Being Patriotic

From everyone's favorite brand-name in all things women's health:

from @PPAct

Yes, because the proper care of our citizens is totally American! And patriotic! :-)

Oh oh wait! Supporting women's health is patriotic.

Perhaps patriotism, according to PP, is wide-access to women's health so that its clinics can make lots and lots of money off of women's need for birth control and abortion and use that money to promote more and more birth control and abortion because women need even more birth control and abortion to pay PP to give them those services. Because those things are healthy for women.  And let's not forget that PP offers a wide variety of other women's health services (but not mammograms) And these things must be supported by everyone lest they be chastised for being totally un-American! Because anti-women's health is NOT patriotic!

If supporting women's health is patriotic, what does actual women's health fall under? Is that patriotic? What does actual women's health even look like?

Women's health ought to be the services necessary to make women truly healthy via medical professionals or properly self-informed women bringing about their total well-being and dignity without compromising other aspects of their health. Right? I mean, it's not entirely far-fetched that this is what actual women's health should be?  This might get awkward because I think this gets more into a Catholic definition and understanding of what women's health is.  And heaven forbid...Catholicness is NOT patriotic. In the meantime, let poor Catholic women do totally unpatriotic things because they're Catholic.

Anyway, supporting women's health is patriotic.  Actual women's health is probably not patriotic. Because it tends towards Catholicism.

It is more patriotic to support women's health through delaying pro-life legislation via filibuster even though such legislation would make clinics who offer abortion services and doctors safer for women so as not to have a repeat Gosnell.

from CNN.com

It is more patriotic to support women's health by making signs...especially signs that place more priority on women now than future women (who, by some miracle of science...start out as embryos and grow into fetuses...but they aren't really women, so it's okay to kill them, apparently).

from LifeNews.com

It is more patriotic to support women's health by yelling and screaming at others...and yes, even utter "Hail Satan!" at the camera.

To be truly patriotic is to express one's undying love and devotion to one's country with vigor.  So much so that we should almost be willing to die for our country. But this is America! Since we like convenience and the pursuit of only happiness, we must give up the lives of future generations (and future women) so that we can live as we wish because future generations are too burdensome and sometimes unwanted.  All in the name of women's health! Because supporting women's health is patriotic!

//endsatire

So, it's been an interesting week in Texas.  I think PP is quite on the defensive because things aren't working out in their favor.  I see that they've been tweeting about other pro-life legislation going on around the country and their opposition to it (or least you can infer). They have to resort to calling the support of women's health as patriotic in order to garner support while patriotic emotions are running high this 4th of July.  As they celebrate having hundreds of PP supporters at various capitols, I can't help but remember the half million of pro-life supporters that no one talks about.

Don't get me wrong...patriotism is a good thing! Women's health is a good thing! But...striving for these two very good things doesn't mean that we compromise the dignity of our country and woman.  This past week got ugly.

-raises glass-  But! Despite all her faults and blemishes, she still has beautiful spacious skies from sea to shining sea! I'm still proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free enough.  To the United States! Happy birthday!

Faith. Hope. Love.
Life. Liberty. Pursuit of happiness.
- JD

Voter's Guides

I've been silent on this blog about this election. Not because I don't want to talk about it, but because the issues and importance of this year's presidential election are too great for me to spend time blogging about it at length, and I never seem to have a lot of free time as of late.  But...that needs to change.  Soon.

But that's okay since I've been putting real effort into talking about the major issues surrounding this election in real life, away from keyboard, to younger generations with the hope of empowering them to maintain their Catholic identity by the life they live and in their right to vote whenever they are old enough.  And praise God that resources are available online!  For free!

I voted on the Monday before the election (yay early voting!) and while I am motivated to vote the way I did for more than simply Catholic reasons, I did focus on learning what it means to vote like a Catholic, especially lately. And it's nice to know that my Catholic and non-Catholic motivations on who to vote for resulted in the same candidate.

I want to offer this blog post as a sort of summary of resources. Therefore, let's begin:

What does the Catholic Church teach on involvement in political matters?
Catechism of the Catholic Church #2234-#2246

CCC 2246...hmm...considering the status of our country right now...it is clear that something must be done.  We cannot idly stand by and let things happen.

We are Catholic first before we are Republican, Democrat, or (insert your non-mainstream political party here). In communion with the Church, our consciences must be formed and carried out genuinely with the mind of the Church, regardless of which political party we associate ourselves with.

