Pro-Abortion Sadness

A few moments ago, I happened across a photo on Twitter. It shows a family protesting the Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. I’ve included the photo below and hesitate to say much about it, since the sign carried by the mother and the expressions on the faces of her husband and three children really say it all. 

My only concern is what these beautiful children will think of their parents when they are old enough to understand exactly what their mom was thinking when she made that sign. This family and so many others like them need our prayers. 

Today also happens to be my mother's birthday. Martha Catherine (Cavanaugh) McCarthy was born 113 years ago on June 28, 1909. Mom died on March 12, 1977. I thank her for giving birth to me, for trying to raise me well in spite of my rebellious nature, for teaching me so many good and wondrous things, for the sacrifices she made for our family, and for the love she showered on me and my brother, Jeff. I know she is now with God and ask for her intercession for Diane and me and for our family. Happy Birthday, Mom!

Thank God for WHAT?

Let me begin simply by repeating the chant of a large collection of pro-abortion screamers who were trying to disrupt worshippers at a Catholic church: 

"Thank God for abortion!" 

Yes, indeed, that's what they shouted at anyone and everyone within earshot. Of course, for someone who actually believes in God, such a chant is pure blasphemy, since it attributes an intrinsic evil to God. I have, however, become convinced that pro-abortion fanatics, and this also includes most of today's Democrat Party politicians, really don't believe in God. Oh, they talk about God as their biggest supporter, they attend church services and take advantage of the photo-ops, and they always refer to themselves as "devout." But it's all just talk, just smoke and mirrors...you know, "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain." 

The pro-abortion pols who claim to be Catholic apparently have no problem discarding Church magisterial teaching when it seems politically expedient to do so. We are left to conclude that they have raised their personal beliefs above the Word of God and the Church's deposit of faith. In other words, they have replaced the Living God with themselves, a bunch of little god wannabes. This is the great temptation to which those who crave power always fall prey: to become a god. 

Our Vice President, too, joined in the cacophony and in a recent speech repeatedly screamed, "How dare they!" She was all upset that any Supreme Court Justice, or any legislator, would try to prevent a woman from doing whatever she wanted to her body. Kamala Harris conveniently failed to mention that there's another body involved, and that the woman's decision to abort brings about this innocent person's violent death. Her near frenzied support of abortion is difficult to understand since she is a black woman and abortion providers have specifically targeted minority women. In truth the population of black Americans would be double its current numbers if abortion had not been legalized by the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision. Any black American who supports abortion is grossly ignorant, a pure Leftist ideologue, or just suicidal...or, more accurately, self-genocidal. 

As I mentioned in a previous post, I believe the Left has made a crucial error by reacting as they have to the illegal leak of the court's draft majority opinion. All they have done is released the crazies who will show the rest of the country what complete weirdos the abortion-loving fanatics really are. I realize I will be criticized for labeling them, but I've always believed that telling the truth is a charitable act and should not be avoided when to do so would lead others to sin. Just check out these photos of current protests.

Yep, these folks will certainly convince all those average Americans to join the next pro-abortion protest in their quiet neighborhoods...yeah, right.

Lest we get distracted by all the weirdness in the streets, let's keep one thing in mind: abortion is the work of Satan and those who support abortion are joining in his evil work. Of course, ultimately, they will fail. They just don't know it. Pray for them.

And to alter that ugly chant slightly, let me quote the Catholic poet, Joyce Kilmer:

"Thank God for God."

The Most Violant

We hear a lot about violence today. The Left screams about the so-called violence of January 6 "insurrection" at the Capitol; although from what I've read, nobody who took part was armed, so I'm not sure how they intended to overthrow the government. Of course, the Right tries to shout just as loud about the far worse summer of violence by the thugs who carried out the violent and often deadly dirty work of BLM and Antifa in the streets of our cities. But the most violent Americans of all are those who support abortion. They encourage or actively take part in the slaughter of the most innocent human beings among us, and they do so with almost indescribable violence. If anyone actually saw what is done to an unborn child during an abortion, I don't know how they could possibly support this unspeakable act of violence.

