“Social Justice” and the New Politics
The ground shifts beneath the Catholic left.
By George Neumayr | December 2010
The phrase “social justice,” when invoked by members of the Catholic left, is a euphemism for the agenda of the Democratic Party. “Social justice” refers not to objective principles of justice but to specific policies of Democrats on health care, labor, welfare, and other matters.
This is why the historic November defeat of Democrats was treated as such troubling news in many chanceries and Catholic university faculty lounges. Worried headlines, of the kind that were nowhere to be found in the Catholic left’s publications after the election of Barack Obama, suddenly appeared, such as Catholic San Francisco’s headline, “Social Justice Agenda in Jeopardy in US.”
America magazine also sounded an alarm. Steve Schneck, director of the Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies at the Catholic University of America, wrote in a piece on its website that the Church’s “years of efforts in America to support public policies that reflect its moral vision were dealt a blow Tuesday evening.”
The panic was understandable. After all, the Catholic left had invested a great deal in the success of the Democrats and in particular Barack Obama. Many nuns and priests voted for him, with some even openly serving on his “Catholic” campaign advisory committee; Catholic college presidents and faculties generously donated to his campaign (Georgetown, out of all college faculties, ranked second in donations); and Catholic public figures such as Doug Kmiec portrayed him as the very embodiment of the Church’s vision of “change.”
After he won the election, the Catholic left’s excitement grew still more. Notre Dame conferred upon him an honorary degree, and bishops such as Archbishop Michael Sheehan of New Mexico, afraid that criticism of Obama’s policies might make Catholics look like the “Amish,” made rationalizations for him. Kmiec, before departing for his ambassadorship to Malta, burbled victoriously that “President Obama has far more in common with our great faith tradition than any political administration in recent memory.”
Always late to an awareness that its trendy enthusiasms are no longer trendy, the Catholic left simply hadn’t anticipated the wave of anti-Obama feeling that swept over the country in 2010. Particularly galling to members of the Catholic left is that the Catholic vote contributed to the backlash and appears to be slipping away from the Democrats. In 2008, 55 percent of Catholics voted for the Democratic ticket. In 2010, 54 percent of Catholics voted for Republicans.
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“…most of the issues that the new Tea Party-driven politics has raised are prudential matters on which Catholics can disagree.”
What if you are a Hispanic Catholic that the Tea Party would like to summarily deport, family ties and long-term residency notwithstanding?
What if you have a pre-existing medical condition and would not be able to get health insurance without the recently passed healthcare reform?
Those prudential matters suddenly become very urgent family burdens, potentially matters of life and death. I am looking for political leaders of whatever religion who are truly pro-family on multiple fronts. One might say I am looking for a compassionate conservative, but the administration with that slogan didn’t work out very well.
Citizens are not subject to deportation.
Here is an experiment.
Buy a car, wreck it (make to do it without risk of injury to anyone), and then get insurance for the wrecked car. Tell me if the auto insurance company will cover pre-existing damage.
I think political articles like this does your group a disservice. It becomes less “Marriage is sacred” and more “Marriage is a political ideology.” While many people who support gay marriage are democrats/liberal/etc, the tone on this site, especially on articles like this makes say, socially liberal catholics who are cool with civil unions, not so much marriage, not “good enough” or otherwise unwelcome.
(Yes, yes you guys are cool with civil unions too, it was in the post right after blaming “leftists” for everything wrong in the world)
But in all honesty, if this group is supposed to be all about marriage and it’s preservation, stick to that. If it’s about conservative politics, then be upfront about it and stop disguising it as just protecting marriage.
Michael,
Consider the plight of a child who was brought at the age of one or two to America from Mexico by his or her parents. He has now an adult and has grown up American and has committed no crimes. He speaks only English and knows no one in Mexico. He wants to and is able to make a contribution to American society. He is not technically a citizen, but would like to be. Should he (or she) be deported? The American Dream Act is designed to address such a situation.
Consider the plight of a child who is born with or who develops a medical condition that is covered under his or her parent’s medical insurance. How can such a person obtain insurance as an adult if companies are always free to deny coverage and if government does not provide public heath insurance? Health care reform was designed in part to address such a situation.
Does Catholic theology or any variety of Christian or other religious thought offer any guidance in such situations?
Leo, you’re wasting your breath. These people are against families they don’t approve of, like families headed by same-sex couples. It’s pathetic.
Insurance companies do not cover pre-existing conditions. You can not get fire insurance to cover pre-existing fire damage to your house, and you can not get auto insurance to cover pre-existing collision damage to your car. Why is health insurance different?
Blame all the insurance companies all you want, but they are not the reason health care is expensive. Doctors are. And making insurance companies pay for the health care only shifts the burden. The costs of health care can not be addressed effectively until there are strong price controls on health care.
Fire insurance does cover a building that burns down due to a hidden electrical problem dating back to the building’s construction. Auto insurance does cover an accident that was caused by a defect the the car’s design. I am not blaming the insurance companies. They will play by the rules the government sets. That is why all insurance is to some extent regulated.
Back to the Dream Act. I believe the Hispanic vote is the key to many future elections. The GOP alienated California Hispanics, and has never recovered from that. The GOP courted Hispanic votes in Texas and remains in power. Hispanics tend to social conservatism and economic liberalism.
“Why is health insurance different?”
Because we’re talking about human beings, not cars or houses. Human beings have families to support, jobs to do, and generally need to be healthy to participate in, and contribute to, society.
Once everyone is insured, there will no longer be any concern about “pre-existing conditions”: the concept will be meaningless.