Liberal? Conservative? Republican? Democrat? No: Catholic 0 (0)

Posted on July 27, 2024 by Brian H. Gill
Joseph Ferdinand Keppler's cartoon in Puck magazine: 'A Hard Pull', showing politician James G. Blaine riding to Ohio, surrounded by emblems of scandals. (October 1, 1884) via Library of Congress, see http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.28237
Politics in the Gilded Age: “A Hard Pull”: Puck’s view of James Blaine. (October 1, 1884)

I could ignore the current presidential fracas: claiming that I’m too ‘spiritual’ for worldly matters, or can’t abide the pervasive political posturing and pandering.

Detail, Joseph Ferdinand Keppler's cartoon in Puck magazine: 'A Hard Pull', former Vice President Schuyler Colfax, with a 'Credit Mobilier' plume in his cap, carries a standard stating 'Westward The Star of Corruption Fakes its Way'. (October 1, 1884) via Library of Congress, see http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.28237But that’s not an option.

Neither, for me, is getting “political” in the sense of declaring that, if elected, candidate A will doom us all; while candidate B is America’s only hope.

Those attitudes aren’t new, and that’s another topic.1

This week I’ll be talking about why I don’t fit into current political pigeonholes: or, rather, why I fit into several.

Acting As If What I Believe Matters

Chicago Tribune's political cartoon, after the 1927 Chicago mayoral general election: reacting to politicians who publicly endorsed candidates in a general election, after denouncing them in the primaries. (April 6, 1927)I’m a Catholic, so I think that the common good matters.

That involves respect for the human person, the individual; the well-being and development of societies; and at least a measure of security and stability for societies and individuals. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1905-1912)

Also since I’m a Catholic, I can’t sit back and munch popcorn while the usual suspects put on their dog and pony shows.

Since I’m just some guy living in central Minnesota, the weight of the world isn’t on my shoulders. Which is fine by me.

But I am personally responsible for what I can do: taking a part in public life, as far as my circumstances permit. (Catechism, 1913-1917)

So: if I think the common good matters, how come I’m not denouncing someone or something; or declaring that our only hope is someone or something else?

Basically, it’s because I don’t think life is that simple. Not even life’s political side.

Besides, as I said last week, being a Catholic gives me a counter-cultural perspective.2 Which isn’t nearly as scary as it may sound.

Political Pigeonholes and the Big Picture

Brian H. Gill's '2000 Years and Counting' collage.Years ago now, my father-in-law was asked if he’s conservative — or liberal.

His answer: “I’m Catholic”.

I’d have given the same answer.

Catholic teachings are quite definite, so I could peg them on the American political spectrum — as long as I didn’t look at the big picture.

On the other hand, taking bits and pieces of Catholic beliefs, and the history of Catholics in America, I could claim that the Catholic Church is conservative. Or that it’s liberal.

It’s neither, and that may take explaining.

Sex, Death, and Immigrants

sporki's photo: World Youth Day, Rome. (2000) via Wikipedia, used w/o permission.
World Youth Day, Rome. (2000)

The Church might look liberal because we’re told that sex is a good thing, social justice is important, and the death penalty is never a good idea.3 (Genesis 1:27, 31; Catechism, 1928-1942, 2267, 2331-2391)

“…It is necessary, therefore, to reaffirm that no matter how serious the crime that has been committed, the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and the dignity of the person….”
(Address of His Holiness Pope Francis to Participants in the Meeting Promoted by the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization, Pope Francis (October 11, 2017)

We might look conservative because we’re told that extra- and non-marital sex is a bad idea, private property is a good idea, and both abortion and euthanasia are wrong. (Catechism, 2270-2279, 2348-2356, 2380-2381, 2401-2406)

The Church also says that immigrants are people, with rights and responsibilities. (Catechism, 2241, 2443)

This view of immigrants isn’t new, which doesn’t make it either conservative or liberal. It’s just something that’s made sense for millennia.

“You shall not oppress a resident alien; you well know how it feels to be an alien, since you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.”
(Exodus 23:9)

“‘When an alien resides with you in your land, do not mistreat such a one.
“You shall treat the alien who resides with you no differently than the natives born among you; you shall love the alien as yourself; for you too were once aliens in the land of Egypt. I, the LORD, am your God.”
(Leviticus 19:33–34)

“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me,”
(Matthew 25:35)

Next, let’s see what the Church says about defending lives, including mine.

Hawk? Dove?

War Department, Office of the Chief Signal Officer's photo: Ruins of Richmond, Virginia; detail. (1865) U. S. Archives, via Wikipedia, used w/o permission.I don’t like wars.

They kill people and break things.

Avoiding war is a good idea. But I’d make a terrible pacifist.

That’s because I think protecting folks is a good idea. Even when being polite won’t work.