Today on the news I saw several videos of large groups of pro-choice protesters attacking police officers. To put this into perspective, over the years I made probably ten trips to Washington, DC to take part in the annual March for Life in January. And I also attended several similar marches in Boston and here in Florida. During all these marches -- or "protests" as the media labels them -- I never saw any violence from the pro-life participants. In fact, the only violence I ever saw or experienced came from pro-abortion protestors who tried to interfere with the marches. They often threw objects, including bottles, at the marchers and always accompanied these acts with screams of profanity-laced insults. Even more amazing, I never saw a pro-lifer try to respond in kind. Yes, indeed, to be pro-abortion -- and, folks, if you call yourself "pro-choice," you know full well that you're really pro-abortion -- is also to be pro-violence.

When our ostensibly Catholic President blathers about the wonders of abortion and how the Supreme Court is trying to take away this "sacred right," all I can do (after I try to avoid getting sick to my stomach) is pray for his immortal soul. That he would utter such drivel, really a stream of blasphemies, and then receive Our Lord Jesus in the Eucharist...well, that is the ultimate blasphemy. Speaker Pelosi is no different, except she seems to be able to read her teleprompter a bit better than President Biden. In the end, though, she mouths the same talking points that try to change evil to good. And through their verbal attacks they encourage physical attacks. Just listen to their words.

Thank God for those five Supreme Court Justices who seem poised to overturn the unconstitutional and murderous Roe v. Wade decision of January 22, 1973. I believe the Left made a huge mistake by leaking that draft of the court's likely decision. Too many Americans are ignorant of what abortion really involves and what the Left hopes to achieve. This controversy will not only force the truth out into the open, but also show the nation the kind of violent people who support this evil. Of course, the decision would simply return to power to the states where it would be decided by legislators and executives who are elected by the people. 

The pro-life view is simple to state and easy to understand: 

1. Life is sacred. 

2. An unborn child is a human life, the most innocent of all human lives. 

3. Abortion, then, is nothing less than the intentional slaughter of an innocent human life. 

Pass it on.

Priorities

An old friend sent me the below tribute in honor of those who have devoted their lives to defending our country. I don't know who wrote it but the author suggested we pass it along to others, so I thought I'd simply post it on my blog, along with a few of my own comments. 

I'm not a big fan of professional athletics. I haven't watched a major league baseball game in years and haven't attended one in decades. The NBA and NFL have both lost me as well. The NFL, for example, has displaced religion in the lives of many Americans, who would much rather devote their Sundays to football than to "keep holy the Sabbath Day." Indeed, this fanatical focus on professional (and college) sports, along with all the other celebrity worship that permeates our society, is symptomatic of our nation's moral decline. When we remove the "cult" -- the religious foundation -- from our culture, we are left with nothing.

I find it remarkable that so many of our professional athletes, who have reaped rewards unavailable elsewhere, seem to despise the nation that provided them with the opportunity to achieve such material success. One would think they would be overwhelmed by a sense of gratitude. Instead they pay homage to groups like "Black Lives Matter," a movement founded by committed Marxists whose stated goal is not the saving of all, or even most black lives, but the destruction of the family and religious faith, two major obstacles to the power they seek. It's all very sad, and so we pray for them, knowing we have a loving God who has promised to be with us "until the end of the age."

As for me, I was honored to have been able to serve my country and its citizens for many years as a officer in the U.S. Navy. During all those years, and even afterwards, I lost many Naval Academy classmates and close friends. Some lost their lives in combat, others in aircraft accidents, and some as a result of the lingering effects of wounds or agent orange. But none died in vain, despite what the current crop of neo-Marxist protesters and rioters scream at us as they try to destroy our nation and its history, while belittling all the good the United States has brought to the world.

The tribute (and its fitting rebuke) follows: 
________________________________________________________________


To the NFL and its players,

If I have brain cancer, I don't ask my dentist what I should do. If my car has a problem, I don't seek help from a plumber! Why do you think the public cares what a football player thinks about politics? If we want to know about football, then depending on the information we seek, we might consult with you, but even a quarterback doesn't seek advice on playing his position from a punter.

