![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/85\/2011\/12\/Politics.jpg\" "\\"Politics\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe gospel precept of charity enlightens Christians as to the deepest meaning of political life.<\/em><\/p>\n Lately, I\u2019ve been \u201cworking out my salvation with fear and trembling.\u201d \u00a0I\u2019ve also been exploring the task of a Catholic layman in the political order. As I said in a previous post, politics generally isn\u2019t my bag.\u00a0It takes a lot of time, and basically leaves me unfulfilled. Surely I\u2019m not alone in this regard.<\/p>\n But finding the quote above (in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church) <\/em>has kind of galvanized me into thinking I need to pay a little more attention. That, and the fact that weird stuff seems to be happening to our Constitutional rights lately<\/a>. Therefore, I\u2019ve resolved to be more attentive to the political dimension of my being.<\/p>\n Something that I learned in college is that often times \u201cwhere you stand is a function of where you sit.\u201d And there is more than a glimmer of truth to this common sense statement. But readers may also recall that I was a latecomer to college, and I learned a lot by doing things in \u201cevery clime and place\u201d for about a decade before even heading to the halls of academe. I also like to get my hands dirty. Recall the identity of the mad man who disassembled and reassembled the motor in the car you see in the banner above<\/a>, in an effort to make it better, stronger, and faster? Heh.<\/p>\n So what does that have to do with YIMCatholic and politics? Frank, you plead, I loved this site when you never spoke of politics and now it\u2019s getting uncomfortable in here. Sorry, dear reader, but last time I voted in the big general election of 2008, I was just a newbie; a fledgling Catholic who basically voted the same way I always did, without much thought to it. Though I am still very much a rookie Catholic whom you may call Grasshopper<\/em>, this time around, and for the rest of the time I\u2019m around, I won\u2019t be voting in the reflexive manner like I used to.<\/p>\n Because to do so reminds me of how I kept going to Mass with my wife and family for 18 years, all the while figuring the Church was dead wrong, and therefore never joining her. That\u2019s not going to happen regarding my participation this election cycle. \u201cFool me once, same on you; fool me twice, shame on me.\u201d Saavy?<\/p>\n Instead, I am going to try and figure out my duties as a member of the polis<\/em>, the civitas<\/em>, or whatever other fancy Latin word you wish to call being a member of the peasantry that has been given the franchise. I plan on doing a lot of reading of texts that I hope will be helpful in forming my Catholic conscience (in addition to my normal reading of scripture, etc.), and which will (I hope) help by-pass the cognitive dissonance that flys for political thought nowadays. And this time around, I intend to vote with a conscience informed by Catholic teaching.<\/p>\n I\u2019m sure to infuriate a number of you, if not all of you at some point. So for now, I wish to bring the quote that I started this post off with right back to the forefront of my mind, and yours:<\/p>\n 392. The gospel precept of charity enlightens Christians as to the deepest meaning of political life. In order to make it truly human, \u201cno better way exists \u2026 than by fostering an inner sense of justice, benevolence and service for the common good, and by strengthening basic beliefs about the true nature of the political community and about the proper exercise and limits of public authority\u201d.[798] The goal which believers must put before themselves is that of establishing community relationships among people. The Christian vision of political society places paramount importance on the value of community, both as a model for organizing life in society and as a style of everyday living.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/em> \u2014Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, Chapter 8: The Political Community<\/a>.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n So basically, I\u2019m going readin\u2019 about politics and you\u2019re coming too. I\u2019m doing so for a number of reasons, the least of which is that someone recently left a comment over on the post I shared a little while ago entitled Because of Natural Law and Politics<\/a>.<\/em> There, I\u2019ve already been labeled both as a \u201cLibertarian-COnservative\u201d and as a \u201cCulture Warrior\u201d and \u201cpolitico\u201d as well. Another person left a befuddled comment on yesterdays\u00a0Time Magazine<\/em> \u201cPerson of the Year\u201d post saying that they needed to know a lot more than just that Time<\/em> is honoring the Ninjas, or the \u201cProtestors.\u201d Perhaps we all do.<\/p>\n What you have to look forward to then are a number of posts where I investigate the passage I quoted from the Compendium above in an attempt to try and make sense of it all, not that I have the slightest chance of being successful in doing so. I won\u2019t be reinventing the wheel, either. Instead, I\u2019ll be standing on the shoulders of giants, and hopefully learning how to think better to.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what I don\u2019t expect from this exercise: hitching my wagon onto any particular candidate of my choice and twisting everything they say into a claim that is the very essence of all that is true, good, and beautiful. Nor will I waste your time (or mine) trying to make sows ears into silk purses, or cheerlead you to death about any particular candidate, or get so wrapped up in any candidate as to forget how to think and reason. In fact, my assumption is that the candidate I will vote for will probably lose the election, if they even make the ballot.<\/p>\n Now when I went studying and reading, and became a Catholic convert as a result, I wasn\u2019t writing a blog. I was just reading, and working, and getting angry, and getting humbled, and becoming happy, all on my own time. In hindsight, I wrote a few posts<\/a> about the episode and then realized that there was much more to say, as conversion is an ongoing process. This time around though, I am blogging and reading at the same time. I\u2019ll try not to bore you to death.<\/p>\n Why even bother? Like I\u2019ve said in the past, I\u2019m a weirdo contrarian<\/a>. I spent vast chunks of my short lifetime in career fields that, in the chart below (put together by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of Fooled By Randomness<\/em>, and The Black Swan<\/em>), are identified as ones having \u201cSoul in the Game,\u201d and \u201cSkin in the Game. \u00a0I have no experience in ones that have \u201cNo Skin in the Game.\u201d It must be just because the way I\u2019m wired. Take a look, As Catholic Christians, we are called to be saints, even though we are all sinners too. \u00a0So it looks like like I will just have to do my level best to stay in the \u201cSoul in the Game\u201d column during this little exercise and enjoy it. And if neither you nor I enjoy it, then at least we will have hopefully learned something of value about living the Faith in all the dimensions of our being, including the political one.<\/p>\n Note that Taleb\u2019s chart also shows (to me, at least) that it is a serious waste of time, talent, and treasure, to spend the bulk of your gifts on wrapping yourself up in matters that are dominated by the \u201cNo Skin in the Game\u201d types. \u00a0Which, as you can clearly see, includes politicians and a variety of other folks who have benefited greatly over the past 35 years<\/a>.<\/p>\n Note also that Our Lord didn\u2019t spend much time on this particular area (political) either. Therefore, neither will I. But if you would like to follow along with me, the first assignment is to read the first three sections of Chapter 8 of the Compendium<\/a>. Feel free to share your thoughts on them in the combox below.<\/p>\n
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