Resisting Throwaway Culture: How a Consistent Life Ethic Can Unite a Fractured People
Camosy begins with a hopeful starting point in the midst of a crumbling US political culture: two of every three Americans constitute an “exhausted majority” who reject right/left polarization and are open to alternative viewpoints. Especially at this time of realignment, we have been given a unique moment to put aside the frothy, angsty political debates and think harder about our deepest values. A Consistent Life Ethic, especially one which embraces Pope Francis’ challenge to resist “throwaway culture”, has the capacity to unite people who for the last several decades imagined themselves in a polarized culture war. On issues ranging from hook-up culture, reproductive technology, abortion, euthanasia, poverty, immigration, treatment of animals, and mass incarceration, this book articulates a new moral vision in which a culture of encounter and hospitality replaces a consumer culture in which the most vulnerable get used and discarded as so much trash. At bottom, Camosy offers readers a golden opportunity to dialogue about what kinds of values should serve as the foundation for a new political culture.
Responding to a climate of political tribalism and cultural fracturing, Dr. Camosy's new book provides a unifying framework for creating a culture of encounter in which mercy, responsibility and dignity lift up vulnerable populations for special protection and welcome. If we allow ourselves to be challenged and moved by Camosy’s arguments, we can create a culture of encounter capable of resisting what Pope Francis calls a "globalization of indifference.
— Kristin M. Collier, MD FACP
Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine
Director of the Program on Health, Spirituality and Religion
University of Michigan Medical School