Defending myself from a lethal attack would be okay; even if my action results in my attacker’s death. But I must use the least possible force. (Catechism, 2263-2267)

That’s because my life is precious. So is my hypothetical attacker’s. My intent should be saving my own life, not killing another person: even if that is the unintended effect of my action. (Catechism, 2263-2269; “Summa Theologica”, Second Part of the Second Part, Question 64, Article 7; Thomas Aquinas (ca. 1270))

The same “legitimate defense” principle applies to decisions national leaders face. That’s why using force isn’t always wrong. (Catechism, 2265-2269, 2307-2317)

I could make my beliefs fit pigeonholes like ‘hawk,’ ‘dove,’ ‘bleeding heart liberal’, or ‘heartless conservative’. All it’d take would be picking the bits of Catholic teaching I like and ignoring the rest. But I won’t. It wouldn’t make sense.

One more thing before wrapping this part up.

Long-Term Goals

Leonard G.'s photo: 'California Academy of Sciences beyond the Concourse plaza, in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California.' Taken from the de Young Museum's tower. (August 28, 2008) via Wikipedia, used w/o permission.I could, but won’t, argue that what the Church says about legitimate defense is inconsistent — since we’re told that killing prisoners is wrong, but that using force to stop an invader can be okay.

I don’t see it as a problem, since I think we’re still working toward Pope St. John Paul II’s “civilization of love”.

“…The answer to the fear which darkens human existence at the end of the twentieth century is the common effort to build the civilization of love, founded on the universal values of peace, solidarity, justice, and liberty….”
(“To the United Nations Organization” , Pope St. John Paul II (October 5, 1995))

But we’re not there yet.

Another work-in-progress is developing a “sufficiently powerful authority at the international level”, so that conflicts can be settled peacefully.

“…As long as the danger of war remains and there is no competent and sufficiently powerful authority at the international level, governments cannot be denied the right to legitimate defense once every means of peaceful settlement has been exhausted….”
(“Gaudium et Spes” , Pope Bl. Paul VI (December 7, 1965)) [emphasis mine]

We’re not there yet, either. And, as my news feed’s headlines keep reminding me, the danger of war is very real.

Inlakechh/Marco Bauriedel's 'Cityscape'. (ca. 2016) used w/o permission.Even so, I think working toward an approximation of Tennyson’s “Federation of the World” and Pope St. John Paul II’s “civilization of love” is a good idea.

Along with remembering that turning good ideas into practical realities takes time.

“…For I dipt into the future, far as human eye could see,
Saw the vision of the world, and all the wonder that would be;…
“…Till the war-drum throbbed no longer, and the battle-flags were furl’d
In the Parliament of man, the Federation of the world.
“There the common sense of most shall hold a fretful realm in awe,
And the kindly earth shall slumber, lapt in universal law.…”
(“Locksley Hall“, Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1835)) [emphasis mine]

“…Gone the cry of ‘Forward, Forward,’ lost within a growing gloom;
Lost, or only heard in silence from the silence of a tomb.
“Half the marvels of my morning, triumphs over time and space,
Staled by frequence, shrunk by usage into commonest commonplace!
“‘Forward’ rang the voices then, and of the many mine was one.
Let us hush this cry of ‘Forward’ till ten thousand years have gone.…”
(“Locksley Hall – Sixty Years After“, Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1886)) [emphasis mine]

Fear and Politics

Rev. Branford Clarke's cartoon, 'SHALL HE BE ALLOWED TO RULE AMERICA?'; from 'Guardians of Liberty', Published by the Pillar of Fire Church in Zarephath, NJ. (1943) via Wikipedia, used w/o permission.I can see why folks who haven’t come to grips with America not being a strictly “Yankee” country might fear Catholics.

Many of us don’t have English ancestors.
I don’t think that makes us ‘un-American’, but then — I’m a Catholic. I wouldn’t.

We’ve been part of America since before America was a country.

Catholics lived in the thirteen colonies and other parts of today’s United States long before 1776, but we didn’t start arriving in disturbing numbers until the 19th century.

Catholic immigrants from Germany, Ireland, Italy, and other foreign parts were mostly working-class folks. Not surprisingly, given then-current conditions, most Catholic Americans voted Democrat: 70% overall, 80% for Irish Catholics.

That changed, of course. Children and descendants of the immigrants became white-collar workers, developing voting and other habits that were closer to the American norm.4 Which can be a problem, and that’s yet another topic.

Me? I’m part-Irish. I’ve been blue-collar, white-collar, and unemployed. That’s given me opportunities for appreciating several viewpoints.

I take my faith seriously, which means I try to be a good citizen. That includes voting as if what’s right and wrong matters.

Thinking about issues and candidates, voting for whoever and whatever is best — or likely to do the least damage, in some cases — good grief. It’s pretty much the opposite of easy. Particularly since I can’t kid myself that voting a straight party ticket is a good idea.

That’s all I’ll say for now. Apart from mentioning a few ideas I wouldn’t mind seeing reflected in politics, and the best news humanity’s ever had.

Love, Hope, and Making Sense

Sister Mary Corita / Corita Kent: 'E eye love', from the circus alphabet series. (1968) from Dicastery for Culture and Education of the Holy See, via Whitewall, used w/o permissionRecapping: taking an active part in public life is part of being a Catholic. That starts with my personal responsibilities: in my family, at work, in my community. (Catechism, 1913-1917)

I’m retired now, so I’ve got more time for family and other activities: like researching and writing these posts.

