James L. Buckley -- R.I.P.

Yesterday, those of us who identify with the "permanent things" conservatism of Russell Kirk and others like him, lost one of our heroes, former U. S. Senator James L. Buckley. According to reports, Buckley died in a Washington D.C. hospital at the age of 100. 

A remarkable man, Buckley was the fourth of ten Buckley children, and the older brother of the more famous William F. Buckley who died in 2008. But James Buckley had his own claim to fame and served in all three branches of the federal government. In 1970 he won election to the U. S. Senate as a third party (conservative) candidate. He later served as an undersecretary of state in the Reagan administration, and also spent 15 years as a federal judge. 

Buckley was a strong and consistent advocate of less government, especially at the federal level, and frequently warned against government's desire to control all aspects of citizens' lives. He was also a solidly faithful Catholic. As Kathryn Jean Lopez tweeted (or Xed, or whatever it's now called) yesterday (link: Kathryn Lopez):

A most beautiful soul, James Buckley, died this morning. He was a senator and judge, but I will always remember him most fondly at the altar rail, where he said we are all equal and in need of our Savior. May he be in union with Him today and for eternity.

Can we say anything better or more fitting about this man? 

If you want to learn more about James Buckley as a senator, read his fascinating 1975 book, If Men Were Angels -- no longer in print, but still available. Buckley took his book's title from George Wahington, 

“If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”

Rest in peace.

Columbus Day…A Little Late

Despite the title I gave this post, Columbus Day was actually celebrated a bit earlier this year. But that’s just my view, that of a holiday purist, someone who believes dates are important reminders of real people and events, and that holidays should never be moved to Mondays. Columbus Day used to be celebrated on October 12 to commemorate the day the explorer arrived in the Americas in 1492. But this year it was moved to Monday, October 11, so government workers could take advantage of a 3-day weekend. That came about because of the “Uniform Monday Holiday Act,” passed by Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on June 1, 1968. Even back then, when I was a 20-something young naval officer and, therefore, a government employee, I considered this law a travesty. I actually wrote to my congressman, encouraging him to vote against it, but not surprisingly received a only form letter in response. Even today I still receive form letters from members of congress, so things haven’t changed much. Anyway, I’ve been far too busy lately and, although I certainly hadn’t overlooked Columbus Day this year, I had little time to celebrate. And so, today, I’m commemorating this heroic figure a few days later than usual. 

But these days, the larger issue is whether we should celebrate this man and his accomplishments at all. Some states and localities have canceled any commemoration of Christopher Columbus and instead substituted the celebration of “indigenous people.” I find this to be almost as stupid as the Monday Holiday Act, largely because it is driven by lies instead of historical fact. 

For the left, those who hope to eradicate all vestiges of Western Civilization in our national life, Christopher Columbus is a prime candidate for cancelation. In the view of these idiots, he is a symbol of imperialistic European greed. They also frequently accuse him of encouraging the genocide of those peaceful indigenous folks he encountered when he reached the Americas. This, of course, is complete garbage. When you really study the life of this extraordinary man, you encounter a deeply religious Christian, a devout Catholic who desired only to serve God and his fellow human beings. He desired the best for those he encountered in the new world, and for Columbus the best was their salvation.

Columbus Statue High Above Barcelona Harbor

As a naval officer, I can say without qualification that Christopher Columbus was a remarkably competent seaman. He was a sailor from his youth and over time became an excellent navigator, a demanding and challenging skill in those days. An Italian from Genoa, he had sailed the North Atlantic as a young man and came to realize that a voyage to the East would be possible by sailing West across the Atlantic. (By the way, in those days no one, except the truly ignorant, believed the earth was flat.) Columbus realized, too, he would need serious financial backing to make such a voyage, support he eventually received from King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain.

Columbus made several voyages to the new world, and always treated the native peoples with great respect. When any of his crew mistreated the natives, they were severely punished. In his diary, Columbus wrote, “…in the world there are no better people or a better land. They love their neighbors as themselves, and they have the sweetest speech in the world and are gentle and always laughing.” He was horrified when he encountered the vicious Carib tribe, a warlike people who were cannibals that practiced sodomy and the castration of young boys they captured, among other horrendous practices. He rescued and returned their captives to their home islands. Interestingly, Columbus also asked King Ferdinand to apply any profits from these voyages to the financing of a crusade to recapture Jerusalem which he believed was tied to Christ’s Second Coming. Who knows? He may have been right. The fate of Jerusalem is still in some uncertainly.

If you want to learn about the true Columbus, read one of Samuel Elliot Morrison’s wonderful books on this remarkable explorer and even greater Christian. And continue to celebrate his life, his accomplishments, and his faith every year on October 12.

