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Wednesday, May 30, 2018

ROSEANNE AND MEDIA HYPOCRISY AND POLITICAL MANIPULATION


I am old enough to remember when Hollywood stars, including the red headed Lucille Ball were under investigation by the government for belonging to the Communist party or were sympathizers. Just being under investigation could ruin a person's career.

Roseanne Barr is on the wrong side of political correctness and has earned her reward for what others are calling her, a racist and an Isalmaphobe.

Don't get me wrong, her tweet wasn't funny, if it was meant to be, and it was wrong and it was racist although I don't quite understand all the politically correct phobias. If I see a Muslim or anyone with a knife in his hand, raised and coming toward me, I would be afraid and hide. Is that a phobia or common sense?

Roseanne has apologized for her bad joke. She has received her judgment and punishment, the cancellation her high rated TV show. ABC has that right and I won't dispute it especially since I never liked her show the old one or the successful reincarnation of it. Although I have to say the reincarnation of the show was true to the older version which made it fascinating to watch.

But let's talk about the Media's hypocrisy, especially about celebrities and their Catholicphobia--anyone, please let us talk about that and how celebrities get away with murder when it comes to the Catholic Church and celebrities and their prejudices towards us.

56 comments:

Anonymous said...

You're defending someone who compared a black woman to an ape.
I know you're going to say you're not defending her, but if you're arguing she was treated unfairly, you are, really.
And what the hell does a Muslim with a knife have to do with the price of tea in China? Apparently, your mind just randomly wandered to other people of color.
As a Catholic, I am disgusted.

Fr. Allan J. McDonald said...

Defending???? Did you read or scan. Now, let's talk about more than word that are spoken to a mentality that kills, those who promote abortion and call it pro choice, even unto partial birth abortion. How many celebrities not only support this, but have procured one and all keep their shows and are promoted as paragons of secular virtue.

Anonymous said...

I am anti-abortion, but those who disagree are not, ipso facto “anti-Catholic.”
If you disagree with their position, you are free to boycott their shows, their movies, their music, etc., & not give them a penny of your money. Just as ABC is free to stop giving money to a woman who promotes hate.
It’s America, we’re all free to vote with our pocketbooks.

John Nolan said...

A phobia is an irrational fear. Anxiety about Islam is not irrational, especially for those of us who live in Europe.

Nor is phobia synonymous with dislike or hatred. If I dislike a person purely on account of his or her religion, that makes me an intolerant bigot.

'Homophobia' is even more meaningless. I don't care what people get up to in their private lives, as long as they don't frighten the horses. I do object to the strident homosexualist lobby and think 'same-sex marriage' is an absurdity. Thirty years ago nearly everyone would have been of the same opinion.

Benedict the Moor said...

Describing a black woman as a character from Planet of the Apes is not, as Father so daintily put it, 'being on the wrong side of political correctness."

It is blatant racism, and the Catholic Church holds that racism is a sin.

A sin is not better or worse because others are sinning. You shall not soft-peddle racism because you don't like the people who are against racism.

What Father is practicing is called, as I understand it, "moral relativism."



johnnyc said...

Lol.....if anyone thinks that the liberal agenda that lays waste to the life teachings of Jesus (the five Catholic non negotiables) is not an anti Catholic agenda then they are either naive or they are trying to justify their support of politicians that are part of that agenda.

TJM said...

The political left has said equally reprehensible things but they get a pass - that’s how you get more Trump. Fyi, Catholics supporting the Abortion Party are risking hell, including fake Catholic clergy who support the Abortion Party. They are as sick as the New York Slimes celebrating the Irish for legalizing the murder of the unborn for convenience. St. John Paul II stated that a nation that kills its unborn has no future.

Cletus Ordo said...