I enjoy learning and sharing what I find, but that’s not why I keep doing this.

Sharing what we’re learning about about God’s universe and humanity’s long story will, I hope, be fun — if nerdy — reading; and also be a case in point, showing that faith and reason, science and religion work together. Or should, and that’s yet again another topic.5

Plus, I’ll occasionally pass along the best news humanity’s ever had.

God loves us, and wants to adopt us. All of us. (Matthew 5:44–5; John 1:12–14, 3:17; Romans 8:14–17; ; Ephesians 1:3–5; Peter 2:3–4; ; Catechism, 1-3, 27-30, 52, 1825, 1996)

Accepting God’s offer means I should take the ‘family values’ seriously. Happily, they’re quite simple. Incredibly difficult to follow, but simple.

Our Lord said loving my neighbor, and seeing everyone as my neighbor, is behind “the whole law and the prophets.” (Matthew 5:43–44, 22:36–40; Mark 12:28–31; Luke 6:31, 10:25–27, 29–37; Catechism, 2196)

Peter Paul Rubens: 'Hl. Therese von Avila' / 'Teresa of Ávila', oil on oak wood. (ca. 1615)Over the last two millennia, folks like Saints Augustine of Hippo, Teresa of Ávila, Thomas Aquinas, Hildegard of Bingen, Catherine of Siena, and Thérèse of Lisieux,6 have thought about what Jesus said.

It still boils down to love and hope. That works for me. So does remembering that some things matter more than conforming to current conventions:

1 “Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion” — or — why I don’t miss the “good old days”:

2 I’ve talked about why human life matters, and capital punishment is no longer an option:

3 I’m surprised at the apparent lack of anguish over our new capital punishment rule:

4 Catholics living in America; politics, attitudes, and a little history:

5 Part of my take on faith, reason, and a lively interest in God’s universe:

6 A half-dozen Saints and Doctors of the Church, and what “Doctor of the Church” means:

Posted in Being a Citizen, Being Catholic, Discursive Detours, Journal | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

SNCF Summer Olympics Sabotage: It Could Have Been Worse 0 (0)

Posted on July 26, 2024 by Brian H. Gill

This isn’t, or isn’t quite, what I’ll be talking about this week. But what strikes me as a probably-pecksniffian — look it up — nasty prank got my attention:

About speculation mentioned in the Reuters summary: there’s no reported evidence, a little before noon here in central Minnesota, pointing at folks pushing any one particular ‘Great Cause’ having set fires and stolen equipment.

The good news is that, so far, nobody seems to have been hurt. Apart from folks in France having their lives disrupted by a major transportation SNAFU.

That’s not always the case, when folks with high ideals and flexible ethics decide that doing something bad for ‘the greater good’ is a just simply spiffing idea:

Posted in Discursive Detours | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Humanae Vitae Award: Fr. Greg Paffel, Parishes on the Prairie 0 (0)

Posted on July 20, 2024 by Brian H. Gill
Brian H. Gill's photo: Our Lady of Angels' Marian Garden in Sauk Centre, Minnesota. (July 2013)
Marian Garden, Our Lady of Angels, Sauk Centre, Minnesota.

My parish is Our Lady of the Angles in Sauk Centre, Minnesota. It’s part of the Parishes on the Prairie Catholic Community — and that’s a topic for another time.

Aside from routine matters, we’re not exactly at the center of diocesan activity. That’s why I think our priest, Fr. Greg Paffel, getting this year’s diocesan Humanae Vitae Award is a big deal.

I’ll be talking about that, briefly, “Humanae Vitae”, and why I think human life matters.

Cultural, Historical, and Personal Context

George Bellows' illustration for Metropolitan Magazine, May 1915: Billy Sunday in Philadelphia, March 15, 1915.
Billy Sunday, preaching up a storm, as shown in Metropolitan Magazine. (1915)

Each year our diocese gives their Humanae Vitae Award to someone “who has demonstrated courage in promoting Natural Family Planning”, NFP.1

From my viewpoint, NFP involves a married couple being responsible, using scientific knowledge of human biology.

It’s counter-cultural, but my teens and the Sixties overlap, so that doesn’t bother me.

The Sixties is also when a few regrettable ideas got traction.

I think I understand why so many folks defied antiquated rules. Or what they thought were antiquated rules, at any rate.

A half-century later, we’ve still got regrettable ideas in play.

“The True Voice of the Church….”

CNS/Ashley Wilson's photo of a slogan projected on the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. (January 21, 2022) via The TabletIt’s apparently okay for folks to use a Catholic house of worship as a projector screen for not-exactly-pro-Catholic slogans. Despite a cardinal’s protest.

“Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory criticized a light show projected onto the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception by Catholics for Choice and other supporters of abortion as thousands of faithful gathered for Mass during the annual National Prayer Vigil for Life, Jan. 20.

