{"id":1662,"date":"2017-09-17T00:01:42","date_gmt":"2017-09-17T00:01:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/?p=1662"},"modified":"2021-01-07T18:20:55","modified_gmt":"2021-01-07T18:20:55","slug":"raving-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/raving-politics\/","title":{"rendered":"“Raving Politics”"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>Quite a few parts of the Bible don’t talk about forgiveness. But quite a few do, and they’re not just in the New Testament.<\/p>\n

This morning’s second reading doesn’t mention forgiveness directly, but the verse right after it does.<\/p>\n

They all say why forgiving is a good idea.<\/p>\n

It’s enlightened self-interest, in the long run:<\/p>\n

“Wrath and anger, these also are abominations,
\nyet a sinner holds on to them.
\n“The vengeful will face the Lord’s vengeance;
\nindeed he remembers their sins in detail.
\n“Forgive your neighbor the wrong done to you;
\nthen when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.
\n“Does anyone nourish anger against another
\nand expect healing from the LORD?”
\n(Sirach 27:30<\/a>–28:3<\/a>)<\/p>\n

“Why then do you judge your brother? Or you, why do you look down on your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God;”
\n(Romans 14:10<\/a>)<\/p>\n

“Then Peter approaching asked him, ‘Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?'”
\n(Matthew 18:21<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The parable of the unforgiving servant starts after Matthew 18:22.1<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Our Lord seems to like parables.2<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Two millennia after Jesus was here, some details take a little explaining. Folks in 21st century Minnesota don’t live and work quite like the Apostles did. That’s one reason I appreciate footnotes.<\/p>\n

Forgiving “seventy seven times” is probably a reference to Genesis 4:24<\/a>, where Lamach talks about vengeance.<\/p>\n

It doesn’t mean if I forgive 77 times I can stay angry the 78th time. A footnote<\/a> to Matthew 18:22 says it means I should forgive an unlimited number of times.<\/p>\n

I think that makes sense. But it’s not easy. Not for me.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Doing What I Can<\/h4>\n

<\/a>It’s easier now than it was. That’s partly, I think, because I’m older and may have learned a bit along the way.<\/p>\n

Getting neural glitches treated helps, too. A lot. (July 7, 2017<\/a>; July 2, 2017<\/a>)<\/p>\n

That’s made managing my emotions easier. Possible, sometimes.<\/p>\n

I’m a very emotional man.<\/p>\n

That hasn’t changed, although it seems like they’re less extreme these days. Maybe because thinking is easier now. Faster, too. That helps me head off runaway feelings.<\/p>\n

There’s nothing wrong with emotions. They’re a normal part of being human. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1762<\/a>–1770<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Feelings aren’t good or bad by themselves. Love, joy, fear, anger: they’re all useful. (Catechism, 1765<\/a>)<\/p>\n

What matters is how I use them. Ideally, I’d always love what’s good, fear what’s bad, and think before acting. (Catechism, 1765<\/a>–1770<\/a>)<\/p>\n

I don’t live in an ideal world, and I’m not perfect. Nothing unusual there. I don’t always do what’s right. But I can try. (April 23, 2017<\/a>; October 5, 2016<\/a>)<\/p>\n

That includes forgiving others. And myself, and that’s another topic.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Remembering Love<\/h4>\n

<\/a>There’s a little truth to the “forgive and forget” motto. But it falls well short of telling the whole story.<\/p>\n

I can’t perfectly forget when something bad has been done to me. Not if I knew about it, and the harm was serious enough.<\/p>\n

That doesn’t bother me.<\/p>\n

Even if I could, I think “forgetting” would be a bad idea. The same situation might happen again.<\/p>\n

We’re called to holiness, not gullibility.<\/p>\n

Truth matters. So does justice. (Catechism, 1807<\/a>, 2468<\/a>)<\/p>\n

I’m quite sure that ignoring either would not be prudent.<\/p>\n

Forgiveness doesn’t mean pretending that something harmful is okay. Like I said, truth and justice matter.<\/p>\n

So does love.<\/p>\n

I should love God. I should also love others: all<\/strong> others, no exceptions. (Matthew 5:43<\/a>–44<\/a>, 22:36<\/a>–40<\/a>; Mark 12:28<\/a>–31<\/a>; Luke 6:31<\/a> 10:25<\/a>–27<\/a>, 29<\/a>–37<\/a>; Catechism, 1789<\/a>)<\/p>\n

“Love” isn’t “approval.” I should be able to love someone and<\/strong> see something they do as a bad idea. (November 21, 2016<\/a>; October 28, 2016<\/a>; September 11, 2016<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Seeing some of what I do as a bad idea matters, too. I’m still working on that.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Outrage and Politics<\/h4>\n

<\/a>I don’t know why folks get so upset over politics. Maybe it’s at least partly an outraged sense of justice.<\/p>\n

That isn’t an entirely bad thing. Like I said, justice is important.<\/p>\n

However, what I see in some online communities is not good.<\/p>\n

For starters, I’m quite sure that no American president has been the antichrist. (November 29, 2016<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Maybe some really believed it. That doesn’t make them right.<\/p>\n

Other folks, with different views, hurl other insults. That’s nothing new.<\/p>\n

Details change. Attitudes? Not so much.<\/p>\n

“Nazi” and “fascist” may be on their way out. “White supremacist” seems to be a popular label this year.<\/p>\n

There really are fascists and white supremacists.<\/p>\n

But not agreeing with me doesn’t make someone the antichrist or a fascist. Again, ‘really believing’ doesn’t make something true.<\/p>\n

Nazism<\/a> isn’t entirely gone. But the movement is pretty much history. The attitude that race, sex, or belief make one bunch better than anyone else? That’s still around, sadly.<\/p>\n

Using “fascist” or “white supremacist” to express anger doesn’t make sense. Not to me. Particularly when the labels aren’t accurate.<\/p>\n

I’d better explain that.<\/p>\n

I care about justice.<\/p>\n

Caring about justice won’t let me ignore politics.<\/p>\n

But I don’t see a point in hurling insults at folks who aren’t just like me.<\/p>\n

That probably wouldn’t make me seem reasonable. Yet more topics.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Politics and Perspective<\/h4>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Part of my job is knowing and loving God, and encouraging others to do the same. (Matthew 28:19<\/a>–20<\/a>; Catechism, 1<\/a>–3<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Learning about this wonder-filled universe and appreciating God’s work seems reasonable. (Sirach 17:1<\/a>–14<\/a>; Catechism, 283<\/a>, 341<\/a>)<\/p>\n

I think putting current events in perspective makes sense too.<\/p>\n

“Many a hearth upon our dark globe sighs after many a vanish’d face,
\n“Many a planet by many a sun may roll with a dust of a vanish’d race.<\/p>\n

“Raving politics, never at rest\u2014as this poor earth’s pale history runs,\u2014
\n“What is it all but a trouble of ants in the gleam of a million million of suns?…”
\n(“Vastness<\/a>,” Tennyson, via Bartleby.com)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What I say and how I act matter.<\/p>\n

So does taking the long view:<\/p>\n