White, Male, Catholic, Deacon, American, Veteran...Prime Candidate for Cancelation

Yes, indeed, that’s me, described briefly in the title of this post. And do you know something? I’m perfectly happy and content with each and all of these broad identifiers. That’s right, it doesn’t bother me at all that I’m white and a man. And I’m grateful to have been born into a devoutly Catholic family whose ancestors courageously left Ireland in the nineteenth century and settled here in the United States of America. I am deeply humbled that God called me to the diaconate, so I could serve Him through the ministries to which He has led me. I even allow myself a bit of pride because I served my country for many years in the U. S. Navy. 

But according to the leftist, self-proclaimed judges of our culture, I’m just about the worst kind of person imaginable and a prime candidate for cultural cancellation. Yep, simply because of who I am — or in their twisted minds, what I am — I shouldn’t be permitted to utter a word, unless it’s a word of self-condemnation. To these neo-fascists of the left, a person is either all bad or all good, and we know who falls into these extreme, binary categories. 

Why am I so content with me? Let’s see...I had absolutely nothing to do with most of these identifiers. For example, my race, my sex, and my nationality were God’s decision and to reject any would be to reject God Himself. He wanted me to be an American white male and so I should be grateful for this and live my life accordingly. In the same way I encourage all to be thankful for who they are, simply because that’s they way God created them in unique acts of love. Recall those words with which God called the prophet Jeremiah:

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you [Jer 1:5].

As God reminded Jeremiah, He has a plan for each of us. God has dedicated each one of us to some divine purpose. Of course, if you don’t believe in a loving, omniscient God who takes an active role in the lives of those he created — and, believe me, these cultural arbiters don’t — you will reject such thoughts and spurn the words of the Psalmist:

Lord, you have probed me, you know me: you know when I sit and stand; you understand my thoughts from afar. You sift through my travels and my rest; with all my ways you are familiar. Even before a word is on my tongue, Lord, you know it all. Behind and before you encircle me and rest your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to reach...You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are your works! My very self you know [Ps 139:1-6,13-14].

I’ll say it again: to reject what God has created is to reject God. Glorify God for the unique person you are, for the person He made in love, the person He knit in the womb, and in prayer ask Him daily to reveal His plan for your unique life. For the same reason, glorify God for all those He has made, and pray that they, too, will come to accept His will for them. As St. Paul reminded Timothy:

This is good and pleasing to God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth [1 Tim 2:4].

The truth? That’s Jesus Christ: “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life” [Jn 14:6]. He has shown us the Way: our Christian faith and our struggle to put it into practice by loving God and neighbor. The Truth is Jesus Himself and the Good News, the Word of God He preached. And the Life is eternal life, the salvation He wills for us. Our salvation, then, the promise of eternal life in the Presence of our God, dwarfs all the cares and worries and fears of this brief life on earth. Like most of us, I too struggle with this, but take consolation in another truth revealed to St. Paul:

We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose  [Rom 8:28].

Blessed, too, am I to have been born into a Catholic family that nurtured the seed of faith God planted within me at my Baptism. I can’t imagine living a life without the sacraments of the Church, without the Holy Spirit’s engines of grace. As for my ministry as a permanent deacon, that, too, was God’s decision, one I, at first, resisted. It hasn’t always been easy to become the servant when the world tries to lead me in the opposite direction. But God demonstrates His power in our lives, calls us to our weaknesses, and provides the grace we need to do His will. Like Our Blessed Mother, when we accept God’s will in humility, our souls will “proclaim the greatness of the Lord” [Lk 1:46]. Sometimes I feel a bit like Jonah, struggling to accept all that He calls me to do, and I usually have a pocketful of excuses to offer Him. He, of course, always wins this uneven conflict of wills.

Finally, my military background has helped to mold me into the man I am today. Like the vast majority of those who serve or have served in our armed forces, I despise war.  Although it might occasionally be necessary, the application of military power is something we should not choose capriciously. It seems only the politicians enjoy sending men and women into harm’s way, and far too often for political reasons that have little to do with national defense. I have always taken solace in Jesus’ praise of the peacemakers in the Beatitudes and His blessing of these “sons of God” [Mt 5:9]. We live in a world where evil abounds, and to reject the defense of God’s people is to me a foolish decision. 

So that’s me, folks, at least a small public piece of me. If the busybodies cancel me...we’ll, so be it. I’m not all that important. You and I and are not their primary targets. It’s God and His Church they will try to cancel, but God will have none of it. 