“‘The true voice of the Church was only to be found within the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception last evening,’ Cardinal Gregory said in a statement….”
(“Cardinal Gregory Responds to Pro-Abortion Light Show Projected On National Basilica” , The Tablet (January 21, 2022)) [emphasis mine]

But it’s not all bad news.

Thanks to today’s information tech, any American with a halfway-decent Internet connection has access to what the Church says.

The trick is remembering that a sound bite on the nightly news may not accurately reflect what the Church has been saying.

And that brings me to “Humanae vitae”.

My First Look at Catholic Thought

Brian H. Gill. (2021)I wasn’t a Catholic when my wife and I got married; which involved a little paperwork, since marriage is a sacrament.

One of these days I may talk about sacraments and marriage, but not today. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1113ff, 2360-2379, and more)

Anyway, part of the process included giving my word that I’d see to it that our children, if any, would be raised as Catholics.

That’s when the trouble started. I’d given my word, so part of my job was learning what being a Catholic meant: and that got me started reading “Humanae vitae”: “Of Human Life”.

This was before the World Wide Web, so I got a print copy of the English translation: nearly seven thousand words of academese.2

Scholarly language notwithstanding, I’d expected to find logical gaps big enough for semi-trailer traffic.

I didn’t find any. Which was frustrating, since I didn’t like the rules.

But the logic was watertight.

That put me in an awkward position. I could either stop thinking that, for example, reality is real and actions have consequences; or accept that the Church was right about artificial contraception.

On a related note, my father-in-law warned me that if I kept learning about the Church, eventually I’d know too much. He was right. After a while, I realized that the authority our Lord gave Peter is currently held by the Pope.

At that point, becoming a Catholic was my only viable option.

I really hadn’t wanted to become a Catholic. But doing so made sense: and would continue making sense, no matter how I was feeling. I enjoy being Catholic, by the way: and that’s yet another topic.

Why Human Life Matters

Catholic Press Photo: Vatican II, a public session. (between 1962 and 1965)
A public session during Vatican II. (1960s)

“Humanae vitae” isn’t a Vatican II document, but it came in the wake of the Second Vatican Council.

I see Vatican II as part what the Church has been doing recently, reviewing and revising our procedures and practices. It’s something we do on a massive scale every half-millennium or so. Procedures may change, our principles don’t, and I’ll get back to that.

Vatican II ran from 1962 to 1965.

Pope St. Paul VI wrote “Humanae vitae” in 1968. It’s an encyclical letter: a term whose meaning has been changing over the centuries.3 He addressed this particular encyclical letter to anybody who’s working for the common good:

Encyclical Letter
Humanae Vitae
Of the Supreme Pontiff
Paul VI
To His Venerable Brothers
The Patriarchs, Archbishops,
and Other Local Ordinaries
In Peace and Communion With the Apostolic See,
To the Clergy and Faithful of the Whole Catholic World, and to All Men of Good Will,
On the Regulation of Birth
(Humanae vitae, Paul VI documents, The Holy See/vatican.va)

Back before I became a Catholic, I’d noticed that it’s addressed to “the whole Catholic world, and to all men of good will”, so I didn’t feel guilty about reading it.

Being an American, I could and can see several ways a sufficiently irritable person might find the encyclical’s heading offensive. And that’s yet again another topic

But now, being a Catholic, and one who takes what the Church says seriously, I figure that reading it made sense. And I still accept the encyclical’s rules.

That’s because I think obedience makes sense. I’d better explain what I mean.

Obedience and Using my Brain

Wiley Miller's 'Non Sequitur,' regarding perceptions of infallibility, smiting and rational thought. (October 19, 2012; February 28, 2013)I’m a Catholic, so “the obedience of faith” is important. (Catechism, 142-165)

This obedience is not blind obedience. I should think about what I believe. (Catechism, 154-156)

Which is something of a good news / bad news situation.

On the one hand, there’s a great deal to think about: and these days I’ve got access to translations of what folks like St. Augustine of Hippo and St. Thomas Aquinas thought about what we believe.

On the other hand, as a Catholic, I’m expected to think about what I’m doing. It takes effort, and sometimes means that I veto what my emotions are telling me.

Following whatever blind impulse pops into my mind is not an option. (Catechism, 2339)

Vatican II and “Humanae vitae” offended and upset a fair number of folks. I didn’t like what I found in “Humanae vitae”, so how come I accept what it says?

Natural Law, Positive Law, and Paying Attention

Victor Dubreuil's 'Money to Burn', oil on canvas. (1893)I wasn’t the craziest of ‘those crazy kids’, back in the 1960s.

But I paid attention to folks who said that buying stuff we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like wasn’t reasonable. Not that anyone actually defined having a successful career that way, and I’m drifting off-topic.

The point is that I paid attention, and thought about what I was hearing and reading. One idea that made sense was the notion that what’s legal isn’t necessarily right: and that a culture’s mores can be wrong.

As it turns out, that horrifying — to some — idea was right. Since I’m a Catholic, I see it as the difference between natural law and positive law.

