Reflections on the American Culture War and the 4th of July

The new civil war has no army and has no set territories. It is a cultural war that knows no boundaries.  The battle between the culture of life and the culture of death affects every city, every family, every business, every school, and every church community.  This new civil war is even more intense than the first one.  The culture war of today is dramatic and very challenging.   What will bring about a new birth of freedom and morality? America will change if Americans get back to God. Today, faithful Catholics face a battle on two fronts: the culture war in society and the polarization in our own Church. 

align="justify">CORPUS CHRISTI, TX (Catholic Online)  - "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" (The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776).

We have heard and read these famous words many times.  Yet, it should be interesting for us to note that of the three fundamental rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, the founding fathers of our nation recognize life as the first of these three unalienable rights. 

Freedom and the pursuit of happiness are impossible without the fundamental right to life. 

If anyone has the right to terminate the life of an innocent human being, not only are those who are being terminated no longer equal under the law, but proponents of abortion are laying the ground work for choices to be made about the extermination of other groups of people.

Was this not the case in Nazi Germany?  Not only were Jews, Gypsies and Catholics considered less equal than others, but a favored few took upon themselves the right to determine which individuals had the right to live. 

Is not this the case of slavery?  Not only were Africans considered to be less equal, but also once again the strong exerted their power over the weak, giving themselves the right to choose who would be enslaved and who would go free.

If a woman has the right to kill her baby, what is to keep a sniper from executing his next victim?  If a doctor has the right to murder an innocent child, what is to keep a child from killing his own classmates?  If a hospital has a right to sponsor homicide, what is to keep a state from supporting terrorists?

The right to life is the most fundamental of all rights.  All other rights depend upon the right to life.  Abortion is a horrific evil claiming over 4,000 lives every day.

Man is not autonomous.  He is created by God and therefore, must live in union with his creator.  When humanity rebels against God the results are obvious for all to see in the news every day. 

James Madison, the fourth president of our nation and one of our founding fathers once said, "We have staked the whole of all our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."

As you walk up the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court, you can see Moses holding the Ten Commandments. As you enter into the Supreme Court courtroom, the two huge oak doors have the Ten Commandments engraved on each lower portion of each door.  As you sit inside the courtroom, the Ten Commandments are displayed right above where the Supreme Court judges sit.

The Fifth Commandment states, "Thou shall not kill".  On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court legalized abortion in America. 

The first civil war took place from 1861 - 1865.  The horror of slavery was not the only cause of the war, but it was certainly the main issue at hand. 

The new civil war has no army and has no set territories. It is a cultural war that knows no boundaries.  The battle between the culture of life and the culture of death affects every city, every family, every business, every school, and every church community.  This new civil war is even more intense than the first one. 

The culture war of today is dramatic and very challenging.   What will bring about a new birth of freedom and morality?

America will change if Americans get back to God.

"If my people who bear my name, humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I myself will hear from heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land" (Second Book of Chronicles: 7; 14)

Today, faithful Catholics face a battle on two fronts: the culture war in society and the polarization in our own Church.  Too many Catholics are pro-abortion.  Too many members of the clergy refuse to take stand against abortion and against pro-abortion Catholic politicians. 

This is a battle that is not easy to handle and it is possible for people to feel discouraged and overwhelmed.  What we need from the clergy is leadership and encouragement.  They too need to be at the abortion clinics of our nation.  It is easy to hide inside our churches and offices.  We need to bring the cause of life to the streets.  We need to challenge the conscience of a nation.  

The overwhelming demands of family life, the constant struggle to be faithful within a nation dominated by the culture of death, the weariness that may be caused by years of commitment to the pro-life apostolate can cause occasional discouragement.   We will find our strength in the Lord. 

On this 4th of July weekend let us look once again to the Statue of Liberty.  Emma Lazarus (1849-1887) was one of the first successful Jewish American authors, and was celebrated in her time as an important American poet.  She is best known for her immortal words that are engraved on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.  Her poem, "The Great Colossus", continues to inspire Americans on how we think about freedom.

"Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

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Father James Farfaglia, the Happy Priest, is the pastor of Saint Helena of the True Cross of Jesus Catholic Church in Corpus Christi, Texas.  Father has a hard hitting blog calledIllegitimi non carborundum.  He has also published a book called Man to Man: A Real Priest Speaks to Real Men about Marriage, Sexuality and Family Life.  You can contact Father at fjficthus@gmail.com.

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