I'm a bit surly the last few days. I'm certainly not cheerful. One reason among many = I am frustrated when I see people not able to discuss the issues in the election without being calm or rational on all sides of the political divide.
I want the pandemic to be over. I don't like it. I'm tired of it. It has deprived me of patience. I'm just not amused when I come across people who tell me who to vote for.
I began musing the last two days about my first awareness of elections. I was born in Chicago, moved at the age of 2 out to New Jersey, moved after second grade to a town called Wheaton which is in DuPage County. That county was and is probably still filled with people who came from Cook County, mostly from Chicago., The majority of people who came from Chicago turned Republican when they moved into DuPage County. I remember my parents always voted for different parties and candidates. My father was what we might call a "junkyard dog Democrat." That meant that if the "junkyard dog" was on the Democratic ticket, my father would vote for the junkyard dog.
My mother was a straight ticket Republican. Never a question about voting for a Democrat.
Recalling my parents' dynamics about voting decades later has been helpful today. The intriguing thing is that my parents did not discuss issues. They did discuss the people they were voting for - which is probably the end result of the process that ends up in a vote. No voices were ever raised in talking about politics. It was a conversation.
I had a political patronage job in summers at the County Courthouse. I worked in the tax records office. I enjoyed it. To get the job, I had to get the signature of the county Republican chairman, a legendary figure named Elmer Hoffman. When I met with him in his home, he asked a couple of questions = and then, with a slight frown, asked me if I knew that my mother was a registered Repulican. I said Yes. Did I know that my father was a registered Democrat? I said Yes. He asked what I was going to do about this problem. Fortunately, I did understand the way that political patronage jobs worked in those days. Knowing that my summer job hung in the balance, I thought quickly and told Mr. Hoffman that I would pray for my father's soul since it could be in peril. He burst out laughing and signed my job application.I had that job for the next few years.
I felt sad today when I compared the environment in my parents' home with so many people today who are unable to have discussions about political issues and political candidates. Regardless of who wins the election, so many people have aleady talked through the steps people need to agree with - before they will be allowed into their home for Thanksgiving dinner. Frankly, wise people take this approach. It is not insulting, It is, in fact, a sensible thing to do given the political climate in our country. I just think the inability to thoughtfully discuss is sad.
(Alert: in this paragraph, my filter is somewhat removed) I also get frustrated when I come across good people who believe that, unless you agree with their methods for addressing issues, then you are not doing what you should be doing as a priest. Sadly, they then progress to a leap of thought and, in essence, say that you promote abortion if you do not use the methods they believe are important. "My way only. Do what you should be doing." This is the insinuation of their statements. They are indicting my efforts in behalf of life and faith for the last 47 years. I'm not a showboat. I'm not a culture warrior. I don't believe church leaders should be partisan. Has anyone noticed that often when church leaders tell people what stand to take in behalf of candidates or political positions, the people listen respectfully and vote the other way? So the church then looks weak instead of strong - and some folks keeps demanding this. Study the data, folks. I have no desire to debate, engage, skirmish, or do any of those things that some people want to provoke. I'm tired.
One other personal point: Some who aggressively judge me do not have a clue what I have done in behalf of life. I give myself a small gold star for not erupting at unfair characterizations and righteousness. (Alert: Filter again in place)
The pandemic has eaten away many people's reservoirs of patience. I understand this. I do understand that we have all been assaulted by something we did not learn about, plan for, or have a choice to do otherwise. What makes it even worse is that the full extent of the pandemic could have been lessened and many lives could have been saved if those who had advance warning of the pandemic to come would have shared this with the American people. As a nation, each of us could have been asked to sacrifice for our great country.
I could write and develop these thoughts at much greater length, but now the election is a few days away. So I will just take some time between now and November 3 to pray for our nation.
I'm retired now from so many things. When I see all the hate being expressed within some segments of the Church, I just feel sad.These people don't represent the Church to me. We need to be gentle with each other. This is what is lacking in so much of the dialogue about politics and religion today.
The Church is the community of the disciples of Jesus who want to bring the joy of Christ into the world. That's the Church I spent 47 years trying to serve. I believe in that Church and what it represents.
I'm smiling a little now (or a little less grim) because I just came across this picture of the Good Shepherd. This is my favorite image of Jesus. (My favorite image of Mary is called Our Lady Who Unties Knots.) Jesus is the one who leads us, encourages us, gently guides us, challenges us, reinforces our better self, and helps us do better and do more. That is the image of Jesus that I find easiest to follow. This is not the angry Jesus, the partisan Jesus, the unyielding Jesus. I think this is the real Jesus. My prayer: God bless America. As a popular song states: Hope - Won't you come back to me. Amen.
(Full transparency: I read and reread what I wrote above many times. After I posted this the night of Oct. 29, I was concerned that I was being unnecessarily dark. When I reread it just now this morning, I thought it was OK, but continued to edit it. This expressed where I'm at. Maybe others might find this helpful in terms of where they are. Sometimes, I need the wisdom and the concern of the Peanuts family for perspective. It is a good reminder. Even Lucy makes sense once in a while.)