Basically, ethical rules — natural law — are written into reality’s source code. It hasn’t changed, and won’t. Some things — not many, actually — are simply wrong. Always. Everywhere. (Catechism, 1950-1960)

Positive law is, in this context, the rules we make up:4 like which side of the road I should drive on, how old I need to be to vote, and whether or not I can vote.

Sometimes positive law lines up with natural law. Sometimes it doesn’t. When that happens, we’ve got problems. (Catechism, 2273)

Seeing Human Beings as People

Photo by Ikar.us: Kleinstkindergrab, babies' graves in Karlsruhe main cemetery. 'In the foreground a common burial field for miscarried children, in the background graves of children who were stillborn or have died soon after their birth.' (August 2, 2008) via Wikipedia, used w/o permission.“Humanae vitae” goes against the grain of my culture’s values and beliefs, partly because it insists that human life is important — all human life.

I’d better explain that.

Since I’m a Catholic, I think that we’re all people, that we’re made “in the image of God”. Who we are, who our ancestors are, or what we’ve done, doesn’t matter. Every human being is a person: no matter how young or old, health or sick, we are. And since it’s a gift from God, human life is precious, sacred. (Genesis 1:26–27, 2:7; Catechism, 355-357, 361, 369-370, 1700, 1730, 1929, 2258-2283)

Alfred Gale's 'Pictorial Illustration of the Cause of the Great Rebellion' and 'Pictorial Illustration of Abolitionism.' (ca. 1865) via Library of Congress, used w/o permissionA century and a half back, insisting that all human beings are people and should be treated as such inspired ardent opposition.

Some folks still seem overly aware of ethnic distinctions, and that’s still another topic.

Some of today’s hot-button issues involve, my opinion, differing views on whether or not very young human beings are, legally, people: real persons who should have a right to not be killed, even if their existence is inconvenient or bothersome.

Meanwhile, Across the Pacific

Philippine Press and Public Affairs Bureau's photo: Speaker Prospero Nograles (right) receiving the 2010 Humanae Vitae Award. With Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal (left), Rene Josef Bullecer, Director of the Human Life International Pilipinas (center). (April 17, 2010) via congress.gov.ph, used w/o permission
Speaker Prospero Nograles receiving HLI Archdiocese of Cebu’s 2010 Humanae Vitae Award.

“The Human Life International Archdiocese of Cebu confers on Speaker Prospero Nograles (right) the Humanae Vitae Award for his ‘unwavering support for the sanctity of life and family in accordance with the teachings of the Catholic Church and the Constitution.’…”
(“Humanae Vitae Award” , Photo Journals, Press and Public Affairs Bureau, House of Representatives, Philippines)

One of the things I like about being Catholic is that we’re an international outfit. That helps me appreciate good news in other countries. Like a politico in the Philippines receiving a Humanae Vitae Award: and apparently not trying to cover it up.

Don’t get me wrong. I like being an American, and think my native land has more to offer than Pepsi and SpongeBob SquarePants. But I get the impression that many of us are still getting used to the idea that Catholics and other ‘foreigners’ can be Americans.

And that’s — you guessed it — even more topics.

Next, an interview with our Father Greg on The Journey Home with Marcus Grodi. I found it on YouTube, and it does a better job of introducing him than I could.

Fr. Greg Paffel: The Journey Home Interview

Valuing Human Life: All Human Life

Finally, thinking that human life is precious affects how I see capital punishment, euthanasia, medical experiments, and more:

1 Controversial, a bit counter-cultural; but I think it makes sense:

2 Language, a letter, and an information system:

3 Councils, documents, and a little history:

4 Some rules change, some don’t:

Posted in Being Catholic, Discursive Detours, Journal | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Corey Comperatore: a Father Protecting His Family 0 (0)

Posted on July 15, 2024 by Brian H. Gill
Evan Vucci's photo (AP): 'Trump says he was shot in the ear during rally; one attendee and shooter are dead'. (July 13, 2024) via AP News, used w/o permission.
Former American president Donald Trump, shortly after being shot in Pennsylvania. (July 13, 2024)

Here’s how I learned that someone tried to kill Donald Trump.

Our number-two daughter and granddaughter were visiting over the weekend. We were talking about something entirely different when our number-two daughter looked at her smartphone — one of those things that connects whoever’s holding it to humanity’s social media and information services.

She said something like ‘oh! someone shot Trump’, and we went on with our conversation.

That was late Saturday. By Sunday evening, our son-in-law had finished business in southern Minnesota, spent a few hours with us, and set off with number-two-daughter and our granddaughter to their home in North Dakota.

Don’t get me wrong: I care about what happens in my country, and think that taking potshots at presidential candidates — or presidents — is a very bad idea. But I’m not obsessively focused on politics or politicos.

(update; July 16, 2024)

I hadn’t planned on writing more about Corey Comperatore, but his last words showed up in my news feeds today. “Get down!” isn’t particularly profound, but was eminently practical at the time.

“…In an interview with the New York Post on Monday, Helen Comperatore, the widow of Corey Comperatore, shared her husband’s last words, spoken as he shielded his family from bullets that ultimately took his life.

