Don't Like? Don't Do!

Have you seen this dribble posted on FB or making the email rounds?

Don't like gay marriages? Don't get one. . . . . Don't like cigarettes?  Don't smoke them. . . Don't like abortions? Don't get one. . . . .  Don't like sex? Don't have it. . . . .  Don't like drugs? Don't do them. . . . .  Don't like porn? Don't watch it. . . . .  Don't like alcohol? Don't drink it. . . . .  Don't like guns? Don't buy one. . . . .  Don't like your rights taken away??? Don't take away someone else's.

I am reposting this ignorance not because I agree, but because it is so easy to prove false. 

The 1st error is that the writer assumes that all of the above activities are a matter of personal, private choice but don't hurt anyone except the... doer. 

 

Drinking and smoking are not naturally bad for an adult if done within moderation at appropriate times and places. The right to own a gun is enshrined in the US Constitution. And it follows logically that if I have a right to life, I also have the right to protect and defend my life with force. Thus smoking, drinking, and owning a gun are not in the same catagory as shooting heroine, killing unborn babies, and spreading disease into the population through perverse, self-destructive sex acts. 

 

2nd- I do concede that what adults do in private is their business, an exercise of their God-given liberty. But what about MY liberty when the government forces me to hire, rent to, serve, and advertise for such people? Where is MY liberty... when government schools teach my kids that those behaviors are OK, but won't allow my kids to disagree out loud or hear a different view on campus? Where is my liberty when your smokers, drinkers, druggers, and perverts come down with lung cancer, serosis, brain damage, STDs, and illegitimate kids? That' s when these advocates of liberty suddenly want to force me and other tax payers to foot the bill through health care and welfare programs.

 

‎3rd- homosexuality isn't illegal in the US, and many so-called Christian denominations perform gay weddings. Gay marriage laws violate the freedom of the majority by forcing us to hand a license, a tax break, extra insurance coverage, and ...maybe even a foster-child in state custody to a gay couple. We are forced to express official approval and to foot the bill. Today I read that the state of Illinois is trying to kick 2000 foster-children out of a Catholic orphanage because the Church won't follow the state's gay marrage law. So who is the real bully there? Whose rights are being violated? (hint: read the 1st amendment)

 

Ironically, the friend who posted the defense of "liberty" above would NOT allow any of his friends to post statements disagreeing! So much for freedom and tolerance...

 

Guest contributor: Joseph Herbert 

From Unthinkable to Policy in 5 Easy Steps

The Overton Window was developed in the mid-1990s by the late Joseph P. Overton. He describes a "window" in the range of public reactions to ideas in public discourse.


Overton’s model was developed to explain adjustments in the political climate. But I believe it can also illuminate how profound and deleterious changes are advanced in our culture. If the goal were to undermine cultural institutions, the process for getting from Unthinkable to Policy would follow these five easy steps:

Step #1: From Unthinkable to Radical — The first step is the easiest—provided the issue can become a fetish or the topic of an academic symposium. Since both the professoriate and the perverts have a fascination with the faux-transgressive (the truly transgressive [i.e., Christianity] tends to terrify them) all you need to do is get the attention of one of these groups. It doesn't matter which you start with since the politics of the bedroom and the classroom inevitably overlap.

Step #2: From Radical to Acceptable — This shift requires the creation and employment of euphemism. Want to kill a child exiting the womb? Call it "dilation and extraction” and infanticide becomes a medical procedure. Want to include sodomitic unions under the banner of “marriage?” Redefine the term “marriage” to mean the state-endorsed copulation of any two(?) people who want to share a bed and a tax form. Be sure to say it is about “love”—in our culture, eros excuses everything.

There will naturally be a few holdouts, of course, but those who reject the shift from Radical to Acceptable can be shamed into approving. All that is required is to deploy a stingingly suitable insult. The word “bigot”, for instance, is more effective than a billy club at beating the young into submission. There are few core beliefs they won’t change to avoid being called a bigot. The disapproval of their Creator is unfortunate; enduring the disfavor of their peers is unimaginable.