It seems to me, Anonymous, that Fr. Allan McDonald is merely observing publicly or pointing out that the outrage practiced in the media today is quite selective. Some sins are unforgivable (Roseanne Barr, Mel Gibson, etc.) some are forgivable if you are of the right political persuasion (Jesse Jackson comes to mind) and some sins aren't sins at all (abortion, homosexual practice) because our celeb culture has redefined normal for us and we follow like numb lemmings.

Noticing the hypocrisy is not the same as defending.

Fr. Allan J. McDonald said...

Whatever happened to accompaniment? What would Pope Francis do?

Joe McCarthy said...

Like Father McDonald, I pine for the good old days.

Gene said...

Well, I thought what Roseanne said was funny as Hell. It is even better because Roseanne is NOT a conservative. The Left is rushing to paint her as one so they can use this to smear all Trump supporters. Besides, Rosanne was right on the money. But, I was thinking more of a cross between a dog and a chimp. That is less insulting to Muslims, whom I am sure the Left does not want to offend.

Anonymous said...

“Whatever happened to accompaniment? What would Pope Francis do?“

Francis would judge and condemn Roseanne, just like he did President Trump. Now take a liberal person who is a racist like Al Sharpton who said horrible things about White people and Jewish people, or Joy Reid who said awful things about Gay people, Francis would remain silent and not comment at all. Because a liberal is a liberal is a liberal. Liberals NEVER eat their own. Look at the racist comments Joe Biden made about President Obama "I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy," Biden said. "I mean, that's a storybook, man." Clearly a racist statement but he was made Vice President. Democratic Senator Robert Byrd was a high ranking, sheet wearing member of the KKK and President Clinton praised him at his funeral and said “he did what he had to do”. He excused his past behaviour as understandable. And what about good ole lying Dan Rather who made this statement regarding Obama “Listen he’s a nice person, he’s very articulate” this is what’s been used against him, “but he couldn’t sell watermelons if it, you gave him the state troopers to flag down the traffic.” And what about President Obama talking about his grandmother stating “she was a typical white person”. All of it racist and all of it ignored or explained away because it came from the mouth of a liberal. What Roseanne said was horrible and she apologized. Are we not obliged to forgive our brother not 7 times but 70 times 7 times. And the worst racist comment can’t compare to Hilary Clinton stating it is fine to abort a child up to and including the moment of birth. The liberals of the world have embraced and promoted every filthy, degenerate position this side of Satan and make it appear at good and merciful. Everyone deserves forgiveness if they ask for it and nobody on this planet has the right to throw stones at anyone else. EVERY PERSON WITHOUT EXCEPTION HAS DONE OR SAID SOMETHING SHAMEFUL IN THIER LIFE....EVERYONE. To all those trying to destroy a woman because on one mistake, how would you like it if your sins were on the headlines of the news.

rcg said...

I am sure that bad manners is some sort of sin. In that case mocking someone for her appearance is a sin. The cry of racism is a group of people trying to join in victimhood with the hope of adding their agenda to the spotlight. They run the risk of diluting the actual concern for the person offended but do not seem to care about that. It is possible that Barr dislikes black people and that was the basis of her choice of insult. By flying directly to the claim of racism we passover the more universal sin that could apply to all people and, by building an omitted class for people that are not black, ironically create a racist situation with the claim. Similar to ‘hate crimes’ we imply that similar acts are OK if the victims are chosen with more political astuteness.

“Homophobia”, as it is commonly used, is comical except that it is intended to prevent honest conversation on the subject. It may be the last conribution of the failed profession of psychology to the topic.

Daniel said...

Conservative Catholics have lost the ability to discuss issues or defend the indefensible.
They no longer bother to hide or explain their hypocrisy.
Typical discussion with sold-out Christian conservatives:

"Conservatives have turned their backs on the poor." "Yeah, but what about abortion?"
"The Church has historically stood strong with the immigrant." "Yeah, but what about abortion?"
"Racism is a sin, too." "Yeah, but what about abortion?"
"The death penalty is inhumane and violates Church teachings." "Yeah, but what about abortion?"
"Trump is hateful, racist, misogynist, divisive, corrupt & treasonous. He paid off a porn star." "Yeah, but what about abortion?"
"He also paid for abortions." "Yeah, but what about gay marriage?"

