Jerry Taylor points out a documentable fact and gets hammered by the Preservers of Bubble Integrity<\/a>.<\/p>\n I think Catholics are going to have to face up to the fact that \u201chere we have no continuing city\u201d and begin to rethink our engagement with American culture accordingly.<\/p>\n In case you are confused, that doesn\u2019t mean \u201cJump ship for the Democratic party\u201d. Rather it means, \u201cFigure out new ways to engage our culture and politics that are not enslaved to any party or ideology.\u201d The GOP seems to be self-destructing at an amazing pace, in no small part because of the studious refusal to do even the slightest self-assessment. The Dems, after a short breathing space created by the Obama Honeymoon, will soon find themselves in a similar jam, largely because they have no ideas except a) continue the dumbest of Bush\u2019s mistakes, b) abortion now and forever<\/a>!, and c) add massive debt on to that.<\/p>\n I\u2019m thinking more and more that we Catholics are going to have to think outside the box (meaning \u201cPay attention to Catholic social teaching, not political shibboleths\u201d) if we are going to be of service to our country when it becomes apparent that our ruling classes on both sides of the aisle are bankrupt for actual ideas that address the common good and the needs of the human person.<\/p>\n Update: Somebody asks if I\u2019m suggesting founding a new political party. Not really. I\u2019m talking about drawing on the Tradition to begin a new way of thinking about renewing the face of the earth. That could certainly involve some in founding new political parties, but that\u2019s just a sliver. As another reader says:<\/p>\n Better things to found instead of a political party:an enduring religious order, Very Chestertonian thinking, that.<\/p>\n
an enduring family, a prayer group, an annual neighborhood party in one\u2019s
backyard, a moral business, a friendship, a quality movie studio\u2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n