Politics

I am going to open this post by saying that I know very little about the more complicated aspects of politics. I don't know much about healthcare plans, economics, or any of that sort of stuff. So maybe I'm not qualified to bring up politics, but I'm absolutely doing it anyways. Because I am beginning to realize that I will be voting in the next presidential election after barely missing the last one. And that thought terrifies me, because I don't know where to vote. But I know I will have to.
As a pro-life, traditional, Catholic teen from a conservative Catholic family, I grew up assuming I would always vote Republican, no questions asked. But in the last year or two, I have realized that I don't like the idea of casting my vote in with the right-wing party. I really don't like that idea. However, I absolutely also know that I cannot vote for a pro-abortion party, no matter what. This is not about any two presidential candidates, but about the two sides that our country has divided itself into. This leaves me with a perplexing conundrum, that I am quite certain I am not alone in.

I have grown increasingly uncomfortable with the right-wing, militant, hard-and-proud sort of mindset that our Republicans so often display. I believe in the right to bear arms in the name of freedom. I believe in the right to free speech. I absolutely believe that maintaining these freedoms is imperative to our country's sanity. A lot of left-wing liberals want to undermine this. Yet I see far too many right-wingers who are so determined to maintain these freedoms that they downright abuse them. I don't like the attitude of the trigger-friendly men who buy huge piles of guns (machines whose sole purpose is death and pain) as a hobby. I don't like it when people condemn racism and then in the same breath say that "if black people would just stop talking like that maybe we'd take them more seriously". I don't like it when people use their freedom of speech to make out that real, living people in a state of distress and fear are nothing but "whining snowflakes". I don't like the pride that the right wing takes in how hard-shelled, stoic, and unemotional they are. I don't like the right wing's dehumanization tactics of making so many people the "Other", be it immigrants, the LGBT, or those of other races. I'm not saying we should change our views on the non-negotiables like abortion or gay "marriage", but I think the entire right wing could learn a lot from our left-wing brothers and sisters about compassion.
I disagree with a lot of liberal thought. I think it goes without saying that I do not agree with large parts of their agenda. Yet, I can't help but be impressed with the compassion and heart that they show, the love and concern for each other that is so lacking in the right-wing. Sure, maybe their philosophy and logic are off (way off, in some cases), but let's be honest, at the root of it all are a bunch of people who just want everyone to be happy and warm and safe. And that, I think, could get us much further towards the dream if it could only be guided in the right direction. There is a selfless, automatic sort of love that they reach out with, particularly in matters like immigration, that the right wing, including me, should take notes on.
We need to end this holocaust that is abortion. We need to end the hypersexual rape culture. We need to end racism. We need to end the porn and human trafficking. We need to end the ostracism and "Other"-ing of the LGBT. We need to end the hate and anger that's living in both parties. And if a party is only interested in ending the half of these issues that suit them, I can't, in good conscience, count myself as one of them. We are a deeply ill country. We have forgotten who we are. Our men have forgotten how to be men, and our women how to be women. Our children have forgotten how to be children, and our adults how to be adults. But most of all, we have forgotten that it's not an "us and them" situation. It's an "us", an "all of us" situation. We belong to each other. Mother Teresa of Calcutta says, "If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other." I agree with her. We will not have the peace and unity that we all want in our country until we can put on our big-boy shoes and remember that we belong to each other. We can't tear each other apart and then be surprised at the pain. It's time to stop looking down on each other as stupid and hateful and time to start working together.

It seems to me that our left-wingers are all heart but no head, and our right-wingers are all head and absolutely no heart. Yet everyone just accepts this and tries to choose the lesser evil. Both sides know their flaws, at least to some extent. Both sides are settling for less. So why is there no third option? Why is taking the best of both worlds not an option? Why isn't there a head and heart option? Why do we sigh in defeat and pick the only-slightly-better option? I know am not alone in my discomfiture with where things are, in this need to find a third option. Why do we not do anything?
I am very young, uneducated on this topic, and honestly rather afraid to voice my opinions on things like this. I have no battle plan. I know nothing at all other than the fact that we need something to change. And I'm starting with this blog post.
We need to build a third option.

Less is not more

It’s not about how little we can do. It’s not about how much we can get away with without having to face consequences. The world is far too often operated by people skirting various lines. And that’s not how it should be.

“I know that was a little passive-aggressive, but at least I wasn’t downright mean or anything.”

“I mean, she’s kind of my friend, but it’s not like I owe her anything.”

“Well, it’s not like anybody cares if I argue in the comment section.”

               “That wasn’t really racist.”

              “Well, cussing isn’t exactly a sin. It’s not that hurtful.”

