Avoiding Political Labels
Avoiding Political Labels
By Fr. Jerry Pokorsky ( bio - articles - email ) | Sep 23, 2020
https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/avoiding-political-labels/
Each of us is unique. We naturally don’t like others to pigeonhole us, to fix us with superficial labels.
In an election year, it is unfair to suggest that thinking members of any political party agree with the entire party platform. This, in a nutshell, is the reason why it may be unfair to condemn as immoral the policy positions of individual members of a certain political party. As the old joke has it, do not allow 95% of lawyers (or doctors, politicians, or clergymen) to give the rest a bad name.
We priests are told that we cannot suggest that voting for members of a specific political party is morally off-limits, just because the party dogmatically holds abortion as a human right. There are always exceptions to that party line, we are reminded. Members of that party dodge criticism by deftly parsing the nuances of platform positions.
During the Second Vatican Council, the bishops did not formally condemn Communism by name. Probably that was because there were many Marxist theorists on hand, who would have objected to any negative characterization of Communist ideology. Still, those with the eyes to see could recognize the ideologies that the Council Fathers did condemn.
So, in the “spirit of Vatican II,” and for purposes of illustration, here is a lexicon for a purely hypothetical American political party: a party whose purposes would be so evidently evil that no Catholic could vote for its candidates without being guilty of grave sin.
A woman’s right to choose: Abortion
Reproductive freedom: Abortion
Unalienable human right: Abortion
Progressive: Pro-abortion
Inclusive: Abortion for everyone
Science: Evidence providing the right to abortion
Qualified nominee to the Supreme Court: A jurist with known pro-abortion sentiments
Sex education: Teaching children about abortion
Change: Enacting pro-abortion legislation
Compassion: Free abortion
Climate change: The result of restricting abortions
Racism: Restricting access to abortion
Racist: Someone who opposes abortion for all people
Planned Parenthood (1): An organization that specializes in providing abortion to women of color
Planned Parenthood (2): Abortion-industrial complex
Single issue voter: Someone for whom opposition to abortion is the primary issue
Crossing the aisle: Cooperating with pro-abortion politicians in the opposing party
Compromise: Ensuring the right to abortion remains in a piece of legislation
Budget cut: Defunding abortion
Divisive: Speaking ill of abortion
Hypocrisy: Opposition to abortion
Judgmental: Calling abortion a sin
Moderate: One who rejects socialism but is pro-abortion
Poor: People in need of free abortion
Bipartisan: Funding Planned Parenthood abortion facilities
Ultra-conservative: People who oppose abortion
Fundamentalist: Bible-believing people who oppose abortion
The herd mentality: Organized opposition to abortion
Mainstream media: Pro-abortion media personalities
Common ground: United in pro-abortion advocacy
Diversity: Multi-cultural abortion advocacy
Alt-right media: Networks that permit anti-abortion media personalities
New World Order: International abortion rights
Shipping lanes: Delivering abortion fetal material to the world
Abortion: A very lucrative human trafficking business
Dystopia: A world without abortion
