Catholics and Politics

The Catholics in the Pews are currently subjected to badgering from two extremes:  The Republican Rite Catholics who see all things other than Republican as bad and the Progressive Rite Catholics who see all things Trump as bad.  The Republican Rite Catholics are fractured by the group within its ranks that defend President Trump no matter WHAT comes out of his mouth and begin all sentences doing so with a variation of 'But Obama was worse".   The Progressive Rite Catholics speak in the same kind of extremes, make huge leaps in logic and will ignore the Catechism if it suits them, wave it as a banner if it supports them.

This is, of course, my opinion and my own rhetoric reflects my emotions around politics today.  Those emotions can be summed up like this:

1. I believe the Left and the Right are basically the same in their embracing of intolerance.
2. Sean Hannity and Chris Matthews are robots with interchangeable heads.
3. Everyone except Armstrong and Getty (radio hosts in California) make me tired.

The party I to which I belong is the American Solidarity Party.  I joined it during the last Presidential Election Cycle because I could not bring myself to vote for Mrs. Clinton and I was horrified that Mr. Trump was the Republican candidate.  I was not going to vote for anyone for the first time since I was 18 years old and that made me sick to my stomach.  I found the American Solidarity Party and, while I knew people would accuse me of 'throwing away my vote" I felt it was important - at age 61 - to vote in a manner that would allow me to stand in front of Jesus Christ at the end of my life and say, "Lord, I tried my very best to be a Catholic Out Loud and a good citizen of the United States."

The funniest part of all this is that, before the election, supporters of Hilary Clinton told me I was guaranteeing her win as President and the supporters of Donald Trump would snidely ask me questions such as, "So you WANT the Culture of Death to win?".  After the election, those SAME people both told me that my actions had single-handedly insured Mr. Trump winning the White House and the End of Civilization As We Know It (depending upon which party they claimed membership in, of course).  It was then that I realized that the Left/Right movement was a movement that was seriously crazy, full of illogical suppositions and assertions and that my team has a better chance of winning the next Superbowl than I have of having a rational discussion with any of these yahoos.

The American Solidarity Party is not perfect.  We do not have a perfect platform and I do not agree with EVERYTHING in it but it is closest to my ideals and my beliefs than either of the established political parties.

In light of the latest political storm over DACA, I wish to offer the official Statement of the American Solidarity Party for your consideration.

This statement is:

 The American Solidarity Party calls on President Trump and Congress to work diligently and quickly to pass legislation guaranteeing a path to United States citizenship for eligible “Dreamers” – immigrants who were brought to this country illegally as children.

Called ‘Dreamers’, these are students, lawyers, non-profit pioneers, human resource directors, police officers, teachers, parents, and firefighters. They are our neighbors and our friends. They arrived as children, pursued an education, pursued careers, bonded with their communities, had relationships, and many had children. These are the more than 790,000 individuals who have sought to remain in the United States through Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, commonly referred to as DACA. Now, as President Trump announces that he will repeal DACA, their futures are uncertain and terrifying. Many face job loss and deportation to countries that most cannot remember, countries where they may not speak the language, and countries that are overrun by violence. They face leaving behind their homes, their families, their children, all that they have worked for; the very American dream they learned about side by side with their peers in American public schools. They face punishment for a crime they did not commit, and that they had no control over.
Justice demands that Congress finally take action on House and Senate bills introduced early this year, in order to guarantee a path to citizenship for our neighbors and members of our communities. These bills having been sitting in both houses on Congress with little to no action, despite months of threats to the DACA program.
Human dignity likewise demands that President Trump not endanger nearly a million hard-working and dedicated individuals whose only goals are to become American citizens and to realize their full potential in the country in which they were raised, a country they love. By passing the responsibility to Congress, he fails the very real human beings whose individual stories inspire those around them.
Finally, the American Solidarity Party calls on all citizens to contact their Congressional representatives. Be the voice for your neighbors and friends who cannot speak on their own behalf. Make it clear that this is a dream that can no longer be deferred. The time for action is now. Action from the President, action from Congress, and action from every citizen.

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Not everyone is going to agree with this statement.  That is fine.  However, I happen to believe that we need to enact legislation that allows these people a path to citizenship that will benefit our country and benefit them.  Not all people are cut out for military service.  Not all people are meant to be teachers or doctors.  However, those who are willing to work and to serve as a way to establish their want/need to remain in this country need to be able to do so without fear especially if they were brought here as children without any say in the matter.

Get it together, Congress.