The Jesuits have always been better at this, you know.

Daniel said...

Anonymous: You are really TJM

Anonymous said...

"EVERY PERSON WITHOUT EXCEPTION HAS DONE OR SAID SOMETHING SHAMEFUL IN THIER LIFE....EVERYONE. To all those trying to destroy a woman because on one mistake, how would you like it if your sins were on the headlines of the news."

EVERY PERSON, however, is not a public figure as Roseanne is. EVERY PERSON, however, does not have the history of deplorable comments, remarks, and behavior as Roseanne has. It's hardly, hardly, "one mistake." (Ambien is not the cause of this "mistake," either.)

EVERY PERSON has the right to free speech but does NOT have the right to expect that intentionally deplorable speech will have no consequences.

TJM said...

Kavanaugh,

Did PF ever condemn abortion drooler Obama? If not, he’s a major league fraudster

TJM said...

Daniel,

Alas I cannot claim credit for Anonymous' great comment. But I concur. Leftists are the real haters

TJM said...

Hey libs,

More New York Slimes lying on display!!

https://hotair.com/archives/2018/05/30/ny-times-sorry-missing-80-trump-rally-audience/

Wannabe Kavanaugh said...

President Obama was a decent family man who represented his faith honorably, was a loving husband and father and never embarrassed his country.
As a non-Catholic, He and the Pope have issue disagreements, for sure, but there's no reason for Francis to "condemn" him.
It isn't like he's an adulterous, race-baiting Nazi.

Fr. Allan J. McDonald said...

I do believe that President Obama wanted to change the Catholic Church's teachings on artificial contraception, abortion and to force the Catholic Church and religious orders to provide contraception and abortion services through our insurance policies and I believe he would have fined anyone who broke the law millions of dollars not to mention the millions of dollars that were spent by the Church on lawyers and court proceedings to protect our religious beliefs.

But that is nothing compared to his desire to promote partial birth abortion for babies up to 9 months. There is no comparison with that and what Roseanne Barr tweeted, no comparison whatsoever.

Wannabe Kavanaugh said...

I don't recall the president trying to "change church teaching." I don't even know how that would be possible. As a non-Catholic, he is in no way bound by church teaching.

You misrepresent the contraception issue. The health-care law did not "force the Catholic Church and religious orders to provide contraception and abortion services."

It required employees to offer health insurance that offers those options, even if employees never take advantage of that coverage. Just like health coverage covers gunshot wounds, sexually transmitted diseases, the injuries suffered by a person who attempts suicide and a host of other matters that Catholics may find sinful.

However strongly we feel about these issues at the personal or church level, at the government level, these are policy disagreements. Different religious groups have strong & varied opinions on contraception & abortion and on what priority they place those issues. if a non-Catholic does not enact church policy into law, that's far from anti-Catholic.

I am anti-abortion and I believe church members should win over those who disagree by persuasion and example and exhibiting a reverence for ALL life. Not by demonizing people of other faiths & traditions.

So bottom line, I agree with you, there is no comparison whatsoever with a woman who spread racist hate, no comparison whatsoever.

TJM said...

Kavanaugh aka Wannabe Kavanaugh aka Carlton aka whatever,

LOL - I live in CHicago and could tell you plenty about your Wooden God, Obama. Your reference to Trump is ludicrous given that he has Jewish grandchildren and after Horndog Clintoon, who committed his infidelities in the Oval Office, you have no standing to speak on that issue.

Obama, while a state senator in Illinois, voted against a bill requiring health care providers to save a baby that survived an abortion, so NO he is not a good and decent man. End of discussion.

On a lighter note, I wonder if TBS will make a "teaching moment" out of this scandal involving left-wing loon Samantha Bee:

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2018/05/emmy-nominee-and-comedienne-samantha-bee-calls-ivanka-trump-a-cnt-for-tweeting-a-photo-of-herself-with-her-baby-boy/

Gene said...

