Sunday, November 6, 2016

Some final reflections on the election





In light of the fact that several Catholics (yes, Catholics) have recently, repeatedly, and definitively informed me there is "no threat" to our religious liberty or conscience rights in America by the Democrats, I thought I'd repost Why Trump Will Get My Vote. Just hours after I posted it on October 4th, it became the most popular piece on this blog, ever. And it didn't slow down for weeks.

The points are still valid as we approach the final hours of the most horrid election in my lifetime, and as you read it again or for the first time, here's one more specific to keep in mind:

Of the 13 appellate/circuit courts in America, four were considered "liberal" when Obama came to power (including the notorious 9th Circuit), and nine were considered "conservative" (i.e., less likely to infringe upon the basic rights of life, marriage, and religious liberty/conscience). Today, after eight years of Democrat appointees, those numbers have been reversed. There are now nine left-leaning circuit courts, and only four that lean conservative. We are rightly concerned with the Supreme Court, but many thousands more cases are adjudicated in the lower courts. Dear Catholics, think long and hard about the future of our religious liberty before you cast a vote to put the Democrats in charge of our land.

Here's the post that made the rounds:





I believe that retention of religious liberty is the most pressing political issue we face, as that is the natural right we are most rapidly (illegitimately) losing. Whenever I quote Pope Benedict's words to the concerned US bishops, that we Americans face a "grave threat" to religious freedom here at home, those on the "Catholic left" instantly dismiss me and inform me that it is actually I and other Catholic Trump-voters who are "the biggest threat to religious liberty" -- to foreign Muslims.

What I try to explain to these politically left-leaning Catholics goes something like this:

"At this moment, though, it is your own brothers and sisters in Christ, both Catholic and Protestant, who are being legally persecuted. Right now. This moment. In America. And with a revamped Democratic Party platform that promises much more of it. That is the immediate fire, the one I'd like to try to put out. So you can speculate about non-citizen Muslims based on a hypothetical, but meanwhile your fellow Christians are already afoul of the law thanks to Democrats and their core beliefs and legislation. Your co-religionists, including moms and pops and Little Sisters, are the legal "discriminators" today, fighting our government in the courts, losing their businesses and livelihoods, shuttering long-standing charitable agencies -- in this nation, now. That means something to me. Does that mean anything at all to you?"

The answer always comes back, No.

It means nothing to them.

Because they deny it's happening at all. "There is no threat to Christians' religious liberty and conscience rights from the Democrats." Nothing to see here, move along.

It makes me wonder: If the Democrats do get into power and make good on their Party Platform promises to double-down on the legal persecution of Christians who wish to refrain from participating in gravely sinful events or activities, will our left-leaning Catholic friends finally stand up for us when we begin to go to jail?

Or will they continue to say, as they do now, that it's our own fault for "not following the law," and that we "need to learn to get along in an increasingly diverse (read: post-Christian/secular) society."

I have my suspicions. But personally, I hope we can keep the Democrats out of power for at least a few more years so that I don't have to find out the answer anytime soon.


Lord, have mercy on the crazy experiment called America. The way things have been going, we surely don't deserve Your mercy, but we will take whatever cross you allow us, and we will be sanctified by it. 

And for any anxious readers, just remember that whichever way the election goes, Jesus is bigger.









16 comments:

  1. Do not fear! And remember our motto ~ "In God We Trust". Do the best that you can and let God do the rest. If you are blessed to have a parish/diocese that is authentic, you have Her to lean on for guidance. In fact, if the advice is sound, you are foolish not to listen. You don't have to grapple because She has already done that for you.

    Have hope! Fight to keep the love of God in your hearts. Forgive others. Pray for your enemies and in that you might snatch them from the devil's influence in their lives.

    Lastly, it's a sin not to vote if you are able. Not mortal.

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    1. Thanks for that message! It is refreshing to hear sanity in a time where there is none. I will hold tight to those words in the coming days. God Bless

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  2. And after mass this morning I proposed the closing hymn of: God Bless America. Everyone stood, sang, and thanked me afterwards. I fear that few of our kids now know the words to that song; they are politically incorrect, outlawed in our schools. We used to sing that song every day in school when I was growing up, after the pledge of allegiance. Now God, like cigarette smoking, is something only allowed outside.

    But I guess we should be thankful that it's even allowed --- for now.

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  3. This weekend I made the conscious decision to vote for Trump because my two main objections fell away.

    1. Lack of political experience - This troubled me the most. But truly, Barack Obama had very negligible time in office prior to election. While I'm not a fan, we're still standing. Eisenhower was a successful military man but had never been in office. He did well. If these two could 'rule,' then so could trump.

    2. Character - The internet wasn't around until recently. Had it been, Kennedy's affairs, Eisenhower's constant married mistress, the founding fathers' dalliance with slaves would have skewered them. WHile I don't approve, they were able to 'rule' despite these severe character flaws. I can vote for Trump.

