Introduction, and some disclaimers

Good afternoon, everyone!

As one of the new contributers here at Vox Nova, I wanted to introduce myself very briefly, and then offer some disclaimers that readers of my posts should keep in mind.

First off, as Kyle mentioned in his introduction, I’m an incoming freshman in the Honors College at Catholic University, where I hope to major in Economics and possibly minor in either Political Science or Philosophy. Over the coming year, I will also be serving as the National High School Outreach Coordinator for STAND, the student-led division of Genocide Intervention Network (which means you may be seeing quite a few posts on such topics as Darfur, the Congo, genocide prevention legislation, etc.) If my schedule allows, I am also hoping at some point to found my own advocacy organization based on the Consistent Life Ethic, perhaps a student-led variant of Democrats for Life–more on that later, hopefully.

So now that I’ve given the basics, please keep the following points in mind as you read any of my future posts:

1) This is my first foray into the Catholic blogosphere as a contributor, but as a longtime observer and reader I am well aware that it often lacks any semblance of Christian charity and humility. For this reason, I will do my best to be charitable in my language and to not question the faith or good intentions of any of my brothers or sisters in Christ. That said, I am a sinner, and I have a particular tendancy towards impatience and self-righteousness, both of which are born of a pride that is, of course, the most pernicious vice of all. Because of this fact, please do me a favor and help save my soul by calling me out whenever I fall short of the standard to which all Christians should aspire.

2) I think it’s safe to say that I am the least qualified contributor here at Vox Nova, in the sense that I have no formal background in theology or philosophy. While I hope that the core curriculum at CUA will give me some good foundational knowledge, I am, after all, an Econ major. My insights into questions of Catholic theology, philosophy, and social doctrine are based on snippets that I have obtained from independent research and reading coupled with my own logic. I will, of course, never intentionally contradict the Magesterium of Christ’s Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, but I will always welcome any clarifications and corrections to my thinking.

3) I am new to blogging and realize that it has its own language and protocol, and I’ll do my best to learn it on the fly, but please be patient with me if I commit any kind of egregious violation of generally-accepted rules during my first few months here at Vox Nova.

4) If any of the horror stories that I have heard about freshman year are true, my posting frequency may significantly decline once I start at CUA, particularly when my considerable obligations to STAND are factored in.

I’d like to close by thanking Henry and Morning’s Minion for inviting me to contribute. I look forward to vigorous and, hopefully, productive and charitable debate as we attempt to apply the majesty of Catholic social teaching to a temporal reality that is becoming ever more complex.