Catholicism at its Best:

I was at the Roosevelt Memorial and was struck by how moving these words were, and how they are able to resonate even today!
The life of a Catholic person who is attempting to be deliberate, who is attempting to be peaceful is sometimes tricky. Yet, that is what it means to be Catholic- right- to be based in a universal mindset- to be able to engage the "both/and" to move beyond an "either/or" mind set. That is the trick

I went to an event here in DC at one of the Catholic Worker houses with my new good friends, Molly and her beau Tobias (both very lovely people). We were watching the new documentary Rethink Afghanistan. It was a good movie, which had a good premise and had filmed some intense footage and made some good points in the movie. I found a couple of the points troubling however. Let me share them now…
• While I do believe that President Obama has made some campaign promises, I do believe that it would be prudent to allow the man some time to attend to some of the promises he made. In this video the producers seemed to be blaming President Obama for the fact that the US is currently involved in a war in the Middle East. What I find disturbing is that the US has been involved in this war for the last 7-8 years. I would venture to say that it was the agenda of the previous administration that took the US into a war mentality and promoted an agenda of war.
• There was also a person who took part in the discussion whom I found to be violently non-violent. This person’s voice trembled with anger when they spoke, there was such an edge of bitterness and an absolutist tone of finality in speech. I really began to wonder about the ability to compromise. This is a tricky spot I know- I am not pro-war, I do not believe in violence in any shape and try so very hard not to live a life in which reflects this strong stance. Sometimes I fail and sometimes I succeed. What I do find imperatives though, is the need to ensure that there is always room for dialogue. I find that this best takes place when a person is open and has an ability to bring about informed discussion (I struggle with that piece as well).
So, with those points in mind I could not help but to think about a man whom I know very well. We lived together or 18 years who is currently stationed in Iraq. I do not believe that he is misguided, I do not believe that he is trying to harm people. I believe that he is doing what he thinks is best to be of service to men and women and children in this world. Do I agree with his methodology-no, but I appreciate his determination to be of service. Happy birthday Joel- I love you!a