State of the Union (or: "the FOCA Syndrome")

[guest commentary by Paladin]

At the risk of typecasting myself as "the angry man" (Sorry, John!), or as a paranoiac (those efforts to mandate taxpayer-funded abortion and euthanasia don't really indicate a love of death by the instigators, do they?), I want to make a few things clear. Mind, our esteemed host can and will speak for himself (and BTW: God bless and speed his run into the Illinois’ 62nd (State) District seat, and God speed his pro-abortion RINO opponent, Sandy Cole into a well-needed retirement!), but there are a few rather clear facts which need to be laid out.

1) I strongly suspect that, if I speak out against the current "Health Care Reform" bill (a la Nancy Pelosi) currently chugging its way through Congress--especially after the "modern Holy Grail" called the Stupak Amendment (as good as it is, so far as it goes) was successfully attached--I may get labelled a "mindless conservative" who's "always angry (Sorry, John!)", who "lets the perfect be the enemy of the good", and who's never satisfied with anything. To that, I say: horse puckies! (For those outside of Wisconsin, see here.) The fact that I decry 10 evils a day doesn't mean that the other (x - 10) evils aren't there, or aren't evil, or aren't important. Give it at least a millisecond of critical thought, and you'll see what I mean. Some of us have the tiresome (and un-asked-for) job of perpetually waking up the sleepy ADD sheep around us, whose Mass-Media-drenched attention spans and anemic motivation are about as emphatic as a 5-point [font] period at the end of a 100-point sentence, even if they know what "pro-life" means. (See references to "Faux Catholic", here or on my woefully neglected and inferior blog, for examples/references on that.) If you haven't noticed, the current administration hasn't limited itself to making only one foray into the culture of death at a time; at least a few people in the temple--ahm--I mean, administration of Master Obama, Leader Of Civilized Humanity and his faithful servants seem to be able to multi-task.

2) Aside from the soul-searing moral bankruptcy of the current administration/regime, their transparent hunger for power is outstripping their desire to minimize the damage done to the nation while gaining said power. Case in point: how will spending trillions of dollars that we don't have (yes, that's with a "T"--do you remember the good old days [at least 10 years ago, was it?] when commentators would say, "Yes, that's "billions" with a "B", as if it were still shocking?) get our economy into anything but deeper trouble? It's a bit like saying, "My bank account is empty, but my credit card has graciously agreed to lend me money to deposit into it, and to spend!" Math apparently isn't a strong suit, or a high priority, for The One and company. And that's only on a tactical, economic level, for the sake of easy example...

3) Like most evil actions and movements, the culture of death either doesn't know that it will destroy that which it seeks to control... or else, it doesn't really care (so long as it can fondle it for a while, until it does). At this point, the idea of artificial contraception is held in such reverence by the typical westerner that any challenge to it is viewed as a stupefying challenge to "that which was, is, and should be forever, world without end"... and yet, even from a bone-dry practical level, the engineers of this "social re-programming" have no apparent idea that a lack of children--and a manifold cultural bias against them--will cause any of their droolingly coveted "worldpower-state programs" to implode (think Medicare, Social Security, and the proposed "Universal Health Care"). It's at this point that sane people everywhere--even the most generous and patient--start to question either the liberals' collective sanity, intelligence, and/or self-preservation instinct.

Here just one other instance (off the top of my head--I leave it as an exercise for the reader to find others) of this "suicidal liberal lemming-dance": instill a hatred of pregnancy, monogamy and heterosexuality into westerners, and promote "alternate sexualities" (including pornography in all venues) in all possible forms, while paradoxically instilling into their audiences an irrational sympathy for radical Islam (because they hate Christians, and Christianity is still part-and-parcel to the core of America, and "the enemy of my enemy is my friend, dontcha know..."). That way, if they take over America, Islam will take over America by default (through a surprising tolerance for pregnancy and fertility)... and, after the imposition of Sharia Law, these very same "useful liberal sexual-license-ridden idiots" will be the first buried in the ground up to their necks, and stoned to death. (Logical, huh?)

As anyone who's read my posts for any length of time already knows: Capitulating (i.e. "Faux") Catholics make me see red as quickly--or more quickly--than can the most die-hard, liberal, culture-of-death, atheist/agnostic evangelist of hedonism. Betrayal just hurts worse than a frontal assault, that's all. But one insidious direction by which even otherwise-"solid" Catholics can get "conscripted" into the "Faux Catholic Corps" is what I'll call the FOCA Syndrome.

What's the FOCA Syndrome, you ask?

It's the syndrome by which a typical Catholic (ranging from the modestly devout to the bland pew-potato), who leads an otherwise quiet ("I wish people wouldn't bother me!") life, has been motivated--by some perceived emergency--to some sort of action which is otherwise extraordinary for them. The bishops sound the alarm about FOCA, and this (otherwise bland and conviction-vague) Catholic rouses himself to send in a postcard ("my stars, what *will* they ask me to do NEXT?"), even at the risk of enduring somewhat bemused or cross-eyed stares from those who are even more bland than he! Heroism in action! But after that, he settles back into his quiet, dumpy life of lukewarmness, and breathes a sigh of relief: "Thank God that's over!". Crisis averted, and he feels that he's served his tour of duty--and earned an honourable discharge from the "temporary Catholic military." (Onward, Christian soldiers!)

But a few months later--alas, Obama and Co. are not content to make just one foray into the destruction of society; they wish to pass FOCA by stealth, in pieces--or in different wrapping! They want to institute (wait for it!) Death Panels, by which the elderly and profoundly disabled will be offered "loving care, condolences, and a few aspirin--along with a small pill to end their troubles quietly" in the name of conserving the money for those whose standard of life (as judged by the honourable [sic] Kathleeen Sebelius) is higher! "Not again!", says the weary soldier; "Didn't I just fill out a postcard... and in full sight of at least a dozen parishioners, too?" But somehow, he whips his exhausted spirit into yet another act of heroism, and he--wonder of wonders--actually CALLS his Congressman and leaves a polite message explaining his difference of opinion! Ahh... not only retirement will reward him, but surely an increased pension in Heaven, or even a medal of honour, in the afterlife will await him, will it not?

Repeat this scenario a few more times. You can see where it's going. Eventually (after, say 4-5 such "calls to action"), the "heroic Faux Catholic" will throw up his hands in disgust and refuse, citing his unwillingness to accede to anything so relentless and insatiable as these demands on his time. And so it goes.

(This, by the way, is why RESOLVE, rather than EMOTION, is needed in the heart of a Christian in this battle.)

Look. Christians (the ones who are sane, at any rate) are not trying to run your life. They're not even trying to dictate your preferences. They're trying to stop you from destroying yourselves... and us in the process! Rampant sexuality decays and destroys a culture. A willful disregard/contempt for life (especially the weak and the "inconvenient") destroys it even more quickly (and rampant sexuality seems to lead inexorably toward such disregard/contempt). It's only natural that bystanders, after watching you take out a cultural machine gun and open-fire in all directions, might just try to stop you by some means or another, eh?