Step #3: From Acceptable to Sensible — There is nothing more sensible than to submit to one’s god. And while Americans may profess to worship Allah, Jehovah, or Jesus, we mostly worship an American Idol—ourselves. That is why social libertarianism has become our country’s fastest-growing cult. It has tapped into this self-idolatry by preaching a gospel of the Individual. It’s a pragmatic and accepting message. You were, as its chief evangelist Lady Gaga says, “born this way”: “It doesn't matter if you love him, or capital H-I-M / Just put your paws up /'Cause you were born this way, baby.”

Step #4: From Sensible to Popular — This step merely requires personalizing the issue. Do you know someone who is LGBT? Divorced? Had an abortion? Sure you do, they are in your family, in your
school, at your church.

Do you hate them? If not, then how can you still disapprove of their actions? (Note: Be sure to talk fast so that no one follows the logic.)
Remember, "I'm OK; You're OK!"

As it says in the Good Book (or maybe in a Lady Gaga song), judge not lest God judge you for judging. You want people to like you, don’t you? Then express popular approval for what your cultural betters (e.g., people on reality TV) believe should be popularly approved.

Then you’ll be popular and it won't be necessary to call you a bigot.


Step #5: From Popular to Policy — Commission a public opinion poll. Show it to a politician. They’ll do the rest.


Source: an excerpt form How to Destroy a Culture in 5 Easy Steps (FirstThings.com)

Geese, Seagulls and Thatcher

Shoot the golden goose, and you end up wrestling a seagull for a french fry on the boardwalk down in Atlantic City! 

 

 

"The problem with Socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." Margaret Thatcher

House of Ruth

from Catholic Teacher's Musings

When I was in 9th grade, I was part of a CCD program that focused on social justice concerns. Several times throughout the year, we would visit organizations and institutions that served the vulnerable and the poor.
I have a vivid memory of visiting a DC facility called The House of Ruth,
an organization that serves women and children who have suffered from circumstances related to domestic violence, poverty, and mental illness .
During the 1976 class trip, our small group of 14 year olds had the responsibility of visiting with the residents and stocking the pantry with groceries I believe we had brought with us.
Out of the corner of my eye I remember seeing a woman take some food and put it in her sweater as if she were "stealing" it.
I didn't understand her self-consciousness, her fear, or her shame.
At 14, the behavior confused me, but also made me more aware of the devastating issue of domestic violence affecting women all over the globe.
Nowadays, House of Ruth has 13 DC locations and may serve nearly 600 women at any given time.
**********
This past week the DC government has announced a 20 million dollar budget cut for homeless services. As a result, House of Ruth will lose close to $500,000 in funds. Whether or not the facility can survive with this loss of funds is highly questionable.

from the website:

House of Ruth helps women, children and families in greatest need and with very limited resources to build safe, stable lives and achieve their highest potential. We serve women, children and families who are striving to overcome domestic violence, homelessness, mental health disorders and substance abuse. Underlying their problems is the women’s experiences of neglect and abuse.

Please say a prayer for the survival of House of Ruth and the women under their care.

Visit the website for more information.

Red Envelope - Quiet but Clear

Sometimes an idea is shared that is simple and perfect for addressing an issue. This is one such idea and I hope you will be inspired to pray for its effectiveness. I hope you will take part and share the idea.

I thank Mum2Twelve (actually 13 now) for this wonderful information. Author: John Otto.

Dear Friends and Intercessors:

This afternoon I was praying about a number of things, and my mind began to wander. I was deeply distressed at the symbolic actions that President Obama took as he began his presidency. Namely, that he signed executive orders releasing funds to pay for abortions, permission to fund human stem cell research, and federal funding for contraception. I have been involved in the pro-life movement for nearly 20 years, and it pained my heart to see a man and a political party committed to the shedding of innocent blood. This man, and this party lead our country, but they do not represent me or the 54% of Americans who believe that abortion is wrong and should no longer be legal..

As I was praying, I believe that God gave me an interesting idea. Out in the garage I have a box of red envelopes. Like the powerful image of the red LIFE tape, an empty red envelope will send a message to Barack Obama that there is moral outrage in this country over this issue. It will be quiet, but clear.

