According to the Washington Post, the late-night satirists were heavily influential in the decision of Virginia Republicans to back down from enacting a legal requirement mandating that women obtain an invasive ultrasound before obtaining an abortion.Never underestimate the power of satire to deflate prophetic rhetoric. Satire brings its own problems for moral analysis, too, as you will see. But as a rhetorical tool, it is extremely effective. I expect we will see much more of this in light of the most recent flare-up in the culture wars.What are the basic problems? Prophetic rhetoric tends to obscure necessary moral distinctions by exaggeration and by suggesting that EVERYTHING is of UTMOST moral importance. If you call Obama a totalitarian, what word do you have to capture Kim Jong-Il or Stalin? Satirizing rhetoric tends to obscure necessary moral distinctions by leveling. Nothing in the end matters, because everything is mock-able. Here's the Saturday Night Live skit that the article talks about: (Warning, crude at points).

Cathleen Kaveny is the Darald and Juliet Libby Professor in the Theology Department and Law School at Boston College.

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