It has been a few weeks since the Presidential election,
which ended with a surprise victory by Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton. Much has been written about the reasons why
it went the way it did. For the purpose
of this blog post, I will focus on spiritual, personal, and moral factors, as
opposed to political and social realities.
Here are some of my thoughts:
1)
The
outcome of the election cannot be explained by natural factors alone. Donald Trump had to have everything break his way. He had to win every swing state, and flip one or two “blue” states. Right
up until the early evening the day of the election, every pundit was
proclaiming it would be a Clinton victory, and most were predicting it would be
a decisive one at that. To have the
outcome occur the way it did, considering everything that had to happen, is
just too miraculous to be explained by social and political factors alone. How
could it be that in every swing state, and in several “blue” states, it went
the way it did, that voters for Trump came out in numbers, while voters who
would have voted Democrat stayed home?
If just a few more minorities had come out, and voted the way they
normally do, this Trump surge would still have not been enough. If just some of the people who ultimately
decided to vote for Trump who had voted for Obama twice had decided to stay
home, or vote for Clinton, the outcome would have been different. So much had to happen for Trump to win. The fact that it did defies natural
explanation, in my opinion.
2)
One of
those aforementioned supernatural factors at play was prayer. There were a lot of people, especially in the
last days of the campaign, and on Election Day itself, praying and fasting for a
good result to the election. I want to
state one thing clearly, and this is my observation only based on my reading of
the tea leaves. People were not praying for Trump
to win. They were praying for Clinton
not to be elected. I can assure you that was the case with me,
as well. I know this may seem like
splitting hairs, but it is critical that we point that distinction out. Clinton represented a clear threat to the
mission of the Catholic Church. Under
her administration, the Church and her various agencies would have to comply
with mandate after mandate that would force one to violate his or her seriously
held religious beliefs, be it forced birth control, abortion, or acceptance of
the active homosexual lifestyle. One
could easily see the Church, by not going along with these evils, or by
speaking out against them, being threatened with fines, release of tax exempt
status, or maybe imprisonment in extreme circumstances. A Clinton administration, through laws,
mandates, and Supreme Court appointments, would also spell the end of any
chance of any reasonable restrictions being put on access to abortion and
contraception, as well as any chance for states who wanted to defend traditional
marriage not to have to fund programs that supported a homosexual agenda. I believe God heard the persistent and
desperate pleas of many at prayer, and he intervened. I watched the election results online on a
program run by a Catholic website called Church Militant, and every so often,
they would stop their analysis of the results, and pray a Hail Mary, and a few
other prayers, and then return to election coverage. It was a powerful experience, and it was a
night and early morning I will never forget.
I went down on my knees several times throughout the evening, and when it
became final early in the morning, I felt a joy that I will never forget
hopefully. The Lord is alive!
3)
One
cannot put the immigration issue on the same level as the abortion issue. I respectfully disagree with those
in the Church, who expressing concern with Trump’s seeming position on
immigration, seem to be disappointed with the outcome of the election. I agree we should be welcoming to all
people. Our Lord, after all, was a migrant
immigrant. However, it is justified to
put some restrictions on immigration out of security concerns. In a group of immigrants, especially from
countries with a heavy ISIS or Al Qaeda presence, there could be some coming to
cause trouble and to prevent that, it is OK to restrict access until reliable
vetting procedures are in place. Now, I
ask this; when is an unborn baby ever a threat? It never is. Therefore, it is never justified to end the
life of an innocent child. There is a
major difference, and those who seek to equate the two may have noble ideals
and goals, but they are misguided in their moral thinking.
4)
Regarding
the concerns of racism, bigotry, homophobia, and misogyny, I do not believe
they are founded. I believe those who take Trump seriously do
not take him literally. Those who take
him literally do not take him seriously.
One who studies Trump seriously would not come to the conclusion that he
is a racist or hates women. The same
holds true for Pence on the homophobia issue.
Just because one does not support the lifestyle of active homosexuals,
and therefore, does not support same sex marriage, does not make him or her a
bigot. One can love the homosexual
person without supporting his or her sexual actions. (Please refer to my blog post, “Tough
Teachings: Same Sex Marriage”, for details explaining this teaching.) To
those of you upset or distraught about the result of the election, I plead with
you to give the new administration a chance.
I believe with all my heart this was the best outcome for everyone; man,
woman, child, white, minority, straight, and gay alike. You are better off today not just
economically and politically, but spiritually and morally.
5)
Even if
those concerns were founded, it does not mean their opponent was qualified to hold
office, either. Despite all this,
let’s say for argument’s sake I am wrong and Trump and Pence are indeed racist,
bigoted, and homophobic. This means they dislike minorities, women, and
homosexuals. If they would enact policies that discriminate against them, that
would be wrong, and that would disqualify them from being worthy of office. But consider this; those who support abortion
are OK with killing all of the above
if that minority, female, or homosexual person is still in their mother’s
womb. It is one thing to dislike or be prejudiced
against someone, and it is awful to be that way. But is an entirely different level to be OK
with the killing of them in certain circumstances. Those who are OK with that, in my view, are
disqualified to hold office. That is why
Clinton could not be considered worthy of office.
6)
The
Catholic Church is off life support for now. She would have been on life support in the
event of a Clinton victory. Now, she is
breathing on her own. But, if she sticks
to “unhealthy” habits, she could once again in the near future be put on life
support again, not by government powers, but by her own doing. She must continue the healthy habits that so
many of her members practiced in earnest over the final days of the Election,
namely prayer and fasting. She must also
give alms like never before. This
unexpected victory was an unmerited gift from God for the Church, one we
honestly did not deserve considering how lukewarm we have been living our
Faith. In this closing
month of the Year of Mercy, Our Lord, through the intercession of Our Lady, has
performed a miracle, one perhaps last great act of mercy for our nation and the
Church. Our desperate prayers were answered. He is giving us another chance. Life
and religious liberty won. But we must
now not forget God again as we have in the past. We must continue to pray, and
must do more good than more good than we ever have before. Let us not squander this opportunity. If we do, next time, we may incur God’s
justice instead of His mercy.
7)
I
am grateful to God. God has
performed several miracles recently in my life, and this was one of them. The words of Mary in her Magnificat ring true
for me as much now as perhaps at any other time in my life. It was not just
what just happened, but there are other things, too, going on in my life, that
are causing me to rejoice. I echo her beautiful words, "My
soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my
Savior. For he has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up
the lowly." (Luke 1:46-49).
Good Saint Joseph, Spouse of the
Mother of God, Head of the Holy Family, and Protector of Holy Church, continue
to pray and intercede for us.
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