Here is what I would like you to do:

Get a red envelope. You can buy them at Kinkos, or at party supply stores. On the front, address it to:

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington , D.C. 20500

On the back, write the following message.

This envelope represents one child who died in abortion.
It is empty because that life was unable to offer anything to the world.
Responsibility begins with conception.

Put it in the mail, and send it. Then forward this email to every one of your friends who you think would send one too.. I wish we could send 50 million red envelopes, one for every child who died before having a chance to live. Maybe it will change the heart of the president.

Warmly,
John Otto


(new PS from Soutenus)
My original idea (below) was nixed by the administration.
That is OK - I am going to go to my parish and offer the idea to them.

Perhaps we can plan a RED ENVELOPE PARTY there! That may be an even better idea because we can celebrate the ability to have our voices heard in this country while creating our peaceful messages.
Yeah! God is good. When one idea doesn't work He comes up with a better one.
I'll bet the newspaper may even be interested.


(original PS) from Soutenus
Let's "address" this issue together and with creativity and enthusiasm!

I believe I will check into having an after school coloring session for any student who wants to stay after school to color an envelope.
We could leave rectangles of white space for writing.

If students take the time to actually color these envelopes red they will be taking the time to think about what it represents.
OR we could make red envelopes out of red construction paper!
OR we could simply address our personal red envelopes and celebrate coming together & trying to live our faith more fully.
I think seeing many, many red envelopes - ready to be mailed - would be a very positive symbol for the students.

Small, consistent, clear, united steps . . . .let's keep moving forward.

Ancient Tradition of Swapping Genders (in Albania)

A very interesting but vanishing tradition is disappearing from Albanian culture:

For centuries, in the closed-off society of rural northern Albania, swapping genders was considered a practical solution for a family with a shortage of men. By taking an oath of virginity, women could take on the role of men as head of the family, carry a weapon, own property and move freely.

They dressed like men and spent their lives in the company of other men, even though most kept their female given names. They were not ridiculed but accepted in public life, even adulated.

Taking an oath to become a sworn virgin should not, sociologists say, be equated with homosexuality, long taboo in rural Albania. Nor do the women have sex-change operations.

You can read the whole article here @ AJC.com. The article's original source was The New York Times News Service.

Boundaries

H/T to Elliot who blogs @ Dust Off the Bookshelf. The post that caught my attention was about boundaries and poverty v. comfort. Elliot writes,

"Recently, a friend of mine has been experiencing this divide first hand. In a post chronicling his trip to Mexico and the USA he wrote the following:

'Grass and vegetation in the slums is non-existent, yet only half an hour across the border suburban lawns sprout lush crops of green grass. I’ve spent time in crowded homes which stench with the smell of many people, yet in the same day walked through air-conditioned shopping centers which seem to stretch for acre upon acre.”

Isn’t that absurd? I wonder, how close do the poor have to become before we begin to experience compassion? Another continent, a few kilometres across the border, or on our doorstep?'

My first thought was that this happens in neighborhoods, too (i.e. on our doorstop?).

Here is a quick example of what I mean. Today my youngest and I were driving back from WalMart (I am still feel guilty about shopping there but . . . . . it is . . . . cheap).
He was a little preoccupied in the back seat with his new walkie talkie and when he looked up he said, "Where are we?"

I was driving home the "back way" through a neighborhood that is on the outskirts of our regular route. The houses are small (averaging about 1400 square feet), very close together and many are leased.

"Where are we?" opened up a great conversation. We were

• only 5 or 6 miles from home.
• in an area where the convenience stores have a decidedly tired look and feel and men wait on corners for people to come by and offer them work for a day.
• in a neighborhood that floods every time we have serious rain.
• in a neighborhood that borders multi million dollar homes in gated communities. (And for some strange reason these homes DO NOT flood although they are right next to homes that do . . . . can we say, "Money makes a difference?")

I also wonder how close the poor have to be before we remember to live in gratitude for what we have and to always be compassionate and generous.