              If you have to rationalize, compare, or question whether or not to do it, you probably shouldn’t.

I mean, shouldn’t we be trying to be the brightest, cleanest, kindest human beings we can? Shouldn’t we be giving each other the most love and help possible? It won’t do to compare notes on ‘what, exactly, constitutes as an inappropriate joke’. Is there a line? Yes, absolutely. But if you find yourself questioning whether or not your joke crosses it, it probably does.

              Don’t ask whether what you’re doing is crossing over into the land of wrongdoings. Ask if it’s the best you can give, or if you’d be proud of it later. Don’t ask whether it’s exactly wrong to say passive aggressive things to that poor cashier, ask if it’s the best you can do. Nobody cares whether arguing online is wrong or not, but we all know it’s not anybody’s finest moment. And sure, maybe road rage is satisfying, but are you ever proud of it later? Is that the best you can do? Is that all you have to offer the world? Odds are, it’s not.

              Why are we constantly questioning whether we have to do things for each other, instead of just doing them because it’s kind? Why can’t we shower love and joy on everyone, whether we owe it to them or not? Whether we even know them or not? Our life shouldn’t be about skirting around rules and questioning whether what we want to say is mean or just a little bit rude. Life isn’t about how much we get, it’s how much we give. And why question who deserves what we have to give? Give everything you have to everyone you see, even if (or especially if) they wouldn’t give you the time of day.

              As for my fellow Christians, our relationship with our Lord and Lover should not be about asking ourselves, “But is that really a mortal sin?” or “I mean, I don’t have to pray every day to be a good Christian, right?” It should be about cherishing every moment we have with Him. It should be about wanting Him so desperately and deeply that we can’t wait for a spare moment of prayer. It should be about always wanting to give Him our very best, about wanting to be our cleanest and purest for Him always and at all times. It shouldn’t be about whether or not He expressly forbid doing whatever that fishy thing you want to do is. It shouldn’t be about whether He requires exactly fifteen minutes of prayer each day. It should be a romance of stealing away to whisper to Him. It should be a quick, hidden glance of love and intimacy with Him in a roomful of people. It should be running away from a formal dance to search for the adoration chapel, and returning from your tryst with starry eyes and blushing cheeks! (cough cough somebody I know <3) Your relationship shouldn’t be you following His rules because He said to. It should be you desperate to follow the rules and give Him your best effort because you would hate to disappoint and hurt your Lover’s heart.

              Give everybody all the love and joy and kindness you can muster. Be the brightest person.

Little Lights

I know your heart is breaking now

For things I didn’t do

But in good time you’ll come to see

That you’ll know what to do

The glassy tears your eyes have shed

Are lenses for the world

They’ll help you see in clearer light

The things you’ve always heard

Tears turn lights into diadems

Of sparkling starlit hues

And like a fractal, break the night

Into a million views

They’ve always said that tears will blur

And make you see awry

But you’ll see the softer edge of things

Without having to try

Yes, hearts will often make a mess

And tears drip from their sides

But the wetness on your cheeks will dry

And you’ll see that it’s alright

Forgive to Forget

When I was younger

I thought forgiveness was

A decision

That you made once

And that the words

“I forgive you”

