Voting as One Body

[JacktheCatholic]

I do not usually get heavy into political type threads but I am extremely perplexed at the disunity in our Catholic community at OBOB in regards to politics.

Since we are all Catholic and pretty much all the members here are fluent with the Catechism, it seems only logical that as a community we should be able to tackle something like politics in a unified manner with a unified outcome. Yet, from my pov it seems that partisanship seems to divide our community when it should not. So, is it because so many place their political party before the community of Catholic faithful that we have such division?

It seems to me that this is the case, otherwise we would all be sharing what we know of each candidate and help each other choose a candidate that best fits with the teachings of our faith.

So, what is the big deal as to why there is so much division when politics are involved?

 

[steve_bakr]

I think because Catholics have different ideas about which party best reflects the majority of Catholic ideals. That is, one party might say it is pro-life but is weak on the social justice issues that would help the child once he/she is born and continues with life. Another party may score higher on Catholic social justice issues but doesn't lend support for the unborn. Both sides of the issue are a matter of life and death so Catholics are split on the issues of political parties and candidates. I am loathe to discuss politics during the hospitality hour at Church because I don't want politics to cause a wedge between myself and my fellow Catholics.

 

[JacktheCatholic]

I think because Catholics have different ideas about which party best reflects the majority of Catholic ideals. That is, one party might say it is pro-life but is weak on the social justice issues that would help the child once he/she is born and continues with life. Another party may score higher on Catholic social justice issues but doesn't lend support for the unborn. Both sides of the issue are a matter of life and death so Catholics are split on the issues of political parties and candidates. I am loathe to discuss politics during the hospitality hour at Church because I don't want politics to cause a wedge between myself and my fellow Catholics.

So, has any one ever seen a score card that was put together specifically for Catholic voters?

It seems like this is something that everyone would benefit from.

 

[MikeK]

So, has any one ever seen a score card that was put together specifically for Catholic voters?

It seems like this is something that everyone would benefit from.

There is no agreed-upon method of determining a polititian's position on an issue or applying a score to it.

Candidate X states that he is pro-life. 10 years ago, he stated that abortion is a complex issue and that it should be up to the mother to choose. He states that he favors overturning Roe V. Wade but does not offer any explanation as to how he intends to make that happen. He has not spoken out against the abortifacient birth control that our government provides to it's employees, thereby creating taxpayer-funder abortion. He has recently stated that abortion should be illegal except in cases of rape, incenst and when the life of the mother is at risk.

If 10 is perfect on abortion and 0 is completely wrong, where does this candidate stand? Is he a 10? An 8? Is his occasional cooperation with abortion enough to bump him down to a 0 or a 1?

Now that we've determined how Candidate X scores on abortion, what about other Catholic issues? We know that abortion is the greatest of them, but other issues matter too. Should a candidate's position on waging unjust war be weighed at 90% the gravity of his position on abortion? 10%? 1%?

 

[JacktheCatholic]

There is no agreed-upon method of determining a polititian's position on an issue or applying a score to it.

Candidate X states that he is pro-life. 10 years ago, he stated that abortion is a complex issue and that it should be up to the mother to choose. He states that he favors overturning Roe V. Wade but does not offer any explanation as to how he intends to make that happen. He has not spoken out against the abortifacient birth control that our government provides to it's employees, thereby creating taxpayer-funder abortion. He has recently stated that abortion should be illegal except in cases of rape, incenst and when the life of the mother is at risk.

If 10 is perfect on abortion and 0 is completely wrong, where does this candidate stand? Is he a 10? An 8? Is his occasional cooperation with abortion enough to bump him down to a 0 or a 1?

Now that we've determined how Candidate X scores on abortion, what about other Catholic issues? We know that abortion is the greatest of them, but other issues matter too. Should a candidate's position on waging unjust war be weighed at 90% the gravity of his position on abortion? 10%? 1%?

Good questions, I would assume some person out there has tried to quantify or qualify candidates in some fashion already. It stands to reason that if we are to decide as One that we have even a few that have put thought and work into this. It should be obvious that there will be no perfect scoring system but something could be formulated with reasonable weights and scores.

 

[Fantine]

Blacks have pretty much voted as a bloc for many years...

And what happens? One side takes them for granted, the other side ignores them.

You even see it happening in states. There are primaries going on. How much money is Romney spending in Louisiana or Texas? How much money is Santorum spending in Connecticut or Rhode Island?

If you are part of a voting bloc--whom one side ignores and the other takes for granted--how helpful is it that you are voting in a bloc?

Better to let both parties fight and work for every Catholic vote--and not take any of them for granted.

About the only voting bloc that neither party takes for granted is rich people.

 

[JacktheCatholic]

Could you be more off topic? This is not about any group except Catholics and having a way for all Catholics to work as One to decide on what we need and are looking for in a candidate and choose the best candidate for Catholics as a whole. It is about being a community of faithful who love God more than anything and place their Catholicity above all else.

Please do not use this thread for tangents.

Blacks have pretty much voted as a bloc for many years...

And what happens? One side takes them for granted, the other side ignores them.

You even see it happening in states. There are primaries going on. How much money is Romney spending in Louisiana or Texas? How much money is Santorum spending in Connecticut or Rhode Island?

If you are part of a voting bloc--whom one side ignores and the other takes for granted--how helpful is it that you are voting in a bloc?

Better to let both parties fight and work for every Catholic vote--and not take any of them for granted.

About the only voting bloc that neither party takes for granted is rich people.

 

[Fantine]

I did not think that was off topic. I thought it was practical.

A community of faithful is, first of all, a community of individuals who come together to know, love, and serve God. Their diverse interests, talents, and gifts should be a cause for celebration, not sorrow.

No wonder why Lady Gaga is so popular...that anthem, "I was born this way," has so much appeal. God made us all gloriously different for his glory--and by trying to mold us all into one boring, amorphous mass you are not cooperating with His grace.

 

[JacktheCatholic]

I did not think that was off topic. I thought it was practical.

A community of faithful is, first of all, a community of individuals who come together to know, love, and serve God. Their diverse interests, talents, and gifts should be a cause for celebration, not sorrow.

No wonder why Lady Gaga is so popular...that anthem, "I was born this way," has so much appeal. God made us all gloriously different for his glory--and by trying to mold us all into one boring, amorphous mass you are not cooperating with His grace.

Our gifts are not for celebration but the building up of the Church. It is in this that we act as One and as a community of Catholics. We do not celebrate individualism or division, that is not catholic at all.

So, "no" your post was off topic and not even supportive of Unity.

And, the sorrow is that you are proclaiming individualism when we should be rejoicing in Unity.

As to Lady gaga, the only similarity is that both you and she are pushing for individualism and not conformity and obedience.