Graphics Source: Duane Gordon

Starbucks Contributes to Planned Parenthood

I continue to NOT BUY FROM STARBUCKS.
Many people do not know that they contribute to Planned Parenthood.

Once I learned that they contribute to Planned Parenthood I experienced a rude but quick awakening to the fact that anything purchased from them was a donation in my name to help fund abortions. I cannot stomach that.

It may not be possible to know or avoid all companies that contribute to unethical organizations . . . but this is one example of a choice that is truly in my control.

Recently a student of mine challenged me on this info. The student came to me with the message that her parents did not believe the information I gave to the class.

I searched my sources to triple check that my info was up to date. I found only one (relatively unreliable) source that stated Starbucks no longer contributed to Planned Parenthood. Starbucks is still listed as a contributor at the Planned Parenthood website.

Here is the only source that I found stating Starbucks no longer contributed to PP. It is a response to a reader question over at EWTN.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I just read an article in the All website written by Nicole Flusche titled "My Pro-life Barista." Has Starbucks stopped their involvement with planned parenthood? Please let me know what current news you have about Starbucks as soon as possible.
In Christ,
Connie
Answer by Judie Brown on 4/30/20
Dear Connie
Starbucks does not support Planned Parenthood any longer. This is according to *Life Decisions International corporate supporters of Planned Parenthood update.
Judie Brown
COPYRIGHT 2008
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please note that

1. Nicole Flusche's blog post talks about an experience with ONE Starbucks barista. As my friend Policraticus says, "I have a friend from Steubenville who is a barista who is very pro-life, very Catholic...that doesn't change the corporate decisions on 'charitable' contributions. Policraticus adds these points -
2. "Planned Parenthood still lists Starbucks as a gift matching donator, and until Planned Parenthood or Starbucks says otherwise, I'd say we have to believe that the financial connection remains.
   
3. EWTN forums are notoriously poor when it comes to social, economic and political information. The fact that Judie Brown does not even provide a link or article leads me to treat her claims as rather dubious."

* I tried to check out the Life Decisions International list but you had to purchase it! I did not do that. On the other hand, you can go straight to the PP site and check out their list.

Planned Parenthood (list of companies that match gifts from the official PP website)

1.7+ Million Community Service Hours to Honor Pope’s Birthday

This afternoon Catholic School students met with the Pope to personally deliver pledges of more than 1.7 million hours of community service to honor the Pope’s 81st birthday. The students met with the Pope at the Vatican Embassy. The National Catholic Educational Association asked students from around the country to offer community services in celebration of Benedict’s visit and his birthday.

Service activities are an established tradition in Catholic education and an essential principle that is part of the Catholic Church’s social teachings. Students perform these works by donating their time at social service agencies, food banks, hospital and nursing homes. The tally for the Papal birthday is estimated to be 1.7 million hours of community service which will be fulfilled during the school year.

source: Washington DC, Apr 16, 2008 / (CNA)

Join the Battle to Protect Your Parental Rights

Click here to sign the petition to "Request Depublishing of California Court Case In re Rachel L.
“Depublished” would mean that this opinion cannot be used by other California courts and this threat to homeschool freedom will be neutralized for other California homeschoolers.
Here are some other opinions and resources that may be of interest to you:

• Do you feel that this is an all-out assault on the family? Join the effort to defend the rights of parents at ParentalRights.org.
• HSLDA's Info page on this court decision Legal status, link to the decision, info on legal grounds for homeschooling in California.
• Join HSLDA Legal protection for homeschooling families, fighting to protect homeschool freedom nationally and in each state, excellent membership benefits.
• Support the cause of homeschooling
• If you would like to support HSLDA in its efforts to protect homeschool freedoms, please consider a tax deductible donation to the Friends of Homeschooling Fund through the Home School Foundation.
• Focus on the Family Radio Broadcast Dr. Dobson discusses the case with Dr. Mike Farris of HSLDA, Roy Hanson of Family Protection Ministries, Carrie Gordon Earll of Focus on the Family, and a homeschool mom from California.