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  4. Socrates established in the Gorgias that to do wrong is worse than to suffer it. Therefore we should pray for our sister Hillary, and for the sake of her soul, compassionately deny her a greater opportunity to commit further wrongs, as she seems helpless to resist temptation.

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  5. As for a positive reason to vote for Trump:

    He's promised to repeal the Johnson Amendment. For the first time ever, this cycle, the Republican Party's platform includes that promise. That's not due to Mike Pence. That's all Trump.

    "Government officials threaten religious colleges and universities with massive fines and seek to control their personnel decisions. Places of worship for the first time in our history have reason to fear the loss of tax-exempt status merely for espousing and practicing traditional religious beliefs that have been held across the world for thousands of years, and for almost four centuries in America. We value the right of America’s religious leaders to preach, and Americans to speak freely, according to their faith. Republicans believe the federal government, specifically the IRS, is constitutionally prohibited from policing or censoring speech based on religious convictions or beliefs, and therefore we urge the repeal of the Johnson Amendment."

    https://gop.com/platform/we-the-people/

    http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jul/22/donald-trump/donald-trump-correct-lyndon-johnson-passed-legisla/

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56prZdcQ8Oo

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIhbNeASRcU

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  6. Thank you for these great comments. Keep praying.

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  7. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. Maddie, it was an excellent idea that you removed your comment, for your sake. Because you were going to be Exhibit A, proving my point perfectly. Perhaps that is why you removed it? And for the record, I would be totally fine with a Muslim baker not wanting to bake a cake for a First Communion (for example). Why on earth would I want anyone (especially the government!) to force him to do something against his beliefs or conscience?

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  8. Leila, have you read what Pope Francis said recently?

    http://www.catholicnews.com/services/englishnews/2016/fight-the-fear-put-people-first-pope-tells-grassroots-movements.cfm

    If you have or will read it now, I would love to hear your thoughts.

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    1. Liza, yes. He wants all nations to accept all immigrants, and not to be afraid of terrorism. What do you think of it?

      And what do you think of what I said in this post?

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    2. What Pope Francis said matches the platform for which I voted for. I don't believe the Democratic platform is going to legally persecute anyone. If a Christian violates a civil or criminal law and is taken to court or tried for a crime, it doesn't mean they are automatically being persecuted.

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    3. LIzaMoore, it does if the law is in place because my religious beliefs have made me a "discriminator". Thank you, though. You are the perfect example of what I said in my post. And I guess that means you won't stand up for us when we go to jail? Since you don't stand up against the laws that have already run Christians out of business, then I know that answer.

      From the Democrat Party Platform, in a paragraph entitled "Guaranteeing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights":

      “We support a progressive vision of religious freedom that respects pluralism and rejects the misuse of religion to discriminate.”

      LizaMoore, please, what do you suppose your Party meant by that line? Specifics are appreciated, considering the subject reference. Thanks!



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  9. "If a Christian violates a civil or criminal law and is taken to court or tried for a crime, it doesn't mean they are automatically being persecuted."

    People have done truly disgusting things in the name of so-called art, with their disgusting efforts targeting my religion. Such works of "art" are not outlawed. Yet if a person wants, in his art, *not* to promote a point of view, are you saying that, if the state dictates it, they must use their art to promote the state's point of view? That is persecution, Liza. It is tyranny. The fact that you might agree with the persecution does not change the fact that it is persecution.

    Do you agree that, for instance, a photographer should be forced to use his artistic gifts to promote an idea with which he does not agree? What do you think about artists who refuse to perform in states that have laws with which the artist does not agree? For consistency's sake, shouldn't the artist be forced to perform? Especially since the law in question would not infringe on the artist's expression. The artist in this case would not be forced to say anything in support of the law, would not be forced to sing a song in praise of the law. Strictly speaking, his art would in no way be affected by the law. Yet in the laws Leila is referring to, which already exist and under which people are facing personal financial ruin, artists are, in effect, being forced to "write a song" in support of the law, being forced to say, with their art, something which they do not believe. Yet the first artist is praised for his supposed bravery in refusing to do business in a state, and the second artist is punished for refusing to create art that violates his conscience. Do you honestly not see discrimination and persecution here? If you don't, I think you will have to acknowledge that you *want* to see the one artist punished for not going along with official state beliefs. You want the artist to be punished because you want him to be forced to express something that he does not believe. Art in these matters is crucially important. That's why the Soviets so carefully controlled artistic expression in their country. And it's why certain groups want to control artistic expression in the United States. I hope you are not on the side of those groups.

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  10. Well it doesn't matter now. President Elect Trump is mine whether I voted for him or not. I will support him and most importantly pray for him and our nation.

    I am definitely not opposed to draining the swamp. In my opinion it would be better for us if we had more new people elected to the House and Senate.

    This election season was rough. I saw many friendships and family breakups over it. I hope those relationships can be healed.

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  11. #draintheswamp is something everyone can get behind. :)

    "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
    Ephesians 6:12

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