Obama was a loser who was propped up by Leftist interests. He hates this country and the Catholic Church. Those who continue to defend him are morons.

Wannabe Kavanaugh said...

TJM & Father McDonald, I am aware of the Illinois vote that you refer to & it has been widely misrepresented.

It was a procedural vote, not a straight-up-and-down vote on whether to allow late partial birth.

People who vote against assault-weapon bans are not voting in favor of school shootings. The partial-birth issue was akin to that.

As you know, federal law on partial birth did not change during Obama's eight years in office, nor did he introduce any changes.

Anonymous said...

Gene: Those who continue to defend our current president are morons but also racists, fascists & corrupt traitors.
Check those words in the dictionary.

TJM said...

Gene,

Bingo!

TJM said...

Gene,

Kavanaugh is really getting witty!! Every adjective he uses applies to a Hillary or Obama supporter

Anonymous said...


Barack Obama, while he was an Illinois state senator, voted FOUR different times against the Born Alive Infants Protection Act(Ill.Bill 1082). During a meeting of the Health and Human services committee in 2003, he prevented passage of an amendment that would have granted protection to infants that survive an abortion.

Federally, the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, easily passed both the the House and Senate and was signed into law by Pres. George W.Bush on August 5 2002.

Brett said...

Since Roseanne's TV show was cancelled for her bigoted remark, I just have to ask, why in the world haven't entertainers who have consistently made venomous and bigoted hate speech against Catholics been cancelled or fired? Penn Jillett, Bill Maher, Jimmy Kimmell, Conan O'Brien, Dennis Leary, David Letterman, Stephen Colbert, Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, and countless others have regularly offended Catholics with hate speech and have gotten away scot free. Hollywood hypocrisy continues to rule, where their version of tolerance is very limited and elitist.

Anonymous said...

Bee here:

Since when is Rosanne Barr a conservative, or represent conservatives? In 2008 she was a supporter of Hillary Clinton and dissed Obama, but when Obama got the nomination she recanted her comments about him and became an Obama supporter.

She has had far left-wing political opinions throughout her life. She spoke at an Occupy Wallstreet demonstration in 2011 saying rich people should face re-education or face the guillotine. In 2012 sought the Green Party nomination for President.

So in the last year with a TV show where the character supports Trump, she starts making vile racial comments in real life, and everyone believes she is speaking from her heart?

Or is it that she's playing a character even with her tweets, trying to suggest those comments reflect the thinking of conservatives?

I have no idea, but I think she is suspect even to have done such an about face in terms of politics, and I think it's some sort of way to churn up emotions and further polarize the country.

For that reason I am ignoring the whole thing.

God bless.
Bee

Gene said...

There is absolutely no evidence that Trump is a racist, a fascist, or a traitor. This is just the only thing the Left can come up with so they keep throwing it at the wall, hoping it will stick. The Left and those who hate Trump, are simply throwing tantrums because their socialist agenda has been interrupted. I'm betting Trump will win a second term. Then, I am hoping Pence will be President. By then, maybe a lot of libs will have jumped off bridges or tall buildings. They can't shoot themselves because they don't like guns.

TJM said...

Bee,

It is part of the evil, corrupt, pro-abortion media's disinformation campaign to discredit Trump. Of course, Roseanne is a lefty having been the Green Party's candidate for president. But some morons who post here think the New York Slimes and CNN are not fake news. This is exhibit A that they are fake news.

Gene,

Maybe the liberals Muslim buddies will toss them off skycrapers or cut their heads off!

Anonymous said...

Racist:

Trump’s real-estate company tried to avoid renting apartments to African-Americans in the 1970s and gave preferential treatment to whites, according to the federal government.

Trump treated black employees at his casinos differently from whites, according to multiple sources. A former hotel executive said Trump criticized a black accountant: “Black guys counting my money! I hate it. … I think that the guy is lazy. And it’s probably not his fault, because laziness is a trait in blacks.”

