of animal rights think that.  From just this difference, it follows that there is a substantial moral difference between animals and human beings.

It may be that people are entitled to their opinion—an entitlement that does not amount to much.  What most certainly is not true, however, is that people are entitled to be heard. 

One of the ways in which the capacity for news coverage 24-7 has lead to irresponsibility is that the producers of news are in need of tidbits to fill up television air-space.  Stupidity has become increasingly synonymous with an interesting tidbit. 

PETA and the Westboro Baptist Church are both fringe groups. Yet, the have been allowed to command enormous air-time; and that, alas, is a fundamental part of the problem.  The other part is that people are not held accountable for what they say. 

John Stuart Mill held that there should not be any limits on speech.  But what everyone seems to overlook is that he took accountability very seriously.  This meant that one could not simply hide behind one’s sympathizers.  Rather, precisely what he thought was that one should be prepared to answer one’s strongest critics. 

Responsible journalism would have had both groups addressing their strongest (but not malicious) critics rather than merely using the media as a vehicle for obtaining publicity by making outlandish statements to a journalist.  And this is what we as a society should demand of both these groups and journalism. 

There is the expression that “one gets what one asks for”.  A slightly amended version would that “one gets what one settles for”.  Excellence does not just wrestle us down and thrusts itself upon us.  It is quite the other way around: We will nothing but mediocrity or worse unless we are absolutely determined not to settle for less than excellence.

The arguments of PETA and the Westboro Baptist Church are horrendously lacking in substance.  But if that were not enough the very idea of using the death of another human being for self-promotion is most morally fulsome. That alone disqualifies them from any decent consideration.  And if were as concerned with doing what is right as we are with being comfortable, amused, and having the latest gadget: Well, these two groups would already be in the throws of massive re-formation or dissolution..