Why Bother to Call Yourself Catholic

This is post from Adam's Ale. I have copied and pasted it here, in its entirety, so that my middle school students can read it. They are NOT allowed to roam the web and getting a site approved takes more time than I have since this information is very timely!
A big H/T to A Cleveland Priest

You do not join the Catholic Church. People who do so do not know what they are doing. You do not join. Joining is for health clubs. You become part of the Catholic Church. It is part of who you are. It is a lens from which we view the world like being male or female. Being Catholic cannot help but inform what you do because it is part of who you are.

Tomorrow is voting day here in the great state of Ohio (and Texas) and some people have mentioned being part of conversations in which someone says, “The Catholic Church is not going to tell me how to vote.” This is an utterly ridiculous statement for someone who wants to be called Catholic. We cannot put ourselves outside of the Church because we are the Church. We might as well say, “My body is not going to inform me how to live in this world!”

Being Catholic brings with it certain standards in morals. It is a high bar and even if we do not always measure up to it, it is there for us to aspire to. There is not office or group of “Church officials” that are sitting around trying to decide how they want to make you vote. However we all are to remind each other (and it is the duty of those charged with the care of souls to do so in a special way) that we have these standards: that there are good ways of living and there are evil ways of living. There are things that will bring life and dignity and worth to the human cause and that which will degrade and harm us. It is an act of forming a conscience in the fashion that Jesus Christ taught us which we do in the community of the Church that He established.

Once again, to say that the “Church is not going to tell me how to vote,” is not saying that I am not aligning my vote with something some ecclesial overlord is telling me I must do, it is saying that I am making a firm break with the faith and morals with which I have been entrusted.

True, on issues from time to time we may vote differently than a recommendation from, say, a council of bishops. But for a Catholic it is not because we are making a break with Church (The Church won’t tell ME how to vote) but rather it is (or should be) that we are using the same information concerning faith and morals as someone who makes a recommendation and have made an educated, informed, and well thought out decision that is at odds with said recommendation. But one only acts on it because of the belief that it is closer in keeping with the will of Christ and what He wants of us as Church.

Obviously then this person is not putting himself outside of the “power” of the Church but acting fully as a member therein. To simply say, “The Church is not going to tell me how to vote” then is either pure laziness, ignorance, or an indirect denial of the faith the way we believe Christ established it and this should leave others scratching their heads as to why such a person would even bother calling themselves Catholic.

Ode to the Lost Trees

I think that I shall never see

A billboard lovely as a tree.

Indeed, unless the billboards fall

I'll never see a tree at all.

Ogden Nash

Fast and Abstinence: In Perspective...

Yolen Jenuky sells mud cookies in Cite Soleil, the poorest section of Haiti's capitol city, Port au Prince.

Thank you to A Concord Pastor Comments. This is his post - it was so moving and informative that I have posted it here in its entirety.

Fast and Abstinence In Lent
All Christians are called to special prayer, fasting and caring for the poor in the season of Lent. Each person determines how he or she will personally live out these ancient Lenten exercises. In addition to personal Lenten practices, Catholics are also called to a communal practice of self-denial through fasting and abstinence.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - It was lunchtime in one of Haiti's worst slums, and Charlene Dumas was eating mud. With food prices rising, Haiti's poorest can't afford even a daily plate of rice, and some take desperate measures to fill their bellies. Charlene, 16 with a 1-month-old son, has come to rely on a traditional Haitian remedy for hunger pangs: cookies made of dried yellow dirt from the country's central plateau. The mud has long been used by pregnant women and children here as an antacid and source of calcium. But in places like Cite Soleil, the oceanside slum where Charlene shares a two-room house with her baby, five siblings, and two unemployed parents, cookies made of dirt, salt, and vegetable shortening have become a regular meal. "When my mother does not cook anything, I have to eat them three times a day," Charlene said. Her baby, named Woodson, lay still across her lap, looking even thinner than the slim 6 pounds, 3 ounces, he weighed at birth. Though she likes their buttery, salty taste, Charlene said the cookies also give her stomach pains. "When I nurse, the baby sometimes seems colicky, too," she said.

