Yesterday, I published a blog post about the current election in which I spoke about Saint Thomas á Kempis and his statement that:
“If you say that you cannot suffer much, how will you endure the fire of purgatory? Of two evils, the lesser is always to be chosen. Therefore, in order that you may escape the everlasting punishments to come, try to bear present evils patiently for the sake of God.” – Saint Thomas á Kempis, The Imitation of Christ
My point was not that either the Democrats or the Republicans were saints. Rather, the opposite, by speaking about the lesser of two evils, I was pointing out that both parties have something of evil about them. Not surprisingly, it did not take long for someone to write me and tell me that he could never vote for the Party of Death, meaning the Democrats. The term, Party of Death, comes—in part—from a book called, “The Party of Death: The Democrats, the Media, the Courts, and the Disregard for Human Life,” written in 2006. This was a point that appeared to be backed by the Vatican when in 2008, Cardinal Raymond Burke an American of the Vatican curia used that term concerning the Democrats. Uhm, except that Pope Francis removed him from his leadership post and made him nothing but the Patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. He has now been restored, but not to his earlier post. I suspect that he is wiser about pushing particular causes now.
But, the book I cited raises a question. Are the Democrats the only Party of Death? Given the pronouncements of Popes and the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, not to mention pronouncements by Orthodox hierarchs, I would argue that the answer is, “NO.” Rather, I am convinced that there are two Parties of Death, which is why I spoke of the lesser of two evils. On the side of calling the Democrats the Party of Death is their unwavering support for abortion. The official Democratic Party platform is silent on euthanasia and assisted suicide. This is not because I say so, but rather because the pro-life organization “Priests for Life” says so in a comparison chart published by them. See http://bit.ly/1QZd0xX. And, no the Affordable Care Act does not have death panels regardless of what conservative propaganda you may have heard. That has been debunked by more than one fact-checking organization. Nevertheless, the official Democratic Party platform on abortion is indeed a death statement.
The Republicans face some of the same problems, however. Republicans are pro death penalty, something that has been opposed by the last few Popes, the Orthodox hierarchs, and the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. Given the number of innocent people exonerated in the last several years, this does equate to a willingness to kill the innocent and let God sort it out. In order to make this palatable, all sorts of Scriptural arguments are made, and then (for Catholics and Orthodox) comes the final argument that no Ecumenical Council has repudiated the death penalty, as though willfully ignoring Popes and bishops is an acceptable stance. The Iraq War was the invasion of a country on the basis of non-existent premises (there were no weapons of mass destruction). That invasion, and the following destabilization of the Middle East led to the radicalization of Muslims and the foundation of ISIS. And yet, both Pope and Metropolitans asked the USA to not invade. Again, the justification of Christian Republicans had more to do with telling the Pope, Metropolitans, and bishops to shove off than it did with any willingness to listen. That unwillingness, that continues to this day among the neo-cons, is a hallmark of a party that has a culture of death when it comes to war. Shall we bring up the subject of torture? Anything you are willing to do to a captured insurgent that may not be done to one of your soldiers is a participation in a culture of death, in which saying one is pro-life becomes a rather ragged and unbelievable statement.
I really could go on for a while, (shall we talk about the poor and the wages withheld that cry out to God?) but you get the idea. There is a culture of death present in the Republican Party that is every bit as strong as the culture of death in the Democratic Party. This is why I speak of the lesser of two evils. Given Presidential candidate Donald Trump’s stances on the killing of the relatives of terrorists, etc., there is a very real question about which one of the two parties is the worse Party of Death. Both parties have a strong culture of death in them, but simply express it over different subjects.
When you go to vote, you will need to make a decision based on your best judgment. But, make not mistake, whichever side you choose to vote for, you will be voting for some type of culture of death. You simply need to decide which will be less harmful, or which will be more helpful for this country. Either way, you will be voting for some type of evil, unless you vote for third party candidate of one sort or another. Of course, you could always become a monastic and withdraw from the world—no more choices!