“‘He’s my hero,’ Helen Comperatore said. ‘He just said, “Get down!” That was the last thing he said.’…”
(“Man killed at Trump rally identified as firefighter Corey Comperatore, who ‘died a hero’” , Zoe Sottile, Kit Maher, Lauren Mascarenhas; CNN (July 15, 2024)

“…Helen Comperatore said the childhood sweethearts were on the verge of celebrating their 29th wedding anniversary ….

…’Me and the kids were all there as a family,’ she said. ‘He was just excited. It was going to be a nice day with the family.’…”
(“Hero firefighter Corey Comperatore’s widow reveals his final words as he shielded family at Trump rally“, Steven Vago, Jorge Fitz-Gibbon; New York Post (July 15, 2024)

Remembering a Hero

Photo from GoFundMe campaign set up by Jason Bubb, via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Corey Comperatore. (July 14, 2024)
Corey Comperatore, who was killed while protecting his family.

I figure that what Wikipedia started calling “Attempted assassination of Donald Trump” will be in the news for at least most of this week.

Some news that I’ve seen so far has focused on a probably-mixed-up kid who winged Mr. Trump: and was promptly killed. By then, he’d wounded at least a couple other folks, and killed Corey Comperatore.

Other news pieces opined on the political angle of Saturday’s incident.

I’m not going to do either. Not today, at any rate.

Instead, I’ll share — I wouldn’t call it good news.

But seeing a little attention paid to someone who hadn’t been attacking a politician? That’s a nice change of pace.

Seems that Corey Comperatore was a project and tooling engineer. He had either been or maybe still was a volunteer firefighter. And he’d been the former chief of the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company.1

So much for my culture’s conventional summary of who someone is. Or, in this case, was. From where I’m standing, Corey Comperatore was also a husband and father who died while protecting his family.

And that has been mentioned.

“Witness at Trump rally describes seeing the person who died being shot in head”
Dasha Burns, Rebecca Cohen; NBC News (July 13, 2024; updated July 14, 2024)

“…State police and a SWAT team then began evacuating everyone in the bleachers. Joseph said that he helped officials carry the dead man off of the bleachers to a tent nearby and that officials put a towel over his head before they carried him off….

“…He said the man was facing Trump at the very far left part of the bleachers….

“…Joseph, an OB-GYN, said that he told police he could help render assistance but that police said they did not need him, so he helped with the man who was killed.

“He said that the man’s family was in the bleachers with him and that they were in shock and didn’t know what was going on. About five family members were there, two of whom were ‘hysterical,’ Joseph said. The family was taken to the tent with their deceased relative.…”
[emphasis mine]

This Joseph deserves mention, too. He was there, helping a family deal with sudden death. I figure that’s a corporal act of mercy: which is Catholic-speak for giving practical help. Not that lending a hand with the body of a family member will make everything better.

Now, back to Corey Comperatore:

“Volunteer fire chief died after diving to protect his family”
BBC News (July 14, 2024, 17:30)

“[Pennsylvania Governor Josh] Shapiro says he has been speaking to the families of the two people who were shot and are still being treated.

“He then goes onto [!] pay tribute to volunteer fire chief Corey Comperatore, 50, who he says was killed last night and ‘dived on his family’ to protect them.…”

“Man killed at Trump rally was former fire chief in Butler County who was protecting family”
Laura Esposito, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (July 14, 2024)

“…Mr. Shapiro said early Sunday afternoon that he’d spoken with Mr. Comperatore’s wife and daughters.

“‘Corey was a girl-dad. Corey was a firefighter. Corey went to church every Sunday,’ the governor said, noting that he’d sought permission from Helen Comperatore to share their conversation. ‘He was so excited last night to be there with [Trump] and the community.’

“He said Ms. Comperatore wanted everyone to know that her husband died a hero. ‘Corey dove on his family to protect them last night at this rally,’ he said.…”
[emphasis mine]

And, finally, good for Pennsylvania’s governor, who apparently got the okay from the widow before saying good things about her husband.

Family, Country, and Priorities

Evan Vucci's photo (AP): Donald Trump and Secret Service, shortly after Trump was shot. (July 13, 2024) via AP News, used w/o permission.
Donald Trump and Secret Service, shortly after he was shot. (July 13, 2024) Evan Vucci’s photo, via AP.

Again, I care about what happens in my country. I think the election looming this November matters, and so does the national convention happening this week.2 But I don’t think it’s all that matters.

As the “original cell of social life”, family matters. But it shouldn’t be at the top of my priorities. That’s where God belongs. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2113, 2207)

On the other hand, I think Corey Comperatore did the right thing, protecting his family.

I regret, very much, that he died while doing so. Human life, all human life, is precious. And that’s another topic:

1 Saturday’s incident feels close to home. Maybe that’s because Butler, Pennsylvania, is about the size of the nearest big town:

2 Important, yes; all-important, no:

Posted in Discursive Detours | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Hurricane Beryl: Sort-of-Good News, and Taking the Long View 0 (0)

Posted on July 13, 2024 by Brian H. Gill
Adrees Latif's photo: 'Debris and flood waters from Hurricane Beryl cover the main roadway in Surfside Beach, Texas, (July 8, 2024) via Reuters, PBS, used w/o permission.
Surfside Beach, Texas: the main roadway, a stop sign, debris, and lots of water. (July 8, 2024)

Folks living in the Caribbean, Yucatan Peninsula, and south Texas are cleaning up after Hurricane Beryl. Some are also mourning those who didn’t survive the storm.

