My readers know I am a member of the American Solidarity Party. In fact, this past year I took the position of Vice Chair of the California branch of the party. I did so despite my lack of political expertise and my being vastly under-educated when compared to other members of our various committees. I did so for much of the same reason I have taken service commitments in my 12 step program - no one else was available to do it.
Recently a very vocal supporter of the current Administration posed a question to me when I stated, once again, that I will no longer support either of the two main political parties in the United States. Essentially, she wanted to know why I would bother since there has never been an ASP President (very true) and since more Catholics support President Trump than ever before (I don't know if that is true or not as she did not provide any proof ), thereby implying that by NOT supporting the current administration I was somehow not being a good Catholic.
She did not say that - I want to be perfectly clear that those words did not leave her mouth. However, the implication was pretty solid. The ASP has no chance of winning and (according to her) more members of my Faith tradition support Mr. Trump than support anyone else currently in the political arena.
I think she made a good point. Why would anyone give their time, talent and treasure to a losing cause? Why not jump on the 'one issue' bandwagon so many Catholics and other Christians have climbed aboard when it comes to this particular President? Oh my gosh, Leslie, why would you want to waste your vote?
None of these questions are bad questions; however, I do think they are indicative of a culture that puts an emphasis on winning, expediency and convenience rather than on solid principles. Americans once valued the dreamers - those who looked at a situation and said, "This sucks. There has to be a better way" and then put their minds and bodies to work to create that better way. Nowadays? Not so much - unless that 'better way' is tied directly into pleasure and leisure. If it involves a robot that will wash the dishes, fold the laundry, feed and walk the dog and (in some really sad scenarios) act the role of husband or wife then it is worth investing time and talent. If, however, the investment is done solely to try and resurrect a connection between the practical and the spiritual? Forget it.
In 1912, the Progressive Party ran Theodore Roosevelt as their candidate and surpassed the Republicans in the election. In 2016 a Gallup Poll found that 57% of the American Voting Population was deeply dissatisfied with both the Democrats and the Republicans. An analysis done in 2018 declared that third party candidates aided Donald Trump's win over Hilary Clinton. I would suggest the same thing will happen again in 2020, especially in light of the horrific abortion laws recently passed in New York and Vermont. People who might be turned off by the brash and ungentlemanly behavior of Donald Trump will find it difficult to vote for a party (Democrats) who push infanticide as part of Women's Reproductive Rights or Health. The backlash against them is starting already and I suspect many Democrats, while not being able to say out loud how disgusted they are by their party's platform for fear of being hooted down by their far left brethren, are going to find themselves unable to vote for a party candidate that thinks it is reasonable to kill a child two minutes before it leaves its mother's womb.
Those are the people I hope will consider the American Solidarity Party.
Our national platform can be found here: https://solidarity-party.org/about-us/platform/
We are not a perfect party. We have, however, tried to find a balance between the two parties that seem to not care that much about the average American. We believe in trying to work in a bi-partisan manner towards solutions and we believe it is possible to do so without calling someone derogatory names or claiming to be a member of a protected class of people in order to get ahead. We know that we have work to do in terms of educating the voters, but we declare to the general the public "We believe in the basic decency of all Human Beings...let's now start finding common ground" is what makes every member of the party tick.
Unlike my friend, my main focus is not on winning. My focus is on the principles that define my life and trying my best not to compromise those principles while still engaging in the American Political System. This may be due to my age - I am a lot closer to standing in front of Jesus and having to explain myself than she is, though none of us know the date and time, right? - but the why is not nearly as important as the what. WHAT I do and HOW I do it is very important right now. The 'why' of my life, at this point, is a given. I do all that I do so that I can please Him who created me, saved me and sustains me.
Whether or not the world says I am successful is immaterial. Unlike my friend who is convinced voting Republican is the only way to save the United States from evil, I have a lot more trust in God. I have seen evil come and go. I have seen it 'triumph' but only on a small scale (in terms of human history) and only for a short time. What I have also seen is God's amazing power to pull good from any evil He allows. I trust in Him.
My job, I believe, it to walk the path set out for my by Jesus Christ to the best of my ability. He is The Way. Right now, when I look at the Republicans and the Democrats, I do not see how I can vote for either of them and claim to be a solid Catholic.
That being said, I do not think I am a BETTER Catholic than my fellows who have chosen a different path. We all must make a decision that fits with a well formed conscience. We have to be willing to stand up and accept the consequences of that decision. I am willing to do so.
In 2016, I was called names by Democrats supporting Mrs. Clinton because I voted third party. I was told I was stupid and I was insuring her a win. After the election, these same people told me it was my fault that Donald Trump won.
I would suggest, rather than playing a blame game, that members of the two main parties start cleaning up their own stables. Perhaps that is the message they need to hear - because they have lost me, and people like me.
If that makes me a bad Catholic, then I am a bad Catholic.
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