Confessions

OK, it’s confession time...well sort of. I’m not going to confess my sins publicly. No juicy stuff here. That’s between me, my confessor, and God...oh, yes, and Dear Diane since she has the unpleasant task of cataloging and reminding me of my faults. As a long-time sinner, I certainly recognize the existence of sin, along with the need for repentance and forgiveness. And I seem to be spending a lot of time lately offering the former and praying for the latter. But have you noticed how many people today — mostly celebrities and politicians — when their sins are exposed, openly admit them to the entire world, but then just toss them aside as if they mean nothing? Of course, I get the sense most of them don’t believe in sin anyway. Maybe they all need a Diane looking over their shoulder.

But I digress...Today’s confession has nothing to do with sin. I’m just trying to come to grips with my evolving worldview. The trouble is, I’m not sure I’m comfortable with the result, even though as a continually evolving view, the “result” is at best only temporary. I suppose that’s been true throughout my life. I certainly looked at the world very differently 25 years ago, and even more so when I was 25. I’d like to think my change in perspective is the product of greater wisdom but there seems to be little evidence of this. 

Through what sort of lens do I view the world today? It’s hard to describe, but if I had to come up with a concise description, I suppose I’d call myself a “faith-driven, anarcho, medieval Catholic.” Okay, it’s weird. I admit it. It certainly demands explanation and it’s got some internal contradictions that I still have to work out.

I suspect the first question to arise is: Did you just label yourself an anarchist? Well, sort of. But before you call the authorities, please realize I’m no modern-day Gavrilo Princip, not one of those crazy-eyed, bomb-throwing, hate-spewing, history-destroying anarchists who roam city streets calling themselves Antifa. Not at all. I would simply like to see the ever-expanding state stop expanding and perhaps even contract. I don’t believe either human freedom or human well-being is advanced by increasing state control over every aspect of our lives. Indeed, just the opposite. Our founding fathers understood this, which is why the Constitution focuses on limiting the federal government and protecting the God-given rights of citizens. It’s also why they added the Tenth Amendment:

“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

The problem, of course, is that over time the courts have allowed the federal government to usurp all kinds of “powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution,” leaving the states and especially the people increasingly powerless. In a sense, then, the founders and I believe in the same kind of very limited anarchy. It’s a controlled anarchy, by which the people permit government to assume certain well-defined powers — powers that provide the people with a degree of safety to live their lives in freedom by exercising their rights without infringing on the rights of others. 

Just don’t confuse my limited anarchy with libertarianism. About all I have in common with libertarians is a distrust of socialism, totalitarianism, and invasive bureaucracy. The libertarian, though, places personal freedom above all else, believing in what Edmund Burke appropriately labeled "licentious toleration." In other words, the libertarian tolerates any behavior so long as it doesn't directly impinge on his own personal freedom. The true libertarian, therefore, cannot accept any authority beyond oneself, be it from earth or from heaven. If he is honest with himself, he must admit to being, at best, an agnostic.

I am certainly not a libertarian because I am “faith-driven.” My Catholic faith accepts the authority of God, which places definite controls on my behavior. Yes, my faith calls for freedom, but it is the freedom to seek and profess the truth and to make a moral choice to do what is right and just. In other words, true freedom rejects relativism and accepts that truth is very real and can be discovered. It does not call for raw license to do whatever one wants, to be openly barbarous in a civilized society. 

What about the "medieval" part of my worldview? I suppose that comes from my lifelong study of history. I simply have more in common, spiritually and intellectually, with the medieval Christian than I do with most of his modern successors. The Christian of the Middle Ages actually believed, as I do, in the Revelation of God through Sacred Scripture. As Romano Guardini put it in a book that all Catholics should read: 

"Medieval man centered his faith in Revelation as it had been enshrined in Scripture, in that Revelation which affirmed the existence of God Who holds His Being separate and beyond the world...the world is created by a God Who does not have to create in order that He might be, nor does He need the elements of the World in orderr that He might create...A new freedom dawned in history for the human spirit. Sundered now from the world, man was able for the first time to face all things from a new plane, from a vantage point which depended neither upon intellectual superiority of cultural attainment" [The End of the Modern World, p. 7-9].

For Medieval man, then (as for me), Divine Revelation is the determining fact, that which explains all existence. He accepted the authority of the Church, an authority granted by Jesus Christ that placed limits on personal freedom and behavior.

And so, that's who I am...at least today. I'll likely evolve (or devolve) into something else tomorrow.

Oh, yes, one more thought, completely unrelated to the rest of this post. In the Introduction to Fr. Guardini's book mentioned above, Frederick Wilhelmsen, looking to the future, wrote (in 1956):

“Christian Faith will call for a heroism unknown to our fathers, the martyrs of ages past.”

I just thought it was a timely comment, given the darkness spreading throughout today's world.

Keep the Faith, dear friends.