Ash Wednesday Is a Day of Fast and Abstinence
On Ash Wednesday, Catholics over 14 years of age are expected to abstain from eating meat on this day. Catholics 18 years of age and up to the beginning of their 60th year are expected to fast: taking only one full meal and two other light meals, eating nothing between meals.

Food prices around the world have spiked because of higher prices for oil, which is needed for fertilizer, irrigation, and transportation. Prices for basic ingredients such as corn and wheat are also up sharply, and the increasing global demand for biofuels is pressuring food markets as well. The problem is particularly dire in the Caribbean, where island nations depend on imports and food prices are up 40 percent in places… At the market in the La Saline slum, a two-cup portion of rice now sells for 60 cents, up 10 cents from December and 50 percent from a year ago. Beans, condensed milk, and fruit have gone up at a similar rate, and even the price of the edible clay has risen over the past year by almost $1.50. Dirt to make 100 cookies now costs $5, the cookie makers say. Still, at about 5 cents apiece, the cookies are a bargain compared with food staples. About 80 percent of people in Haiti live on less than $2 a day and a tiny elite controls the economy.

All the Fridays of Lent Are Days of Abstinence
Catholics over 14 years of age are expected to abstain from eating meat on the Fridays of Lent.

Merchants truck the dirt from the central town of Hinche to the La Saline market, a maze of tables of vegetables and meat swarming with flies. Women buy the dirt, then process it into mud cookies… Carrying buckets of dirt and water up ladders to the roof of the former prison for which Fort Dimanche is named, they strain out rocks and clumps on a sheet, and stir in shortening and salt. Then they pat the mixture into mud cookies and leave them to dry under the scorching sun. The finished cookies are carried in buckets to markets or sold on the streets. A reporter sampling a cookie found that it had a smooth consistency and sucked all the moisture out of the mouth as soon as it touched the tongue. For hours, an unpleasant taste of dirt lingered… Marie Noel, 40, sells the cookies in a market to provide for her seven children. Her family also eats them. "I'm hoping one day I'll have enough food to eat, so I can stop eating these," she said. "I know it's not good for me." (By Jonathan M. Katz, Associated Press, January 31, 2008)

Good Friday Is a Day of Fast and Abstinence
On Good Friday, Catholics over 14 years of age are expected to abstain from eating meat on this day. Catholics 18 years of age and up to the beginning of their 60th year are expected to fast: taking only one full meal and two other light meals, eating nothing between meals.

From Soutenus: During Lent you might want to place the money save by fasting and abstinence aside for people in poverty. Go to the St. Boniface Haiti Foundation to learn about their nutrition programs.

Touchable Past & Future

"I believe television is going to be the test of the modern world, and that in this new opportunity to see beyond the range of our vision we shall discover either a new and unbearable disturbance of the general peace or a saving radiance in the sky. We shall stand or fall by television -- of that I am quite sure."

E.B. White
from "Removal from Town"
Harper's Magazine (October 1938)

I read this today and then glanced at the date. That was 70 years ago. Think about it, 70 years!!
I like to call that our touchable past.

If you are 20 or older you have known someone with a personal connection to 1938. The degrees of separation may vary but it is an understandable passage of time. It can be perceived with little effort.
If you are 35 it is simply "another one " (unit of time) of your lifetimes. You probably even know someone who was born around that time.
If you are 45 you may know someone who remembers 1938.

E.B. White was right. Television has affected us, as a culture, in ways perhaps unfathomable to someone in 1938.
In the year 2078 how will we (or our grandchildren) fill in the blank, "I believe ________ was the test of that time period."

The Internet is an obvious answer. But I think our big test is increasingly violent video games. It is easy to foresee "wii" (is that how you spell it?) creating an assassin or some other killing game. Our current desensitization could only escalate with marketing like that.
Last year Pope Benedict XVI asked us to "Change the Game". He asked us to put aside toy weapons.

In the year that has followed I have only noticed an increase in toy weapons. I think one could safely say that violent video games fall into the category of violent toys.