You seem to have this over-inflated view of yourselves, thinking because you enjoy working on such a large-scale stage, that somehow your opinion about everything matters. The NFL realizes the importance of its "image" so it has rules that specify the clothes and insignia you can wear, the language you can use, and your "antics" after a touchdown or other "great" play. But somehow you and your employer don't seem to care that you disgrace the entire nation and its 320 million people in the eyes of the world by publicly disrespecting this country, its flag, and its anthem! The taxpaying citizens of this country subsidize your plush work environments, yet you choose to use those venues to openly offend those very citizens.

Do you even understand what the flag of this country means to so many of its citizens before you choose to "take a knee" in protest of this country during our national anthem?

You may think because you are paid so much that your job is tough, but you are clueless when it comes to tough. Let me show you those whose jobs are really tough.

You are spoiled babies who stand around and have staff squirt Gatorade in your mouths, sit in front of misting cooling fans when its warm, and sit on heated benches when its cold. That's not tough, that's pampered.

You think you deserve to be paid excessively high salaries because you play a "dangerous" game where you can incur career-ending injuries. Let me show you career-ending injuries!

You think you deserve immediate medical attention and the best medical facilities and doctors when injured. Let me show you what it's like for those who really need and deserve medical attention.

You think you have the right to disrespect the flag of the United States, the flag our veterans fought for, risked limbs and mental stability to defend, and in many cases died for. Let me show you what our flag means to them, their families, and their friends.

You believe you are our heroes, when in reality you are nothing but overpaid entertainers, who exist solely for our enjoyment! Well, your current antics are neither entertaining nor enjoyable, but rather a disgrace to this country, its citizens, all our veterans and their families, and the sacrifices they have made to ensure this country remains free. You choose to openly disgrace this country in the eyes of the rest of the world, yet with all your money, still choose to live here rather than any other country. People with even the slightest amount of "class" will stand and respect our flag. Where does that put you? You want to see heroes...here are this country's heroes!

You can protest policies, the current government, or anything else you choose. That is your right. But when you "protest" our flag and anthem, you insult the nation we all live in and love, and all those who have served, been wounded, or died to keep it free. There is nothing you can do or say that will make your actions anything more than the arrogance of a classless people, who care about themselves more than our country or the freedoms for which our veterans and their families have sacrificed so much, all to ensure you have the right to speak freely. Our country is far from perfect, but if you can point to any other country with greater freedom and opportunity, then you just might want to go there and show respect for their flag! 
_________________________________

That's all of it...a fitting tribute to those who, since the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, have sacrificed their lives and their livelihood for this remarkable nation.

God bless America, folks. 

COVID-19 Bible Study Reflection #7: Love One Another

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve written one of these reflections, and several people have asked me why. I’d like to say I’ve been extremely busy doing all kinds of important stuff, but that wouldn’t be true…well, not completely true. Thanks to the lifestyle changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve stepped away from some of my usual activities, probably out of sheer laziness. But during the past week or so, I’ve also been forced to think about what’s been happening in and to our country and didn’t want to react unthinkingly. I’ve needed time to digest these events, to understand them better, and to consider how best to respond.

The catalyst, of course, was the death of George Floyd on May 25. We’ve all seen the video, and I’ve heard absolutely no one support the police officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck, the act which allegedly caused his death. I suppose there are a few who believe otherwise, but I think I can safely say that 99% of Americans, and that includes me and everyone I know, were horrified by what they saw. But only a very few people, those actively involved in the case – investigators, medical examiners, prosecutors, defense attorneys, etc. – have access to all the evidence, so I will make no rash judgment, but will defer to our justice system. Like anything devised by man, our systems of justice are flawed. But we remain, at least for now, a nation of laws, and must allow the law to struggle toward a just result.

George Floyd was a black man who suffered death allegedly because of the actions of a white police officer. This has become the salient fact that initiated the protests against police brutality and racism spreading across the nation. I won’t argue the facts here, except to state that I do not accept the charge that the United States today is intrinsically a racist society. Indeed, if one actually takes the time to examine the statistics, particularly those that directly involve the actions of law enforcement professionals at all levels, obvious racist activity by the police is extremely rare, and actually on the decline. But that’s not my subject here.