In 1989, Trump took out ads in New York newspapers urging the death penalty for five black and Latino teenagers accused of raping a white woman in Central Park; he argued they were guilty as late as October 2016, more than 10 years after DNA evidence had exonerated them.

He began his 2016 presidential campaign with a speech disparaging Mexican immigrants as criminals and “rapists.”

Trump said a federal judge hearing a case about Trump University was biased because of the judge’s Mexican heritage.

In June 2017, Trump said 15,000 recent immigrants from Haiti “all have AIDS” and that 40,000 Nigerians, once seeing the United States, would never “go back to their huts” in Africa.

Trump falsely claimed that President Obama “issued a statement for Kwanzaa but failed to issue one for Christmas.”

He frequently offers false crime statistics to exaggerate urban crime, including about Oakland, Philadelphia and Ferguson, Mo.

He is quick to highlight crimes committed by dark-skinned people, sometimes exaggerating or lying about them (such as a claim about growing crime from “radical Islamic terror” in Britain). He is very slow to decry hate crimes committed by whites against dark-skinned people (such as the killing of an Indian man in Kansas last year).

Trump has trafficked in anti-Semitic caricatures, including the tweeting of a six-pointed star alongside a pile of cash. He has also been reluctant to condemn anti-Semitic attacks on journalists from his supporters, and he echoed neo-Nazi conspiracy theories by saying that Hillary Clinton “meets in secret with international banks to plot the destruction of U.S. sovereignty in order to enrich these global financial powers, her special interest friends and her donors.”

Trump once referred to a Hispanic Miss Universe as “Miss Housekeeping.”

Anonymous said...

Fascist:

Trump is hyper-nationalist

Trump is a militarist (not supportive of the military, but militarist)

Trump glorifies violence and readiness to use it in politics

Trump fetishizes youth

Trump fetishizes masculinity (How big are his hands anyway? (As if that had anything to do with masculinity.))

Trump uses the leader cult mentality

Trump is a proponent of the lost-golden-age syndrome (Make American Great Again)

Trump defines himself by saying what he is not

Trump purges those he thinks are disloyal

Trump is given to theatricality (He was a TV "celebrity" and we all know what that means to him.)

These are the traits of fascism and a fascist.



Wannabe TJM said...

"Penn Jillett, Bill Maher, Jimmy Kimmell, Conan O'Brien, Dennis Leary, David Letterman, Stephen Colbert, Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg...."

Colbert, for one, is a practicing Catholic.

I don't know what any of them are accused of saying, but disagreeing with the Church or criticizing the Church is not, in of itself, anti-Catholic.

I'm guessing most of these are just people you dislike because they're liberal. That's your right, it's a free country.

Maher, I'l grant you, is an ass.



TJM said...

Kavanaugh,

And Obama is still a bloodthirsty abortion love.

Here are a few "inconvenient facts" which blows holes in your pathetic narrative.

Trump, over the objections of their members, admitted Black and Jews to his country clubs.

Trump, has Jewish grandchildren, and appears to love them.

Al Sharpton and Jessee Jackson were big time Trump supporters UNTIL he switched over to the Party of Death (formerly, the Democratic Party).

Trump doesn't suffer fools, you know, people like you

Grow up

Anonymous said...

TJM:
On what evidence do you say that Trump "appears to love" his grandchildren? We don't even have proof that he loves his own wife or son.
Trump does indeed suffer fools, the kind that support him blindly no matter what he say or does. "Useful idiots," he would probably call them.

TJM said...

Kavanaugh,

I would say a "catholic" priest who supports the Abortion Party is a major league useful idiot. Why did you ignore the other 2 inconvenient points I raised? Because they are a matter of public record and not subject to interpretation.

Anonymous said...