I haven’t been personally affected by Beryl, although my in-laws are in Louisiana, next state over. They seem to have been away from the worst weather, for which I’m grateful.

This week I’ll take a quick look at what happened, what the storm doesn’t mean, and — as usual — whatever else comes to mind.

Death, Destruction, and a Power Outage

Google News hurricane Beryl headlines. (Monday afternoon, July 8, 20204)
Beryl headlines in my Google News Feed. (Monday afternoon, July 8, 2024)

Folks in and near the Gulf of Mexico haven’t been having a good time.

“Hurricane Beryl: Power outage leaves over 2 million Texans in dark“
TOI World Desk / TIMESOFINDIA.COM (July 8, 2024)

“Hurricane Beryl struck Texas early Monday as a Category 1 storm and not only brought heavy rains … but also left over 1.9 million homes and businesses in the Greater Houston area without power….”

By Monday evening, the storm had killed more than a dozen folks. Nearly three million in Texas were without power, not a trivial issue during a Texas summer.

By one educated guess, rebuilding after Beryl will cost upwards of $6,000,000,000.

A fair chunk of that will be in Texas, since the storm went past Houston. But I strongly suspect that places like Saint Vincent and the Grenadines will feel the cost more.

The good — or less-dreadful, at any rate — news for that island nation is that 10% of its buildings weren’t destroyed last week. It’s a bit like the 2021 La Soufrière eruption’s ‘good news’: Saint Vincent’s air and sea ports were at the other end of the island, but with the COVID-19 pandemic —1

I don’t think anyone’s feeling happy about Beryl. The known extent of loss and damage will just get bigger, as folks clear debris and take stock of their situations.

Beryl Impact by Country/Territory
(as of July 8, 2024)		DeathsOther Reported Effects
Barbados0 
Cayman Islands0 
Cuba0 
Dominican Republic089 people displaced
Grenada3 
Haiti0 
Jamaica31 person missing
Martinique0 
Mexico05 rescued from flood
Saint Lucia0 
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines390% of buildings damaged or destroyed
Trinidad and Tobago0 
United States5 2.7 million people lost power
Venezuela35 people missing
Total17
(From Hurricane Beryl, Impact; Wikipedia (July 8, 2024))

Disasters and Focused Wrath: No Noticeable Correlation

GeoColor image: Beryl at 7:43 a.m. Central Daylight Time (12:43 UTC, July 8, 2024) about 3 hours after making landfall near Matagorda, image from TexasABI (Advanced Baseline Imager) Taken by GOES-16 (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-16). via Earth Observatory, NASA.
Beryl, seen from the GEOS-16 satellite, about three hours after landfall. (July 8, 2024)

So far, it doesn’t look like Hurricane Beryl has been worse than Katrina or Harvey, either in terms of deaths or property damage.

And I haven’t run across either an equivalent of the 1969 Camille hurricane party story, or a righteous rant like “Katrina: God’s Judgment on America”: posted anonymously in 2005, denouncing gambling and decadence.

Unknown artist's impression: 'The Great Storm Novber 26 1703 Wherein Rear Admiral Beaumont was lost on the Goodwin Sands... Beaumont's Squadron of Observation off Dunkerque'. No.25.' (18th century)With about a third of a billion people living here, and my country’s cultural history, I’d be surprised if someone hasn’t rung the changes on the our old ‘God Doth Wrathfully Smite Sinners’ theme.

Or done the same with our more up-to-date ‘Nature Rises in Wrath and We are Doomed’ attitude.

Each of those conventional explanations for calamities appeal, apparently, to some; but not me. Possibly because I don’t see strong correlation between folks who are behaving badly, and those who get hurt or killed in high-profile disasters.2

The Siloam Reminder

Pieter Claesz's 'Vanitas Still Life.' (1630)Someone whose opinion I value said that bad things happen. And when they do, it’s a reminder that straightening out my own life is prudent.

“At that time some people who were present there told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices.
“He said to them in reply, ‘Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all other Galileans?
“By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!
“Or those eighteen people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem?
“By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!'”
(Luke 13:1–5)

That doesn’t make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, or fill me with (self?) righteous confidence, but I think it makes sense. Death happens. Then I go through my particular judgment: a final performance review (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1021-1022)

I know that I’m not perfectly perfect, and that’s another topic.

Perspectives

National Weather Service radar. (20:32 UTC, July 8, 2024)
Weather radar for continental United States. (July 8, 2024)

Hurricane Beryl formed earlier than any other recorded Category 5 Atlantic Hurricane.

It’s only the second one to form in July. They usually come later in the season.

Most of the biggest, worst, and most destructive hurricanes seem to have happened in the last few decades.

