Ah, the internet, both a place of wonderful knowledge, and epic stupidity....and there somehow needs to be a voice of reason in all of this, so I guess I'll use this very small platform to actually speak to some issues.
a. Trump winning the nomination for the Republican Party
The internet is all filled with horror stories about how this nomination is the end of the world as we know it. Of course while there's an element of truth to this point, we need not make it into something way out of proportion as such....let's start by understanding the Constitution....
The President does not write any laws at all. The president's powers are outlined in Section II of the Constitution..According to his oath he upholds as follows:
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Let us notice what it does not say....It does not say: The president shall write laws. It does not say the president shall be a nice guy who we all like....(And we can definitely have a discussion as to whether any of the recent presidents have even followed this oath...but that's besides the point)
It is not the job of the president to impose his personal opinion (regardless of which direction of the political spectrum it is), simply his job is to protect, defend, and preserve the Constitution of the USA.
The people that one needs to look at for their pro-Life credentials are the ones that actually pass and write the laws. (Congress), not so much the president....but of course this post is not about them so much...but rather the end of the world, sky is falling predictions of those that are against Trump.
(I of course as you know, only give official endorsement to Grumpy Cat 2016, the humans have let us down, so why not felines?...that, and if Grumpy Cat does get elected, I will go to DC and pet her :D)
In all seriousness, the battle is not over. It's more important that people that surround the president be supportive of a culture of life, than the president, as such, if he does decide to impose his own opinion, he can be overruled...
b. Bathroom wars:
For those that are on the left of the spectrum need to realize something, the whole movement against allowing Transgenders in the opposite bathrooms really is for one reason: The safety of children, and for those that might take advantage of the law. Those that are on the right on this issue need to realize, while you've been arguing this point, many Transgender people have already used the bathroom and have left. For an extremely small part of the population, most of them just wish to do their business and leave. The solution to this has long existed....unisex restrooms with exactly one stall. And of course in many places this is the case. One can't have a situation where one is uncomfortable using a public bathroom if one needs to use one. (I'm of the mind, simply completely avoid the public restroom if possible and wait until one reaches home)....Why do we feel the need to point out every exception to what's normal within law, or within our society? Should it not be obvious anyone with a special need, should be able to take care of those needs and move on? There are bigger fish to fry than bathroom wars in my opinion.
c. The dissertation 2.0 (AL) Pope Francis' new document
As a friendly reminder, the Pope has zero, nil, nada, power to change Church teaching. Insert however many documents one wants, the Pope CANNOT change the teaching of the Church, for the teaching is not the Pope's but Christ's and it is the Pope's job to preserve said teaching, and not impose his own thoughts.
Yes, the Pope can undermine said teaching by changing praxis, The Pope can even have opinions that differ from the official Magisterium, but again, it's not his job to impose his personal opinions.
The sky is not falling (yet) and people need to relax. Of course it doesn't mean being indifferent to what's happening in Rome, but your salvation should not depend on the disposition (or lack there of) of the Pope. Our eyes always need to be on maintaining unity with the Holy Trinity.
If a statement ex cathedra is made contrary to what the teaching of the Church is, then it is time to start panicking. The Faith is not such that one needs to be a gnostic and attempt to depose the pope when one has zero authority to do so. We do not even have the authority to declare anyone above us a formal heretic publicly...(Tis the job of the hierarchy)...
d. Well, some people want to leave the country over *candidate x*
Well, I'd hope that one has a reason other that. I've made no secret about when I do go for my doctorate I will do so in Minsk. By. I figure when I leave the country, best in a place that isn't popular, and any chance to use my Russian language skills is a bonus. :p...The fact that this may coincide with the election of the new president....just mere coincidence.
e. Safe spaces/ shut down of dissenting opinions
No, we don't need safe spaces. People need to grow up, and learn how to defend themselves. And more importantly, be able to listen to a different argument for once. Virtually all of academia is filled with those who are on the left on the political spectrum, our special little snowflakes should have zero complaints, they'll hear something that conforms to what they've been taught already. If we could learn to listen instead of other things, that'd be great.