Another resource on Catholic voting from the Aggie Catholics blog:
How to Vote As a Catholic

Speaking of forming consciences, there are some hot topic issues to consider when voting for candidates. These issues are abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, human cloning, and so-called same sex "marriage." Collectively, these are non-negotiable issues that are intrinsically evil--they are not morally justifiable in any case. Here's a video summarizing the issues and see the following links for further reading:

Voter's Guide for Serious Catholics (PDF version)
...and what I like about this is...it outlines principles as opposed to aligning with a particular political party based on their platform.  Because platforms can change, but Catholic teaching and Catholic morality do not.

Certainly, the heart of the five non-negotiables mentioned in that Voter's Guide have to do with attacks on human life and dignity.

If we can't get the right to life right, the other rights we hold dear mean nothing.

However, for those of us who enjoy our right to life, some other important rights guaranteed by our government are being infringed upon. This year marks a historic time for the United States. No other time in US history has the government walked all over our religious freedom, especially for us Catholics. To read more about it, read this:
Why Should I Care: The HHS Mandate and Religious Freedom
and
a list of entities suing the Department of Health and Human Services (growing list) through The Becket Fund.

You should also watch For Greater Glory, because it tells the story of what Catholics in Mexico had to deal with during the 1920's when the Mexican government persecuted and killed Catholics.  Or Google the Cristiada or Cristero War.  While I don't think the US government will resort to direct killing of individuals outside of the womb, at the very least...we should reflect on the possibility of martyrdom which I think is awesomely portrayed by certain saints in this movie.

And then, on top of all this ... I've been listening to a lot of Catholic radio, particularly Catholic Answers which finds its home at catholic.com.  Thanks to them, I've been informed and educated about the issues.

And even if you didn't vote in this presidential election, there are local and state elections in the near future that require the same responsibility and informed conscience from us.

I challenge you, dear Catholic brothers and sisters--get informed. Take ownership of your faith, live it out, and vote accordingly in future elections at all levels.

And oh...don't be fooled by such things as this kind of voter's guide:
Planned Parenthood Action Fund's Voter's Guide
...because simple check marks that highlight people who are in agreement with Planned Parenthood's ideals isn't enough.  Seriously!  You won't find in-depth information about the issues that Planned Parenthood cares about in their voter's guide.  But I suppose it's harder to talk about justifying intrinsic evils than it is to speak the truth.  And hey, at the very least...this voter's guide helps us know names of individuals who are for Planned Parenthood in our government.  It's up to us to dig deeper and find out why it is they support Planned Parenthood.

Bottom line...there will always be those entities that try to sway your mind away from Catholic truth.  Stand firm.  And know where you stand. Matthew 7:15-29 (NAB).

I hope this all helps!

#CatholicVoting,
- JD

All Natural!

I'm a big fan of a Catholic radio show called Catholic Answers Live which airs in the evenings during the week.  The host of the show is Patrick Coffin and every hour the show he usually brings in a guest where they focus on a particular topic. Listeners are allowed to call in and ask questions regarding the Catholic teaching of the topic of that hour.  Pretty cool stuff!  I've learned a lot.  And it gives me something to listen to on my commute home from work. Patrick Coffin, in addition to being a radio show host, is also a book and blog writer (and he wears a few other hats not worth mentioning here).  If not evident from the picture above, he wrote Sex Au Naturel where he presents factual and scriptural points on the Catholic Church's teaching regarding sex and contraception/sterilization/abortion.   I just finished the book today after reading it here and there for a few weeks.  My motivation for reading it stemmed from him shamelessly plugging his book whenever callers pose a question regarding contraception.  In light of what's going on in the United States right now with the HHS mandate that demands all insurance companies to cover contraception and abortifacient drugs, I felt it necessary to arm myself with whatever resources I can muster to defend the Church's teaching. What I liked about the book was how readable it is.  Patrick presents the information clearly and concisely with a ton of references.  The book is meant for Catholics to read, and he even says that at the beginning.  He covers the history of Christian teaching on contraception, the implications of Humanae Vitae, makes the case for Catholic authority on teaching this matter, birth control, the overpopulation myth, and sterilization...and things in-between.  You can find more info about the book and its Amazon link here on his website at patrickcoffin.net. It's short, but I don't know how many pages there are because I have the Kindle edition...haha. But anyway, while this blog post isn't a critical review of the book...I know that I'll probably be referencing this book or referencing his references for future blog posts. I definitely recommend this book for those Catholics and Christians who aren't too clear on Church teaching regarding contraception.  He isn't preachy or judgmental--he just echoes facts and verses.  It's also going to be a good resource for an aspiring Catholic apologist, especially now that the issue of contraception has been elevated to national attention.  NOW is the time to let the American society know why the Catholic Church teaches what she teaches regarding sex and contraception. On to the next book about sex and Catholic teaching... Faith. Hope. Charity. Going green. - JD