Were all it took

To forgive and forget

But I’m starting to realize

Forgiveness is

A decision

Yes, that’s true

But sometimes

You have to forgive

The same person

The same situation

The same fault

The same pain

Every day every hour every moment

For far too long

You think you’ve forgiven

And then you realize you haven’t

And you have to forgive again

It turns out

That you don’t

Forgive and forget

You keep forgiving

And then at some point

You forget

And it’s only when you’ve forgotten

That you’ve forgiven all the way

You don’t forgive and forget

You forgive to forget

Slave to Hope

I had an interesting conversation with a friend the other day. This person, who I will call X, was contemplating the worth of living and whether or not committing suicide would be better. X said that death would be freedom from the bondage of life. That embracing death as a friend is the result of a sudden clarity of thought.
I replied that it was not freedom, but slavery, to feel that death is the only way to happiness and peace. It's not freedom to believe that you can only be at peace by killing yourself.
X proceeded to tell me I was a slave to hope. That slavery is only a term used to denote something humanity deems inappropriate. That just because something makes you feel good doesn't mean it doesn't have mastery over you. That slavery is slavery, whether it's to something generally deemed good or to something generally deemed bad.
At the time, I was distraught and only replied that if that were so, I would rather be a slave to hope than death. Which is true.
However, it was a thought provoking moment. I started to wonder whether one really could be a slave to hope. And I've decided that you can't.
To back up a bit for perspective, all things that are good are hard. Everything of worth is hard to attain. Everything that is desirable takes effort. It is easy to settle for less and sin. It is easy to be apathetic and full of vice. It is far too easy to give into temptation. But it is hard to be a person of virtue. It takes a lifetime of repetitive struggling in what seems to be a futile fight against temptation to become a saint. It often seems like a one-step-forward-two-steps-back situation. Nobody ever said it would be easy to be good.
Hope is a virtue. Hope is inherently good. And yet hope is one of the hardest virtues, at least for me, but I think for most. It is hard to hope. Can you be a slave to something that requires a dirty struggle every time you reach for it?
I'd argue no.
Most mental slaveries you hear about are only slaveries because of how easy it is to get caught. Porn, drugs, self-harm, lust, despair, they're all far too easy to give in to. It is so easy to get caught in one of these traps, because it feels good, it's simple and straightforward, and takes almost no effort. You rarely have to exert personal emotional effort to get addicted. You only need personal emotional effort to get out of one of these addictions. They are easy to get into and hard to get out of. But hope is hard to get into and easy to get out of. Hope takes the hard work first, with no promise of a return of happy feelings.
Now, I suppose you can be a slave to an ideal of hope. The feeling most people equate with hope. But real hope is so hard to come by. I doubt anyone is capable of being a slave to something so hard to fight for.
In fact, if you have progressed so far in you life that you can summon real, raw hope often enough to be "addicted" to it, then I argue that you are, in fact,  the master, not the slave.

Such a Pity

We're all searching for the same thing
Running in circles
Breathing out
Endless questions
Of purpose and pain
We're all searching for something
Such a pity
Such a pity only a few of us
Ever see what it is
We're looking for

Truest Romance

I have often wondered why it is that Christians, and particularly Catholics, are often considered to be close-minded, while atheists are generally considered open-minded. I am not criticizing atheists; I understand the thought process most people go through to make their decisions, and I can respect that without agreeing with them. But logically speaking, it seems to be backwards. One group of people holds that life is what we know with our five sense, that logic and our minds are the highest powers and the most trustworthy, and that life is nothing more than a few decades. And one group of people believes that there are greater things out there, that there are things we cannot sense or grasp, and that life has an infinite, greater meaning.

I know that as a Catholic, I may be biased. But it seems to me that the first group is more close-minded than the second.

People who believe the Catholic faith is harsh and rigid and suffocating don't know Catholicism. That could not be farther from the truth. Catholicism is not binding, it's freeing. Catholics are the truest and most starry-eyed of romantics.

We believe that there is a world out there full of power and light and blinding love and pure awe. A world that we couldn't begin to imagine. A world of infinite peace and eternal love. We believe that a Being, with power beyond anyone's imagination, created our world, that is so vast to us, and put each of us in it on an individual level. That He looked at the world and thought it needed a me, and a you. That this Being, this Lord of all Lords, looked at his infinitesimally tiny, dirty little creations, and loved us so much that He became as low and tiny and dirty and insignificant as we are. Just to secure our happiness. And that after becoming that low, and willingly suffering a terrible death, He ensured a miracle, every day, every moment, in the Eucharist, just to remind us.

We believe that mercy can be infinite and forgiveness always available. That there is always a higher power watching our back. That our life here on earth is full of pain and suffering because it's just a test. It's just a tiny test of a few decades to see whether we can choose eternal joy, and if we can do our best with what we're given, we'll receive an infinite amount of perfection. That all the dirtiness and ugliness on this earth is there for a reason, and a very good reason. That suffering is cleansing, strengthening.

We believe that true love is a tie that's eternal. That what is bound in love can't be broken, no matter what. That sexual love is something so sacred and beautiful at its purest that it reflects the Trinity. That humans are like tiny little mirrors, little windows, whose sole purpose is to let God shine through them. That with help, we can let through a ray of light so bright it blinds the world, and shines out into the eternal world beyond that. That the God who made all that exists chooses to use us how He pleases.

We believe that no one is ever too far gone to turn around. No villain is beyond a perfect redemption arc. We believe that it is the lowliest, the most downtrodden, who will be the highest in the end.  That the littlest things in life, done with the most love and intent, end up meaning just as much as bigger things. That you can change the world just a tiny bit at a time. That kindness and virtue are always noticed and rewarded.

We believe that there is something- Someone- out there, who is full of so much beauty and power and love, that He is obliged to keep Himself from us to keep from overwhelming us. That He can show us the tiniest corner of Him, and we will be consumed for days, years, even lifetimes, with unimaginable joy and strength. That the tiniest closeness from Him strikes peace deep within us.

That there is a Love so deep, so chillingly, strikingly deep, that it will always, always take us back, always choose us, with open arms and joy.

Catholicism's deepest nature is joy and romance and the unthinkably beautiful.