The protesters have every right to go into the streets and let the nation know what they think. After all, in the Bill of Rights, the First Amendment to the Constitution recognizes some of our basic rights:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

Yes, we have the right “peaceably to assemble.” We do not, however, have the right to engage in violent protest, something Terrence Floyd recently reminded those protesting the death of his older brother, George.

Unfortunately, some organizations and movements have tried to take over many of these otherwise peaceful protests, infecting them with violence and hoping only to destroy and create chaos. The most violent among these organizations have even prepositioned bricks, water bottles filled with concrete, Molotov cocktails and other incendiary devices, and have encouraged looting and destruction by those confused souls who inevitably appear during times of urban unrest. How sad for the protesters who have exercised their right to come together and air their grievances peacefully. I might not agree with everything they have to say, but I spent many years in the uniform of our nation willing to give my life for their right to express it.

Among the most radical of the violent organizations that have embedded themselves into these protests is Antifa, a so-called anti-fascist movement. Ironically Antifa practices the same kind of violent criminal activity carried out by its predecessor, the Nazi Sturmabteilung (SA) or Brownshirts, who were largely instrumental in Adolph Hitler’s rise to power in prewar Germany. (If you don’t believe me, look up the history of the Brownshirts and compare their tactics to Antifa’s.)  Antifa, of course, is not alone, and is joined by a collection of mostly leftist organizations that desire not racial equality, but division. Some even espouse the destruction of American society.

I’ve found that extremists almost universally charge those they hate with the same evils that best define their own activity; hence Antifa, while claiming to be anti-fascist, is fascist to the core. Similarly, Black Lives Matter focuses only on the relatively few deaths of unarmed African Americans by law enforcement, while ignoring thousands of black on black murders. Apparently, only some black lives matter.

Communists, fascists, anarchists…In truth I’ve never seen much difference between the extremists of the left or the right. They all seek power and will use any means to achieve it. They claim to love democracy and yet despise the idea that the people are sovereign and “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” We need only observe the results so evident in Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, Communist China, Castro’s Cuba, and so many other regimes that have essentially enslaved their people while calling themselves “democratic.”

As Christians, what then are we to do? 

First, we must always speak the truth. It’s so easy to speak only what others are saying, or what they want to hear from us. Indeed, it’s easy to assume that public opinion must be right because so many seem to accept it. But as Pope Benedict XVI once wisely said, “Truth is not determined by majority vote.”

The actual truth behind so much of human activity is impossible for us to grasp, simply because we cannot see into the hearts of others. St. Paul put it well when he wrote:

“For what person knows a man’s thoughts except the spirit of the man which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” [1 Cor 2:11].

We should, therefore, speak only that which we know to be true. This isn’t easy since much of what we think and say is influenced not only by the facts, but also by our own prejudices and emotional reactions to people and events. Perhaps if we turn to Jesus, specifically to His Sermon on the Mount, we can gain some clarity.

Judge with right judgment. I have tried – not always successfully – to rely on the teaching Word of Jesus. He first instructs us to be careful of judging others:

“Judge not, that you be not judged…You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye” [Mt 7:1,5].

But beam removal is difficult, isn’t it? All those prejudices, and emotions, and past experiences are hard to set aside…hard, but not impossible. The only real truth, you see, is Jesus Christ, “the way and the truth and the life” [Jn 14:6]. If we stick with Jesus, the incarnate Word of God, we’ll be safe and can proclaim the truth confidently. Only with a clean heart, only when all those pesky beams have been removed, can we grasp the truth and make just judgments. Of course, truth and just judgment demand God’s healing grace, His mercy, and His forgiveness. For this Jesus gave us the sacrament of reconciliation to free us from our sin so we can embrace the truth. How did St. John put it in his First Letter?

“If we say, ‘We are without sin,’ we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” [1 Jn 1:8].

So many today reject the very idea of truth, preferring instead to succumb to what Pope Benedict XVI called the “dictatorship of relativism.” Without the truth they cannot judge but only express faulty opinions driven by political and personal biases. Again, Jesus instructs us:

“Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment” [Jn 7:24].

With these words Jesus takes us back to the Torah, to the Law as revealed in Leviticus:

“You shall not act dishonestly in rendering judgment. Show neither partiality to the weak nor deference to the mighty, but judge your neighbor justly” [Lv 19:15].

