Post-Election Meditation

Two thoughts occupy my mind as I contemplate the results of this week’s election.  The first is, “What will become of our country over the next four years?”  The second is, “It’s hard to be hateful when you’re grateful.”   Let me explain each separately. 

Several years ago a book entitled The Tipping Point ,by Malcolm Gladwell, was a best seller for quite a while. It’s about sociological change, what causes it, and how it can happen so quickly.  Gladwell described trends that seem to come out of nowhere and sweep the nation, changing styles, behavior and even language and beliefs. In his exploration of this phenomenon, he describes a small subset of people who can have a huge influence in changing our styles, trends and culture.   He categorizes them as Connectors (masters of social media), Mavens (intellectuals) and Salesmen (charismatic persuaders), each playing a specific but crucial role in effecting changes that spread rapidly, almost like a virus, changing styles, attitudes and beliefs.  It’s a fascinating book and I won’t elaborate on it here, but I believe our nation is close to a “tipping point” brought about by a small group of people whose ability to shape thinking, spread ideas, and sell them to the public has moved our country “forward” in a new direction.

At the risk of sounding melodramatic, I believe our country is headed in a new direction.  The Democrats and President Obama are transforming America from the country that has become to the most prosperous in the world, to one in which the redistribution of wealth and economic equality are the highest priorities, even if it means racking up mountains of debt while inhibiting the creation of new jobs.  They have redefined the pursuit of happiness as the right to do whatever we please, as long as it makes us happy, rather than the opportunity to succeed through ambition and hard work.  According to the Democratic platform, civil liberty is granted by the state which now funds contraception, abortion, and eventually, euthanasia, to ensure that no one is inconvenienced by unwanted children or illness in old age.  Religious liberty has been redefined as the right to worship in private, but not the right to act according to our beliefs, if those beliefs are contrary to the wisdom of the government. Those who disagree with government decrees and mandates will be fined or prosecuted for intolerance and refusal to act according to government dictates.  Freedom is no longer an inalienable right, but one granted by government, subject to the state’s definition of marriage, morality and fairness.

On election day we learned that a majority of Americans agree with this new direction.  We seem to have forgotten that America’s amazing prosperity has been the result of the freedom to succeed on the basis of ambition and hard work, not the redistribution of wealth in pursuit of economic equality.  Entrepreneurs who make sacrifices, take risks, and succeed in creating jobs, are now categorized as selfishly refusing to pay their “fair share,” despite the fact that the top 10% of income earners pay 71% of all taxes, while 47% pay no tax at all.   People of deep religious conviction are now considered bigots for their intolerance of this new social doctrine which has redefined marriage, morality, and even the right to life, which has been superseded by the right to privacy.  This is the liberal ideology that people voted to continue, defining it as moving “forward.”

Conservatives on the other hand, believe that a robust economy is not only an economic imperative, it is a moral and cultural imperative as well.  What made America the economic powerhouse it has become, is the belief that prosperity is linked to creativity, responsibility and generosity, not the redistribution of wealth.  According to Catholic social doctrine, as described by Pope John Paul II in his 1983 and 1991 encyclicals, empowerment of the underprivileged depends on a robust economy which gives everyone access to honorable work which makes it possible for them to be responsible for their own lives and the lives of their loved ones.  In those same encyclicals, the pope warned about the creation of a nanny state in which social welfare discouraged the virtues of self-reliance and hard work.  The pope also explained that in the post-industrial world, wealth resides not so much in natural resources as in human creativity, skills, work habits, and entrepreneurial instincts. 

Have we abandoned these beliefs in favor of social equity, as enforced by the state who has declared itself the arbiter of the new morality?  Have the mavens of liberal doctrine succeeded in discarding the traditions and principals that resulted in America becoming the most free and most prosperous nation in the world?  President Obama has promised a “fundamental transformation of America.”  It seems he is succeeding in this promise, and perhaps we are a tipping point in this new direction.  Or not.

My second thought on all this is that despite the angst of the election, and all the disappointment among the slight minority of voters who opposed the president, all is not lost.  America is still the most free nation in the world.  Secularism, while on the rise, has not yet won the battle for hearts and minds. If we dwell on the negative aspects of the election, it would be easy to adopt a cynical point of view which only contributes to the polarization of our nation.  The old adage, “It’s hard to be hateful when you’re grateful” is worth remembering, especially now.  We have much to be grateful for, and must never take our freedom and prosperity for granted.  Although liberals would have us move in the direction of Europe, where the combination of secularism and socialism have destroyed economies, we are still far better off than any other nation in the world.   As recent census data shows, demographic trend favors conservatism.  Liberals have fewer children, and over time the conservative population will grow faster.  Moreover, the effects of liberalism will soon become evident as our economy heads into the fiscal cliff.  It’s only a matter of time before we come to our senses with respect to deficit spending which cannot go on forever.  I’m confident the pendulum will swing back to the right as the effects of liberalism become more evident.  In the meanwhile, let’s all give thanks for our free nation and redouble our efforts to pray for a return to the virtues and values that have made America the envy of the world.