An Argument against Moral Relativism

I'd like to say I've always held that moral relativism is an illusion, but I can't quite be certain about that--there may have been some places in high school that I succumbed to the pressure of liberal peers all participating in Model United Nations. However, somewhere between all the reading of C.S. Lewis and growing up, I've come to believe that so-called moral relativists are mostly in denial. They fixate on an aspect of morality that most people have known about since biblical times and claim that it's new and enlightened, while those who practiced it in the past were hypocritical.

I bring up this topic because of a very interesting review of Batman: The Dark Knight that I just read in the Wall Street Journal. Quotage:

Leftists frequently complain that right-wing morality is simplistic. Morality is relative, they say; nuanced, complex. They're wrong, of course, even on their own terms.

Left and right, all Americans know that freedom is better than slavery, that love is better than hate, kindness better than cruelty, tolerance better than bigotry. We don't always know how we know these things, and yet mysteriously we know them nonetheless.

The true complexity arises when we must defend these values in a world that does not universally embrace them -- when we reach the place where we must be intolerant in order to defend tolerance, or unkind in order to defend kindness, or hateful in order to defend what we love.

I can't vouch for the accuracy of their analysis of the film, but the moral argument rings true to me.

Baby by Numbers: Beginning of the End

• 2/3 - of the way through my pregnancy on Friday. Third trimester, here we come!
• 1/3 - done with baby Busby's Wild Stripes blanket. And George thought it wouldn't get done in time. I had my doubts about the color substitution, but it looks really nice so far.
• 62 - number of miles I've biked over the past month accompanying George on his long marathon training runs on Saturdays. Don't worry, there's not a lot of physical exertion involved in keeping up with a runner, even an awesome one like my hubby. However, I wish I had some exercise pants with more support for my enlarging maternal tummy. After 3 hours of bumping up and down, little Wilson is very angry.
• 6 - names for baby Busby we brainstormed last week running that start with the letter J: Jack, Jacob, James, Jonathan, Joseph, Jonas. In methodical Busby fashion, we decided it would be most efficient to simply work our way through the alphabet for names we might actually feel comfortable calling our baby. It's very strange to face the prospect of coming up with permanent identification for another human being. Other popular letters include C (Caleb, Christian, Conner, Clayton), G (George, Grant, Gregory, Gabriel), and S (Samuel, Stephen, Saul). Please regard all information as to Wilson's actual name as a rumor pending further confirmation in 3 months. :D
• 2 - times I threw up Saturday. Probably because I ate an entire container of movie popcorn, followed by several Oreos, and an apple. Dang baby won't let me get away with eating junk.
• 1 - cute knitted baby hat a lady in the ward gave to us at the Friday night game night. I love it so much. It made me realize that I'm happy to be having a winter baby. Bundled up babies are so adorable.
• 4 - days left on my temp job and George's internship. Wow, our time in Washington has flown. I'm really excited to go home. Our corporate housing feels like a hotel, right down to the lack of overhead lighting in the living area. (What makes people think that sporadic lamps will be enough? It never works.)
• 1:58 - length of our flight back to Utah. Hopefully I won't feel too sick.