Here we encounter a concept of justice that is echoed centuries later by the prophet Isaiah when he points to the justice of He Who is to come:

“Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide, but he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide fairly for the land’s afflicted” [Is 11:3-4].

This, of course, is the essence of “right judgment” because it conforms to God’s Law and not the laws of men. So often we think that by showing “partiality to the weak” we are being just. But doing so is really no better than deferring “to the mighty” or the wealthy or the politically connected. Appearances are so often deceiving, aren’t they?

We can, therefore, make judgments, right judgments, but only when we look past the appearances and seek the truth. Our judgment must be based on reality, not wishful thinking. Again, in His Sermon on the Mount, after telling us to remove those wooden beams, Jesus gives us a way to identify the evil in our midst:

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them [Mt 7:15-16].

We live in a world with more than its share of “ravenous wolves” posing as innocent sheep. Jesus didn’t pull any punches when He exposed those plotting to take His life:

“You belong to your father the devil and you willingly carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies” [Jn 8:44].

Yes, indeed, “By their fruits you will know them.” Unlike Jesus, however, you and I cannot know the heart or mind of another, we can judge only by the results of their words and actions…by their fruits. In other words, we can safely assert that the firebombing and looting of a business are both sinful acts. We can condemn the sin but should not be quick to condemn the sinner. 

Throughout the New Testament we are often reminded of the perils of unjust judgment. For example, as St. Paul instructs the Romans:

“Therefore, you are without excuse, every one of you who passes judgment. For by the standard by which you judge another you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the very same things. We know that the judgment of God on those who do such things is true. Do you suppose, then, you who judge those who engage in such things and yet do them yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?” [Rom 2:1-3]

To judge another is quite a challenge, then, isn’t it? I suppose it all goes back to those wooden beams. Unless we strive to remove them, to reject the power of sin in our own lives, how can we justly judge another?
Over the years I’ve served on a number of juries, and always found it morally painful to judge another whom I didn’t know, based on often conflicting testimony and evidence. As jurors we are instructed to convict only when guilt has been established “beyond a reasonable doubt.” But as I discovered when serving as jury foreman on several occasions, “reasonable doubt” can mean very different things to different people. And so, again, as we apply man’s law, we struggle to achieve some kind of real justice.

What, then, should be our attitude toward those who seem so intent on leaving little but hatred and destruction in their wake?

Love them and pray for them. Loving and praying for those who seem so intent on hurting you and those you love is more than difficult. It’s impossible…impossible, that is, without God’s help. It’s only by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit working within us, that we can love our enemies. Jesus, once again in His Sermon on the Mount, gives us a command very much at odds with the ways of the world:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect” [Mt 5:43-48].

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” is a pretty clear command, isn’t it? And yet it’s one of those hard to do things that seems so counterintuitive, so contrary to human nature – one of those things that causes many to turn away from Jesus Christ and His Church. They see Christians, folks like you and me, ignoring God’s call to love, and they sneer at our hypocrisy. “You preach a good line,” they say, “but you don’t practice what you preach.” And you know something? Too often they’re right.
Notice, too, that Jesus didn’t call us to be pretty good or to be slightly above average. No, He called us to “be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” This, too, is impossible without God’s help. Called, then, to do the Father’s work in imitation of the Son, we need the grace of the Holy Spirit. God’s perfection is best defined by His love; and so, love is a Trinitarian thing, the very essence of the relationship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is only through love that we can even approach the perfection of our God. 

Some, of course, will ask why we are to love one another. That’s perhaps the simplest question to answer. We must love each other because God loved us first. He created each one of us in an individual act of love. He came into the world not just to redeem me, or to redeem you, but to redeem us all, every single one of us:

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

Our loving, merciful God wills the salvation of all. And we are called to do our part by bringing others to a “knowledge of the truth” which is Jesus Christ, and to do so in love. Here’s how St. John explains it:

“Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us” [1 Jn 4:7-12].

Loving one another is not optional behavior. Love is not driven by emotion; it must be a decision. But loving our enemies, or the often greater challenge of loving friends and family, doesn’t mean we just love them from afar and pray for them. “Whoever is without love does not know God” and it’s up to us to introduce them to God and His redeeming, merciful love. 

