An Election Appraisal

Here is one more election related post that may have little to do with faith, but a lot to do with reason. There is a logic method I teach where I work called Situation Appraisal. Its purpose is to sort out priority concerns and it answers the question “What is going on?” It can help a confused Catholic voter sort out and prioritize many issues at once (at least for themselves). Here is how it works with an everyday example:

Step 1: List any concerns as vague as you want.

Ø  Every day example: I hate my car

Step 2: Separate & Clarify:
We ask questions to restate unclear concerns into specific elements to help minimize/alleviate over-generalizations and rationality overloaded by feelings. Whether questioning another or yourself, remember that the goal is NOT to solve a problem; the goal is to bring clarity. Any concern should be questioned until it is difficult or even impossible to give it more than one meaning. This is done with probing, open questions like “why”, “what do you mean by”, “what concerns you about”, “what else”.

Ø  I hate my car (this can mean many things)

- Why?

            - It doesn’t work well.

- What’s wrong?

            - It vibrates at highway speeds

- What else?

            - It’s bad on gas mileage

- What else?

            - That’s it.

“I hate my car” was separated & clarified in to two specific concerns; a vibration that happens at highway speed & poor gas mileage.

Step 3: Consider Current Impact, Future Impact and Time Frame
For each clarified concern we ask, what is the current impact or seriousness? What is the future impact or growth (or what is likely to happen if nothing is done)? What is the time frame or urgency (when does it become too late)?

Concern	Current Impact	Future Impact	Time Frame
Car has vibration at high speed	It’s annoying	Vibration will destroy my new tries	A few weeks until the tires are destroyed
Car has poor gas mileage	Spending $40/mo too much on gas	Going into debt $40/mo	6 months until out of extra money

Step 4: Make a Comparative Evaluation.
Compare & prioritize each column one at a time, and then look at all three columns at once for the big picture.

Concern	Current Impact	Future Impact	Time Frame	Result
Car has vibration at high speed	Annoying LOWER	New tires destroyed HIGHER	A few weeks HIGHER	2 Higher 1 Lower
Car has poor gas mileage	Spending $40/mo too much on gas HIGHER	Going into debt LOWER	6 months LOWER	1 Higher 2 Low

The car vibration issue becomes the top priority concern since it was given 2 highs and 1 low, so we address this concern first.

This same kind of logic can be applied to a Catholic considering election issues:

PLEASE NOTE: This is only an example of hypothetical voter opinion.

Step 1: List any concerns:

Ø  Life Issues

Ø  Religious Liberty

Ø  Social Justice

Step 2: Separate & Clarify:

Ø  Life Issues

- What specific life issues concern you?

            - Abortion & Death Penalty

- What else?

            - That’s it

- What’s concerns you about abortion?

            - That it is legal. Abortion should be illegal.

- What concerns you about the death penalty?

            - God is the author of life, so the death penalty should be outlawed.

Ø  Religious Liberty

- What is your religious liberty concern?

            - HHS Mandate will cause Catholics to violate their conscience or be fined.

- What else?

            - That’s it.

Ø  Social Justice

- What concerns you about this?

            - Healthcare

- What about healthcare?

            - Many Americans can’t afford insurance.

- What else concerns you about Social Justice?

            - Nothing else.

 

“Life Issues” was separated & clarified into two specific concerns; legalized abortion & the death penalty. “Religious Liberty” was clarified to the HHS mandate. “Social Justice” was clarified to healthcare coverage for those who cannot afford it.

Step 3: Consider Current Impact, Future Impact and Time Frame

Concern	Current Impact	Future Impact	Time Frame
Legalized Abortion	Over 1 million babies killed per year (U.S.)	Over 1 million more killed per year, every year	No specific time limit
Death penalty	<50 executions per year in recent years	About 50 more per year, every year	No specific time limit
HHS Mandate	Law suits taking time & money	Many Catholic Institutions forced to close. Higher cost to government to fill the gap	A few years for the full impact
Healthcare for the poor	Tens of millions do not get basic care	Preventable sicknesses left unchecked cause suffering & higher healthcare cost	No specific time limit

Step 4: Make a Comparative Evaluation

Concern	Current Impact	Future Impact	Time Frame	Result
Legalized Abortion	Over 1 million babies killed per year (U.S.) HIGH	Over 1 million more per year, every year HIGH	No specific time limit LOW (none)	2-High 0-Med 1-Low
Death penalty	<50 executions per year MEDUIM	About 50 more per year, every year LOW	No specific time limit LOW (none)	0-High 1-Med 2-Low
HHS Mandate	Law suits taking time & money LOW	Many Catholic Institutions forced to close. Higher cost to government to fill the gap MEDIUM	A few years to feel the full impact HIGH	1-High 1-Med 1-Low
Healthcare for the poor	Tens of millions do not have health insurance MEDUIM	Preventable sicknesses left unchecked cause more suffering & higher healthcare cost HIGH	No specific time limit LOW (none)	1-High 1-Med 1-Low

So for this hypothetical voter, abortion becomes the top priority concern, followed by the HHS mandate & healthcare coverage with the death penalty coming in last. The voter can then compare a candidate’s position to these priorities.