Excellent series here Father but I would argue one point…albeit uselessly I’m sure. I, like many, many progressives, do not care for the term “pro abortion” because that is a much too simplistic-and actually false-statement. Most progressives-certainly not all of us, but most- are not FOR abortion but instead prefer to leave those type of decisions up to the doctor-patient relationship. We feel that it is NOT the business of government or any one else to make a decision about the health consequences of pregnancy on a woman. By assuming that the government knows best, it is relegating women to be lesser than men-less able to make decisions about their body and life than some unknown and unknowable “government”. This is particularly galling coming from the Party of No Government (unless it benefits me particularly). While there are multiple reasons why a woman would choose to end a pregnancy, there is only one reason to be forcefully opposed to that termination to the point that someone would impose their own beliefs on someone else’s health choices and that is religious. Since this is a secular nation with millions of people who do not hold to the beliefs that those so deeply opposed to abortion rely on, how do you force women who do not believe any of this to do something that could affect the rest of their lives? How do you tell a woman who has a severely deformed baby who will not even survive because you believe that God doesn’t make mistakes that she should carry that child to term, deliver and then watch it die at the hands of the medical community who will do everything in their power to save this baby only to have it die slowly and leave you with a million dollar medical bill? I have seen this many times in my work. I absolutely do understand the opposition…I understand that you and millions like you feel that this is a genocide. I respect that and would never ask you to have or participate in an abortion. I, on the other hand, take a different point of view. Each of us must make decisions in our lives based on the information provided to us and our beliefs and support systems. Not every one believes that same things and has the same support systems. I believe that everything that happens in our lives is something God has given us to learn from or to be led by…and that includes an unplanned, or abnormal pregnancy.
I realize as I type this, that this is a very complicated and nuanced topic. It really can’t be brought to the point of black and white like so many think it should be. I hold these views as a sonographer who has seen many of these situations. For instance, many who consider themselves Pro-Life want protection for the fetus from the time of conception. This is impossible because 70% of fertilized eggs never become pregnancies anyway-something goes wrong and the fetus either never implants or the chemical markers don’t allow the pregnancy to remain implanted and a miscarriage happens. Usually, these happen in the first 6 weeks of pregnancy-before anyone even knows. Does God do abortions? What about the situation I mentioned above-this happened to a family member. Did God make a mistake or did He intend to have this poor child suffer for 6 months-never getting out of the ICU, having multiple painful surgeries and treatments only to die? This is where I believe we have the knowledge to know and prevent this type of situation-just like we now have the knowledge to prevent other human suffering that medicine can alleviate. You can not legislate morality…you can not make it illegal for a whole group of humans who may not share your moral directives to do as you feel you have been commanded. Yes, it is horrible that there are many young women who use abortion as birth control and are very casual about it. The problem is, by standing on such a moral high ground, you (not you personally, Pro-Life as a whole) hurt millions of women who are faced with no good options: the lesser of two evils as it were. What if the government decided that they would insert themselves into the decision of a man to use Viagra? Just like the Kentucky senator introduced the ridiculous bill that if a man wanted Viagra, he had to get a note from his wife, go to the doctor-is that OK too? What do you think would happen if a young man who wanted a gun had to go through what a young woman who wants an abortion goes through? How long do you think that would last? My point is, no other situation is treated like this-and the only reason it is tolerated is because of religion…and it involves women.
Yes, I know what God has said-and in all honesty, it’s amazingly little on the subject of abortion. Yes, I am a Christian (for your other readers) but I am not part of any organized group because apparently the only thing important for a Christian is to be against abortion and gays so I just don’t fit. I never had an abortion. I never suggested to anyone to have an abortion. I have counseled a few young women gently suggesting life and all that I had the opportunity to talk to did choose life. BUT, as a medical professional and a woman, I am solidly and decidedly Pro-Choice. That way, everyone makes their own personal decision with their family, their doctor and their God…but certainly NOT the government. This is how most progressives feel.
Sorry for the long post but I feel very strongly about this situation and I’ve never had one person ask me WHY. They all pretty much assume I’m a baby killer, a godless, soulless librul so there…I’m damned to Hell. This is an issue that has hurt so many, many people. It makes me a little crazy to see people who are one issue voters consistently voting for horrible people just because they promise to do something they never should have the option of offering in the first place because it ISN’T THEIR BUSINESS! Prayer…that’s our business. Being light and salt…that’s our business. Telling other people what to do is not. JMHO
It may surprise you to know that you can go to the website of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese (in the USA) and with a little searching find that it says that the Greek Orthodox are against elective abortion, but not against therapeutic abortion.
I know you have heard the argument before. But, the point that is being made is not about a woman’s body, but about the other life. To continue the argument from the previous posts, the anti-abortion argument is that the lesser of two evils is to let the child be born. The therapeutic abortion becomes possible because the lesser of two evils is to keep the mother alive.
Sadly, all too many of the anti-abortion folk present a simplistic for-the-child argument that assumes that if the mother dies, the mother dies. Actually, I believe that is the Roman Catholic viewpoint, but I am not 100% sure.
Those who throw in the rape and incest exception are arguing that the lesser of two evils is to preserve the mental health of the mother in a PTSD-like situation. I have problems with that argument, but I recognize it. However, the danger of that argument is that it quickly descends into the argument that feeling any emotional distress of any type is a danger to the health of the mother.
But, you are right. I do not think the personal choice of the woman has priority over the life of the child. Yet, I do think that the personal health of the woman has priority over the life of the child.