Taking my cue from a famous poet — or my country’s perennial doomsayers — I could cut loose with a new-and-improved version of this meditation on World War I, the Irish War of Independence, and the Trojan War —

“…Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity….”
(The Second Coming“, W. B. Yeats (1919) via Wikipedia)

But I won’t.

Glen Fergus's graph: 'Temperature of planet Earth,' global average temperature estimates for the last 540 MY. (2015) based on Veizer et al (1999), as re-interpreted by Royer et al (2004); Hansen et al (2013); Lisiecki and Raymo (2005), using Hansen et al (2013) prescription; EPICA Dome C ice core from central Antarctica.Before I start talking about tropical cyclones and weather satellites, I’d better explain something.

I’m about as sure as I can be that Earth’s climate is changing, has been changing, and will continue changing.

Although I think Earth’s climate would keep changing even if we had continued living in ye good olde days of cholera and famine, I also think we’re affecting climate and weather.

With about 8,000,000,000 neighbors, many of us living in or near cities, I don’t see how we could avoid make a difference in how Earth’s air and water run through their cycles.

But I do not think we are doomed.

On the other hand, I do think that places like Korea, Japan, Spain, and Malta, will be having a rough time within the next few decades; no matter what the weather is like.

I don’t mind living in a country with a slowly growing population. Although it looks like 22nd century America will be less melanin-deficient.3 And that’s yet another topic.

It’s a Changing World

Nilfanion's map: tracks of all tropical cyclones, 1985-2005. (2006) background image from NASA, via Wikipedia, used w/o permission.
Tracks of all tropical cyclones, 1985-2005, Map by Nilfanion. (2006)

Hurricanes seem to have gotten much more common over the last few decades.

There was another sharp uptick, apparently, starting around 1500. I figure that’s because Columbus stumbled on what we call the Americas in 1492. After that, just about every European ruler and merchant was trying to get a piece of the trans-Atlantic action.

Some expeditions both ran into massive storms and survived.

Since knowing about storms correlates with survival, folks started keeping records of Atlantic weather, including hurricanes: looking for patterns.

Fast-forward to the 1960s, when the first weather satellites went online. These days, I can get an almost real-time look at weather from geosynchronous satellites.

This is not the world I grew up in. I think that’s a good thing in many ways. Partly because now we can see hurricanes forming, giving folks time to get out of the way or take shelter.

I figure our weather satellites and other new tech is why we have more recorded hurricanes now, but lower death tolls.

That makes more sense to me than imagining that Poseidon sent Beryl as punishment for having his statue in a lobby of the UN General Assembly Building. Good grief. That is crazy on so many levels.

Kelvinsong's Diagram of a hurricane. (2012) via Wikipedia, used w/o permission.Now, about hurricanes: our name for tropical cyclones in the Atlantic.

A tropical cyclone starts when humid air, warm seawater, and several other factors get together.4

So, yes: warmer tropical seawater will lead to more tropical cyclones. But at least some of the apparent increase in hurricane activity since my youth is due to our having better tech. We’re noticing and tracking more of the things.

Days, Millennia, and Planning Ahead

NOAA's Atlantic Tropical Cyclones and Disturbances map. (last updated July 10, 2024 16:57:08 UTC) used w/o permission
NOAA Map showing remnant of Beryl. (Wednesday noon. July 10, 2024)

Recapping: Hurricane Beryl broke several records. It caused death and destruction in the Caribbean, the Yucatan Peninsula, and Texas.

Beryl was downgraded to “tropical storm” Monday afternoon, July 8, 2024, By Wednesday it was moving through the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, heading for Ontario.

Like all hurricanes these days, Beryl was tracked from the time it formed.

Americans started an official Atlantic tropical cyclone record in 1851, but folks were jotting down details of major storms long before that.

For example, there’s the one that hit Haining in 251 A.D., just south of the Yangtze delta. Another killed around 10,000 folks in the Hong Kong area in 957.

Then there’s the new field of paleotempestology: a mouthful that’s our name for the study of tropical cyclones, using geological data and historical records. This helps folks like insurance underwriters, who need to know about an area’s storm history.

So far, researchers have charted out the western North Atlantic Ocean’s most recent eight millennia of tropical cyclone activity. One thing they’ve learned is that the average rate at which major storms hit any given spot — changes.

It looks like the region from New York to Puerto Rico was stormier than usual from 2,000 to 1,100 years ago. Then, starting 1,000 years back, that area and the Gulf Coast have seen comparatively few big storms.5

That’s cold comfort for folks who experienced Beryl.

But I think there’s some wisdom in remembering that the last few days, months, centuries, or millennia, aren’t all there is to humanity’s long story.

I also think that learning what the weather has been like recently is a good idea. It’ll be an even better idea, if we decide to use that knowledge. And plan ahead.

I’ve talked about storms, climate, and making sense, before:

1 An island nation, two disasters, and an American state:

2 Hurricanes, costs and culture:

3 Weather, people, and history:

4 Tropical cyclones, mostly:

5 History, HURDAT, and a new scientific field:

Posted in Discursive Detours, Science News | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments