UP Ibalon Bicol: US Presidential Election and the Catholic Vote

US Presidential Election and the Catholic Vote

10/16/2008 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post

"Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.”---John Quincy Adams

Two weeks from the US presidential election, the economy is still the main issue that drives the choice of voters. With Sen. Barack Obama on the lead, Americans are still angry and confused. Months of explaining, he and Sen. John McCain have not really succeeded in making their platforms fully understood.

The Americans have a mouthful of promises from both candidates, but they aren’t sure. Partly because of the complexity of the issues, they rely on impressions and gut feelings to arrive on a decision. At the third and last presidential debate at Hofstra University in New York, on October 15, 2008, the two candidates will try again. Amid fears of recession and global depression, they will convince the undecided voters who are likely to influence the outcome of this election.

“Wall Street greed, Fannie, Freddie, and others have been accused of destroying our economic system. But few are willing to admit that without a firm commitment to restoring the foundations of our country – namely, a dedication to protecting life, faith, and families – no economic bailout will ultimately work. We need something more than money.

The common thread connecting bad loans, greedy bankers, and power hungry politicians is the selfish disregard for our fellow human beings. Our culture has reduced people to objects and playthings, to be selfishly exploited, profited from, and discarded when they are no longer useful.

Politicians who pledge to protect the "right" to kill innocent children are deceiving all of us when they promise to help the innocent unemployed and uninsured. Don’t fall for their lies!

Many people accuse pro-life advocates such as CatholicVote.com of being single-issue voters. The assumption is that we don’t care about the economy, health care, or the poor. But they have it exactly backwards.” CatholicVote.com (10/15/08, Bruch, B)

The Catholics of America comprising about a third of the entire Christians in the United States with whom many Filipinos are affiliated by faith doesn’t have a major sway on the votes.

However, they are encouraged to see issues not only through the contracted prism of the economy, but on the whole culture the United States is heading. Specifically, the American Catholic clergy preaches against abortion which makes the contraceptive debate in the Philippines look puny.

Unlike Filipinos, most of the American public doesn't think of artificial contraception vs. natural family planning as problem to resolve. Catholics and other Protestant denominations are taught more against killing the unborn, dishonesty, corruption, materialism, stem cell research, gay marriage, exploitation of the poor and helpless---issues which have been sidelined by the urgency of the economic problems.

America is gearing towards the extremes of secular liberalism and it doesn't augur well for the future of Christianity and its moral tenets. The financial crisis is likely to stay (whoever wins in the presidential election.) It will probably stretch the coping mechanisms of the United States and the rest of the world.

Like those who have been repeatedly put down by the empty promises of Wall Street, the citizens who get carried away by eloquent words without reviewing records of action and credibility will likely be disappointed. With a biased liberal media tipping away from core conservative values, Americans, like the rest of the world, have little to depend on except themselves. They need to understand the small print in the candidate's resume and platform. With two weeks to go, there is still time to think so one can vote wisely. (Photo Credits: cstein96; www.mmpcharity.org) =0=

“Let us more and more insist on raising funds of love, of kindness, of understanding, of peace. Money will come if we seek first the Kingdom of God - the rest will be given.“---Mother Teresa

Labels: abortion, Catholic, economy, faith, Mother Teresa, politics, religion, US Elections 2008

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