Without comment, else it might be my last.
(1) Climate change is going to so devastate Rochester that it will as intolerable as living in … Richmond, VA. Go see the movie.
(2) Handed out at a nearby Catholic parish, remember that we used to pass a basket around a second time during mass to take care of these sorts of things. Or better yet, take it upon each family to get their act together, and then to help their neighbors if others couldn’t.
Here is the actual flyer they handed out, that was a link to the petition.
>> “Every dollar invested in high-quality child care returns
at least $7 in tax savings due to the need for fewer services, such as special education.”
I’d love to see the alleged facts begins that.
And couldn’t we just stop giving away the other services down the road to solve the problem?
I mean “facts behind that.”
I had regularly been attending mass at St. Pauls, a very historic/interesting place to quitely reflect, enjoy a peaceful service, and tithe. The last time I went, the NHS (National Health Service) was ‘sponsoring’ the service. Representatives of Islam, Christianity, and some eastern religions were all contributing to the service.
I turned and left, and have not gone back since.
Rather than become angry, I blame myself. It requires a minimal understanding of history to realize that the line between state and chruch is not so much blurred, it is non-existent. The state has never hesititated to twist the message of truth, delivered by the Son of God, to inflate their position of power.
Nevertheless, it is very difficult to describe how heart breaking it is to see these plague continue to infect our communities, tip-toeing through popular culture so slowly and quitely that it becomes normal before its recognized as novel. And good men, ostricized by social progressives, are as powerless as a starved man against a hungry dog.
When I was growing up, my family attended St. Vincent de Paul’s Catholic church in a suburb of Rochester. My mother only worked part-time as a librarian, my Father was an engineer and earned the income for my mother, my 3 sisters, and myself. When I was 7, my father was killed in a car accident. After my father passed, we were essentailly without a source of income. The community, largely fellow church members, pulled together and supported my family, both emotionally and financially, through this difficult time, until my mother got a full-time position as a 5th grade teacher.
We also received a social security payment every month. My step dad made very good use of it.
So, the next time a 7 year old loses his father, who is going to step up? Obama? Funny thing is, 7 year olds and their fatherless sisters rarely have a voice in government. There is no equivalent of a Sierra Club for this group. There is no PETA, no eco bench, no banker, no senator, no lobbyist, no corporation, no professor, no magazine, no newspaper, no 99%, no special interest group, no branch of government, no voting demographic, no eat local movement, or any equivalent, that can serve as a voice for these young people.
Yet tragedy will persist, despite our denial. Bad things happen to good people, this we cannot always control. We can control, however, how we choose to react. We can react with fear, or we can react as men who deserve freedom. Those who react with fear will shrivel in the face of hardship, passing the responsibility too others, forgoing the intellectual capabilites they have in favor of a more comfortable option of demanding that others make choices on their behalf. Even at the cost of civil liberties. Men who deserve freedom will act with courage and strength, drawing from within to confront and overcome adversities, and enriching the lives of others in the process.
I know I am not afraid. But I am angry.
It’s bizarre that the church would promote the state as a means of addressing a problem that has historically been addressed by charities, including religious organization. Isn’t the state a direct competitor to the church as a provider of those services (and a monopolisitic, inferior one at that)? Why would the church want to further marginalize its role in society?
The same goes for education. As a Catholic it pains me that the the church does not directly promote its schools as as superior alternative to government schools. It is a very easy argument to make. The bishops need to take the gloves off, and fast.