Muddy Waters

Was there ever a time when life was simple? Right or wrong. Good or evil. Moral or immoral. Honest or dishonest. Sinner or saint. Cop or criminal. Ethical or unethical. Proper or improper. Appropriate or inappropriate. The last time for simplicity may have been when only Adam populated the earth. Add Eve to the picture and things immediately became more cloudy, “It’s not my fault, the snake made me do it!”

The recent election, and the fallout since then brings me to this slightly morose state of thought. Especially as a Catholic. I read, and see on CNN, instances of Catholics turned away at communion. Catholics told to repent if they voted for Obama. Staunch Catholics proudly justifying such actions. I am appalled.

What about “Judge not, that ye be not judged” (Matthew 7:1), or “…for whatever measure you deal out to others, it will be dealt to you in return” (Luke 6:35-38). Dare I even throw this one into the mix, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen” (1John 4:20).

Discussions about life issues are never simple. Never easy. All the more reason why we must be gentle with each other. And respectful. Here are my random thoughts, leading to random internal struggles…

• Yes, abortion is murder. But isn’t any other kind of wrongful death also murder?


• Does Pro-life mean only pro-birth? Doesn’t what goes on for the rest of life matter?


• I am pro-life. I believe that life begins at conception. I believe that life continues until natural death. But, what about the death penalty? That’s not a natural death. Where does that leave a “good” Catholic in considering a candidate who is “pro-life” and “pro-death penalty”?


• What about supporting life after birth? What about kids living in cars? Single parents who can’t afford food and medical care in the same month? Schizoprenics who have no home, no medication?


• What about senior citizens cutting blood pressure pills into quarters because they can’t afford a prescription each month?


• What about the hard working individual whose company schedule allocates just enough hours so that no benefits, including health insurance, are due? Look no further than our own government, many of these are FEDERAL employees.


• What about the hourly employee laid-off with little severance, while the CEO opens a golden parachute and leaves with millions?


• How about brave, earnest, young men sent to fight in a war deemed “immoral” by JPII? Do I support the candidate that supports that effort, but labels him- or her-self “pro-life”?


• Doesn’t minimum wage mean a wage that brings in enough to live minimally?


• One candidate may be someone who opposes abortion, but also opposes health care reform, minimum wage adjustments, support for the small business owner and social security reform. Who supports the deathpenalty and a military response to Iraq, Iran, Afganistan, and various citizen protests on US soil. How can they be the only “pro-life choice”?


• Why do we demonize people based upon one portion of a lifetime of decisions?


• Why if I am a democrat can I not be anti-abortion, yet also anti-death penalty, pro-healthcare reform, and pro-military restraint? Why must all democrats be stuffed into the pigeon-hole of a “liberal anti-lifer”? I’m not.


• Why are all Republicans labeled as the “pro-life” candidate? They’re not. Life isn’t that simple.


• How does the priest know who to withhold communion from, for a vote for the “wrong” candidate? What if we believe that voting is a private, confidential process? Do those who speak out risk excommunication, but the quiet voter is OK? A couple years later if the voter thinks "whoa, I made a mistake" are they back in the fold? Does the voter have to repent publicly? Wear a hairshirt?


• What happened to some things being between an individual and God?

I want to be a good Catholic. And I want to be a good citizen of the United States. I wish it was simple to meet both desires. I don’t believe, however, that there is only one pathway to achieve that aspiration.

We are human beings. Filled with flaws. We are not put on this year to judge each other’s morality in instances of such muddled and muddy waters. I can only pray. Pray with all my heart and all my soul for clarity. For direction as to the path that God wishes me to take. For forgiveness if I have made wrong choices. And for the strength to see Jesus in the faces of all those I meet…even if they didn’t vote as I did.

You see, I think it’s between me and God. And the other voters and God. Especially when the issue isn’t simple. God only knows (literally). Amen.