I’ll conclude with the words of St. Peter as he calls us to unity:

“Finally, all of you, be of one mind, sympathetic, loving toward one another, compassionate, humble. Do not return evil for evil, or insult for insult; but, on the contrary, a blessing, because to this you were called, that you might inherit a blessing” [1 Pt 3:8-9].

Maybe then, maybe when we Christians come together, united in our faith, when we are “of one mind, loving toward one another,” God will send forth His Spirit to shed His saving grace on the world.

Election Reflection

Well, it's over...and I can't help but add a little I-told-you-so when I point back to my post of July 18 in which I predicted a Trump victory. There! Enough patting myself on the back. Anyway, it's a bit painful thanks to my slightly damaged rotator cuff.

I suppose the first question a lot of folks have been asking is, "How did all the smart people get it so wrong?" Actually, I truly believe they didn't. I believe that all those pollsters saw what was happening but either couldn't believe it, or believing it, tried to change it. In other words, they lied to us. They tried to show the nation that Hillary Clinton had such a lead that all those undecideds might as well stay home on election day or just climb aboard the coronation train and vote for Hillary. Abetting this strategy were the mainstreams who continued to portray Donald Trump as the incarnation of a being they don't believe in (Satan) and Hillary as the elect of another they reject (God). And like all those who lack faith, they are deathly afraid. And so, yes, I believe what we witnessed was -- drum roll -- a conspiracy!

Happy Hillary? Not!

Now that the election is over, those who opposed Trump, all those fearful ones, have initiated a new two-pronged strategy. Okay, it's not so new. It's been used by revolutionaries for centuries. The first thing that must be done is to completely ignore the results of the election. Instead, get the "people" -- the easily led, the useful idiots -- into the streets. Show the world how dissatisfied, how angry, how hurt everyone is. Let the protests grow and evolve into cries for Revolution! Burn and destroy, tear it all down, keep the nation's attention on the protests turned riots so they won't think about the real task facing America.

Hillary Voter Protests Turn to Riots

This, of course, will fail. There will be no revolution. (One reason: unlike the protestors and others on the left, the folks who voted for Donald Trump are the armed citizens. This is the primary reason we have avoided revolution since that messy affair with King George III.) Anyway, it wasn't just Donald Trump who was elected; it was a movement. And I'm pretty sure Trump realizes this. It was this movement that I'm convinced the pollsters and wonks finally recognized and simply could not deal with. Now that the election is over, they realize their only chance to salvage something is to co-opt Donald Trump. And this goal will form the second prong of their strategy.

From now until his inauguration in January we will hear nothing but calls to inclusiveness. We will be told that a divided nation demands a diverse administration, one that represents all the people, not just those uneducated white males who voted for Trump. (Actually, Trump got more of the Hispanic and Black vote than expected. He also got a majority of college-educated white males. And to the surprise of many Democrats, he received a majority of the Catholic vote. The complete demographic breakdown should be interesting.)

But Trump's opponents will be screaming for more than diversity. There will be more...much more. Because Trump has absolutely no experience in governance, they will tell us that he must mend fences with those in his own party who despise him and with the Democrats. He will need many of these wise men and women of the establishment to help him overcome his governmental naiveté and to guide him and his administration through the labyrinthine corridors of the federal government. As we heard often enough during the campaign: Build bridges, Mr. Trump, not walls.

And all those campaign promises? Really, Mr. Trump, you must now accept that most of them are unattainable, no more than useful bones to toss at the hungry masses, but not the sort of things you can actually accomplish. Compromise must be the watchword of the new administration if it hopes to be successful. Of course, our new president will succeed someone who refused to compromise with the opposition, and was praised for his intransigence by the same folks who will demand the opposite from Donald Trump.

We will hear all these things and much more from the not-so-loyal opposition, the media, the soon to be unemployed White House staffers, and from those the voters rejected. But I actually expect Donald Trump to ignore these calls to turn his back on those who elected him. He seems to be a man who, although willing to negotiate, also knows when he holds a winning hand. We shall see.

As a nation, we should be praying for God's continued help and thanking him for all He has given us.

We certainly live in interesting times. 

God's peace...