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{"id":6944,"date":"2016-10-27T08:14:07","date_gmt":"2016-10-27T12:14:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/?p=6944"},"modified":"2016-10-27T08:14:07","modified_gmt":"2016-10-27T12:14:07","slug":"how-to-make-america-great-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2016\/10\/how-to-make-america-great-again.html","title":{"rendered":"How to make America great again"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

First of all depends on whether you believe it was great to begin with. \u00a0Assuming you do, Fr. Longenecker has some ideas, twelve to be exact<\/a>. \u00a0Not much I would argue with. \u00a0 Some, such as a desire for universal healthcare, are certainly good ideas, but the devil is in the details. \u00a0How do we get universal healthcare? \u00a0 Having worked with and befriended people from countries with varying levels of socialized medicine, I\u2019ve learned something. \u00a0Most of them find those countries to be far better off than the American approach to healthcare. \u00a0Except for those who don\u2019t. \u00a0What\u2019s the difference? \u00a0Experience. \u00a0Those who had bad experiences here, or good ones at home, tended to see their more socialized approach as the better way. \u00a0Those who had bad experiences at home, or somehow found better care here, naturally see things differently. \u00a0 Though I notice few look at our current system and say, \u201cBy golly, that\u2019s the system with no problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rest of the ideas are balanced, and kudos for Fr. Longenecker for having the very common sense approach to Muslims by admitting we should be wary, but also open. Most Muslims, like most Christians and most Conservatives, aren\u2019t a bunch of murdering terrorists or violent bigots. \u00a0You\u2019ll note, however, that this doesn\u2019t keep our own pop culture or progressive society from keeping a critical eye on conservatism, or traditional religious expressions. \u00a0 I\u2019m sure most to the Left don\u2019t say Christians are all killers or abortion clinic bombers or homophobic bigots. \u00a0But they certainly don\u2019t miss a chance to remind us that, when something happens, somehow a verdict on the whole of the Christian tradition should be brought to bear. \u00a0Heck, when a Muslim who declared fealty to ISIS murdered people in a gay bar because of US foreign policy, we were still reminded that somehow it was the fault of, and demonstrative of, conservative Christian ideas and teachings. \u00a0So clearly, given the global spread of not just ISIS, but various terrorist groups, all linked to the Islamic faith, we can have that same critical eye looking at Islam as a whole without feeling that this implies most Muslims are guilty or are terrorists.<\/p>\n

Mostly, Fr. Longenecker does what officially the Church encourages, and that is to look at the issues and see what helps the most people, while not putting the innocent in harm\u2019s way. \u00a0It doesn\u2019t dismiss the innocent when their cries are no longer convenient for advancing this or that agenda. \u00a0It admits, for instance, that we want immigrants to come to our country and have an obligation to open our doors to the foreigner, but that we also have an obligation to those already here to make sure our borders are secure. \u00a0The rest of his ideas follow the same basic approach. \u00a0 America is a great country, has been a great country, and can be great again. \u00a0And we can do this by being sensitive to the needs of everyone, not just this or that demographic whose plight makes good political leverage. \u00a0Rather, by actually believing all people have\u00a0worth, both home and abroad, both left and right, both believer and non believer, we can make such strides. \u00a0And listening to all sides and understanding each has concerns that should be remembered and addressed isn\u2019t a bad place to start.<\/p>\n

A good, common sense read.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"