A full list of clarified election issues would be much longer than in our example, but it is hard to imagine any concern that has a greater current & future impact than the slaughter of over one million innocent lives this year and every year. Even if we added in the concern of over 20 million unemployed people, at least they are alive and have the legal right to remain so. Of course, the spiritual impact of a nation that allows this kind of killing is difficult to measure even in a detailed appraisal like this.

Remember that the purpose of Situation Appraisal is NOT to actually solve the concerns; it is meant for clarity. Clarity of thought and prioritization brings focus to any state of affairs, no matter how complex. Using an appraisal like this in the context of our faith can give us true clarity to act by the reality of things, and there is a word that describes acting by the reality of things very well; that word is…“sanity”.

Thoughts on Third Party Voting

There is no such thing as throwing a vote away in the literal sense. The value of one vote is the value of one vote, no matter how one would like to spin the logic. Catholics should not have blind loyalties to any political party. If we derive our identity this way, we will give that group unquestioned loyalty because the sense of belonging will give us feelings of security, pleasure and power. Our cultural and emotional conditioning to a political party can become like a mask covering our true face.

Many Catholics reject the Democratic Party and understandably so. Abortion-on-demand and same-sex marriage are now part of the platform. Additionally, new developments like the HHS mandate clearly show us the intolerance of relativism. If you have your truth and I have mine, there is no point in trying to use reason to argue. Relativism creates a stale-mate. All that is left is “might-makes-right” if there is going to be any movement. Agree to violate your beliefs or be fined by the government. Hard to believe it has come to this.

Many Catholics see the Republican Party as better, but still unacceptable. They are not exactly a collection of saints either. Abortion is commonly accepted by many Republicans to one degree or another. Catholics may feel that Republicans are much less likely to be concerned about the poor & disadvantaged, and perhaps more likely to start unjust wars.

Given all this, a fair question comes to mind. Is supporting a third party candidate the best way to go? We all want to be good stewards of our citizenship, but what can we compare third party voting to in this current presidential election?

What about a food analogy? We are starving and must vote on what food we can receive. Food A is mostly rotten (say 75%), food B is about half rotten (50%), and food C is pure. Food A and B can be quickly & easily delivered by local suppliers. Food C has no supplier. Although food C is real and can be obtained if enough people can be persuaded to help, there is no way to build a consensus & a supply-chain in time. We need food now. Where will your vote go? Should you vote at all? The best choice may be to take what is best about food B for now, and continue to push for food C or an equivalent afterwards.

How about a runaway train headed toward a fork in the track? Taking the left track will kill two children playing on the tracks; taking the right track will kill one child also playing on the tracks. There is a third track that you can see that is perfectly safe for everyone, but it is not connected to the track you are currently on. The third track is real and is a perfect solution if there was only enough time to convince enough people to help construct a connection, but you need to decide what to do right now.



Boycott?
Jiminy Cricket!

I also remember hearing about the Baptist Disney boycott on Catholic radio years ago.They argued against the boycott for the following reason. The point of boycotting is to non-violently persuade an organization to do things your way, but it can back fire. If Christians reject Disney entirely, the company may focus more on the secular portion of their market to make up for lost business. For example, how about a new animated movie about two princes or two princesses falling in love and getting “married” and living happily ever after. Instead of boycotting, the case made was that Christians should support Disney entrainment that is consistent with Christian values and reject anything that is not.

The same kind of logic can apply if Catholics or Christians completely reject the Republican Party. Republicans would still want to win, so they could try to appeal to the more secular portion of society as a “business decision”. Perhaps adopt a pro-choice and same-sex marriage platform similar to the Democrats. After all, one rule of success is to emulate the winners. They could still differentiate themselves from Democrats by focusing on smaller government, fiscal responsibility, strong military, etc. Any help protecting conscience rights/religious freedom would obviously be forgotten about. Instead of “boycotting” the Republican Party, perhaps the wisest choice is to take what is better, but continue to lobby for what is best.