Trump Club: But Trump didn’t literally buy a “segregated club,” as when he purchased Mar-a-Lago in 1985 it was a private estate and not a club. It wasn’t until the 1990s that Trump sought to convert the property into a private club, whereupon the town council imposed a series of restrictions upon his plans. Those restrictions didn’t require that Trump operate a segregated club; rather, Trump battled those restrictions, in part, by making the point that it was unseemly for the town to impose greater restrictions upon his plans to open an integrated club than they did upon existing segregated clubs.

1973: The US Department of Justice — under the Nixon administration, out of all administrations — sued the Trump Management Corporation for violating the Fair Housing Act. Federal officials found evidence that Trump had refused to rent to black tenants and lied to black applicants about whether apartments were available, among other accusations. Trump said the federal government was trying to get him to rent to welfare recipients. In the aftermath, he signed an agreement in 1975 agreeing not to discriminate to renters of color without admitting to discriminating before.

1991: A book by John O’Donnell, former president of Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, quoted Trump’s criticism of a black accountant: "Black guys counting my money! I hate it. The only kind of people I want counting my money are short guys that wear yarmulkes every day. … I think that the guy is lazy. And it’s probably not his fault, because laziness is a trait in blacks. It really is, I believe that. It’s not anything they can control." Trump at first denied the remarks, but later said in a 1997 Playboy interview that "the stuff O’Donnell wrote about me is probably true."

1992: The Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino had to pay a $200,000 fine because it transferred black and women dealers off tables to accommodate a big-time gambler’s prejudices.

June 2013: Trump tweets: "Sadly, the overwhelming amount of violent crime in our major cities is committed by blacks and hispanics [sic]." (This is false.)

When asked whether he would trust a Muslim judge in light of his proposed restrictions on Muslim immigration, Trump suggested that such a judge might not be fair to him either.

Not Kavanaugh, dammit said...

TJM, having found one nonsensical item in your post, why need I take the time to ascertain any truth in the rest?
I'm not getting paid for this.
We've been down this road before. Looking for true facts in your torrent of delusional gibberish is like picking poppy seeds out of the elephant dung.

Love ya, bro.

Anonymous said...

When we debate complex topics of national, global & theological signicance, the smart money’s not on the guy who can’t figure out which one’s Kavanaugh.

Anonymous said...

TJM's mythopoetic existence requires a singular bete noire in order for his peculiar vision of the world to operate smoothly.

I don't know who that might be in the world beyond this blog (and it is a wonderful, grace-filled world!), but I hope that person is as unperturbed as Fr. Kavanaugh.

Or, maybe, this blog is the place where TJM and his ilk can vent, sparing others the inanity and small-mindednesd we are subjected to hereabouts.

TJM said...

Kavanaugh, still a proud member of the Party of Intrinsic evil. Your parishioners deserve a Catholic priest, not you. If being pro-life makes me myopic and small minded, I am proud to be so accused.

Gene said...

Anon @ 11:18, Wow! Your Trump derangement syndrome has reached critical levels. Everything you list is your own extreme interpretation of Trump's beliefs. Believing in America and wanting her to be great is not "hyper-nationalism; it is patriotism and love of country. Calling Trump a fascist is completely hysterical behavior, which libs are prone to, anyway.

Anonymous said...

"Everything you list is your own extreme interpretation of Trump's beliefs."

Nope. They're what he says out loud. No "interpretation" needed.

Fascism is defined by the list above - Trump manifests them in spades.

The only hysterical ones are those who can't see the forest for the trees.

Anonymous said...

Patriotism is not loving your own country and pitting your country's wealth and power above that of others.

That is nationalism. What you and Trump believe is that your country is superior to all others because you were born in it. (see George Bernard Shaw)

As George Washington said, "Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism."

John Nolan said...

Fascism is a fusion of revolutionary socialism and nationalism. It presupposes a one-party state where the existing structures of government are paralleled by the structures of the party, with real power residing with the latter. The party mobilizes the masses by means of a uniformed militia whose loyalties are first and foremost to the party and its leader. Fascism believes in state ownership of the means of production, distribution and supply, and supports lavish spending on infrastructure projects and social welfare programmes.

Calling Trump a Fascist is no more accurate than calling Obama a Trotskyite.


Gene said...

America is superior to other countries economically, industrially, technologically, and militarily because that is just the way it is. History is a bitch, ain't it. Using one's wealth and power to achieve political goals vis a vis other countries is just fine. That is what internationalk politics is about. It is better than going to war...although we are superior in that category, too. Hey, the US is at the top of the food chain...live with it...or move to Bangladesh or North Korea. Yeah, move to North Korea and say the same things about that country that you say about this one. See how well that works out for you...loser.

TJM said...

John Nolan, I am sick and tired of providing fake catholic priests with a comfortable living, when they really need to go off the dole and support themselves as s barista at Starbucks. What say you?

John Nolan said...

Fascism advocates full employment and 'class struggle' replaced by 'class co-operation' (although it is the party which enforces this). In this respect it parts company with Bolshevism, which it resembles in many ways.

Fascism is opposed to contraception and easy abortion, since a diminution of population weakens the state militarily.

That does not mean that Fascism is a good thing.

However, our pluralistic democracy has a lot to answer for.

Anonymous's dictionary no doubt has as its primary definition of Fascist as 'someone who is seen by the extreme Left as opposing its views.'

I am not a citizen of the United States. However, since the end of the Second World War the US in pursuing its national interest has directly or indirectly benefited its allies. On occasions it has not, but these are of little significance when set against the big picture.

I cannot understand why the world's only superpower should feel inferior or consider its patriotism as somehow to be deprecated. I was a Cold War warrior, and when I say 'God Bless America' I mean it.

Anonymous said...

It's not a question of "superiority" or "inferiority."

A person from a poor country can and should feel every bit as patriotic toward his/her homeland as a person from a relatively wealthy country.

When the material wealth or military strength is mistaken for greatness, then there is a problem.

When the material wealth or military strength is mistaken for blessedness in God's eyes, there is a more serious problem.

When material wealth or military strength is mistaken for a "divine right" to do was one pleases without much or any regard for the needs of other nations, then the Church's teaching on the universal destination of goods is being ignored. And that is a most serious problem.

"It is better than going to war" may be "realpolitik," but it's not a preventative at all. It is a cause of war.

God-fearing Patriot said...

One of our great songs that is sung on certain dates and occasions is "God Bless America". We ask God for His blessings on our country and credit and thank Him for our country being so richly blessed...Yes, we credit and thank Him.
What do you think we are...some kind of pelagians?

Gene said...

Anonymous (Kavanaugh) @4:04, No one believes in Divine Right anymore. Your statement is hyperbole. Wealth, greatness, and military strength are the result of being blessed by God. If we believe that God works through history and judges nations through history, then we should very humbly give thanks for our blessedness. Indeed, we used to be comfortable calling ourselves a Christian nation. But, the pluralists, atheists, and the egalitarians have gradually, over the years, chipped away at that belief until too many are uncomfortable with it. I love going to ball games at private schools because they unashamedly and boldly pray to God "in the name of Jesus Christ" and then play the National Anthem with everyone standing with their hand over their heart. Many of the teachers begin the day with the Our Father. Holy Scripture is full of examples of what happens when a nation abandons God and when men refuse to confess Him openly...or when they fail to deal decisively with the enemies of the Faith. Perhaps we are not dealing nearly harshly enough with Islam, no. We are so drunk with our post-Enlightenment rationalism that we have lost our compass and are close to giving up our birthright. We need a Jonah.

Anonymous said...

"Wealth, greatness, and military strength are the result of being blessed by God."

Bunk.

When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”…

Wealth and power are fleeting. They do not signify "blessing" any more than physical beauty.

Anonymous said...

We all need to read Condoleeza Rice’s new book, “POLITICAL RISK”. Excellent.