There is also the logic that says one single vote doesn’t matter anyway, but what if every Catholic reasoned liked this? The reality is we can affect many votes if we include our sphere of influence among family, friends, co-works, church, blogosphere, etc. A voting block is made from individual votes, just like a building is made of individual bricks. Just consider the voting power in following Q&A*…..

Q: How many Catholics are in the U.S.?
A: About 77.7 million (I like how it’s #7 three times; very symbolic).

Q: How many people does it take to elect an American President?
A: Less than 70 million.
*source: Wikipedia


All in all, a vote is another brick in the wall.

In the end, debates about candidates and political parties are endless. Beyond any discussion about voting, it should be made clear that if we can evangelize the culture around us, the rest will take care of itself. The election will soon be over, and regardless of who wins, our work is still cut out for us because too many will still not see the reality of our faith or how to act in accordance with it.

The Cloud of Unknowing

Two Catholic Men & a Blog
Reading Chair/Time Machine

Reading books from centuries ago may be the closest thing to time travel we have, especially the kind of non-fiction where the author is sharing an experience or trying to teach you something. One can imagine going back in time to learn, or the author coming forward in time to teach, or some amazing rendezvous in-between. If reading Catholic classics, it’s a great reminder of the communion of saints. The saints are alive and in God’s presence as are we, except we cannot yet see God face to face, never the less, we are together in a sense.

 

Reading The Interior Castle by St. Therese of Avila (AD 1577), The Compendium of Theology by St. Thomas Aquinas (AD 1273) and Confessions by St. Augustine (AD 397) are examples of when I’ve had this sense of learning right at the feet of the masters, especially when stumbling upon a paragraph like this one from Confessions Book I. “To whom am I narrating this? Not to you, my God, but to my own kind in your presence – to that small part of the human race who may chance to come upon these writings. And to what end? That I and all who read them may understand what depths there are from which we are to cry to you.” Think about it; reading Confessions from AD 397 in the year 2012 is like someone reading this post in the year 3627! It boggles the mind!


Star Date 3627.0

No book could give a more direct communication from the past than the very first sentence of a book called The Cloud of Unknowing; a contemplative classic written by an anonymous English monk during the late 1300’s. The Cloud of Unknowing is a metaphor for a privation of knowing that stands between us and God. The monk speaks of “the exercise” which can help one to “smite upon that thick cloud of unknowing with a sharp dart of longing love.” In modern Catholic language I think one could interpret “the exercise” as Centering Prayer.

The Cloud of Unknowing

Here is the opening sentence that immediately got my attention (to say the least) “To you, whoever you are, who may have this book in your possession, whether as owner or custodian or barrow: I lay this charge upon you and implore you with all the power and force that the bond of charity can command.” He goes on to basically say that the book is only for those who are sincere about following Christ in BOTH the active and contemplative life.

This brings me to what I actually would like to share. The unknown mystic from the past speaks of our spiritual life in terms of two parts, the active life and the contemplative life, both of which have two levels, a high and a low. The low active life consists of good & honest corporal works mercy and charity. The high active life AND the low contemplative life both involve spiritual meditations. The high contemplative life happens in the cloud of unknowing with a loving impulse and gaze into the simple being of God.  All of this is described in three levels of good, better and best. Whenever a “best” is proclaimed it normally demands that at least two things precede it, a “good” and a “better”.

A visual would be most helpful at this point:

 

It would be wrong and a hindrance for someone engaged in contemplative life to turn their mind to outward corporal works during meditation. This may sound dismissive of outward corporal works, but the 14th century monk reminds his reader that only one thing is necessary.  It is the “one thing” spoken of at the house of Mary & Martha (see Luke 10:38-42). Martha might think that she or Mary could love and praise God above all other business and at the same time be busy about the many things of this life, but Jesus made it clear to her that she could not serve both perfectly; imperfectly she could, but not perfectly.

It is the nature of the active life to begin and end in our lifetime. Not so, however, of the contemplative life; it begins in this life, but lasts without end. The “best” is truly yet to come. As The Lord said to Martha, it is the part that shall NEVER be taken away, because that perfect moment of love which begins here shall last without end in the bliss of heaven.

 

I’ll close with the monks own words in the book’s last paragraph:

“Farewell, spiritual friend, in God’s blessing and mine. And I beseech almighty God that true peace, sane counsel, and spiritual comfort in God with abundance of grace always be with you, and all those who on earth love God. Amen”