Louis R. Avallone

Category: Foreign Policy

Kicking the Can

“Kicking the can down the road” is to put off confronting a difficult issue or making an important decision, typically on a continuing basis. Basically, it’s postponing the inevitable. It’s one of the reasons our elected officials won’t fix anything, and why they haven’t fixed Medicare or Social Security. Or tax reform and illegal immigration. Or education.

And, it turns out, “kicking the can down the road” is also how North Korea developed the capability to produce a nuclear blast twice that of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945.

You see, it was President Clinton who cleared the way for North Korea to go nuclear in 1994 by offering them oil, in return for them abandoning the production of plutonium, which is a key ingredient in nuclear weapons. President Clinton said, at the time, the agreement represents “an end to the threat of nuclear proliferation on the Korean Peninsula.” But soon afterwards, North Korea would be cheating on that agreement by developing highly enriched uranium, and the Clinton administration ended up “kicking the can” to the next President.

That’s when President Bush reneged on the oil reserves Clinton had promised to North Korea, but by then, the nuclear genie was already out of the bottle. North Korea now had little incentive to negotiate away its storehouse of plutonium or to stop enriching uranium, and the can was “kicked” to the next President, again.

By the time President Obama was elected, he was implementing his self-styled “strategic patience” policy (or “do nothing” policy) with regards to North Korea, even after learning from U.S. intelligence sources in 2013 that North Korea was capable of constructing miniaturized nuclear weapons that could be used as warheads for missiles. Still, Obama said he did not believe that North Korea could make a nuclear weapon small enough to fit atop a missile.

That ended up being a miscalculation on his part and he ended up “kicking the can” too.

So now, here we are with President Trump. Knowing this path from 1994 to 2017 helps explain why Trump said last month that the United States would unleash on North Korea its “fire, fury and frankly power, the likes of which this world has never seen before.” You see, Trump realizes, he has no place to “kick the can” and has to fix this right now.

Of course, liberals nearly had a conniption fit when he started talking tough about North Korea. They said this proves he is mentally unfit, or is otherwise suffering from a personality disorder of some kind. This makes it plain, they argue, that he does not take the advice of experts because he makes brash statements without regard to official State Department protocol. Some even say the White House is guided “based what side of the bed Trump got up on in the morning.”

Of course, compared to folks like Bill, Hillary, Barack, and Bernie, who all feel that climate change is the greatest threat facing America, it’s hard for liberals to see Trump’s hawkish comments as anything other than being completely off the rails.

But what is Trump’s alternative, really? By doing nothing, or continuing Obama’s “strategic patience” policy, we can lose everything – including our country. And yet many Americans condemn Trump’s strong words as being the language of a right-wing loon – they’re afraid of being politically incorrect.

Yet we have terrorism around the world. Iran is moving ever closer to nuclear capability and is a state-sponsor of terrorism. Russia is aligning itself with North Korea, along with anyone who thumbs their nose at the United States. And China is modernizing its weapons with fighter jets, developing hypersonic missiles, and building ballistic missile submarines.

Plus, our own nation’s borders are so porous that even the U.S. Border Patrol admits that they don’t know who is coming across the border, or whether they wish us well or ill.

And yet we have folks worried about Trump’s strong words for Kim Jung Un.

The bottom line is that the strong words from this President, whether about North Korea or any other matter, reflect his conviction that we can no longer “kick the can.” We’re at the end of our road, and without decisive action from this President, we’re going to end up with more than just a stubbed toe.

September 27, 2017
Let Freedom Ring

The 2016 campaign for president is over.

And for millions of Americans this past election day, our country chose to let go of the past, and start anew.

Today, it seems easier to recognize the abusive-like relationships that our country has gravitated towards, and clung to, over the past 50 years. Even though we knew better, we kept electing candidates for public office that were more interested in their welfare, than in ours. We supported one political party (or another) because they told us how much they cared, but never really helped us, at all.

We kept accepting a watered down, blurred-line between what’s right and what’s not, just so that we might keep the peace for one more day, and be liked, rather than laughed at. It’s been more convenient to stuff our true feelings and be silent, or tolerate things that deep inside just didn’t feel right, so we might not be called names, or called into the court of public opinion.

You see, many in abusive relationships simply don’t know what healthy relationships look like. And if you have grown up in an environment where you feel like you need permission from government to make even simple decisions, such as what doctor to use, or even how to spend your money, such as being forced to buy increasingly more expensive health insurance, then you may not recognize how unhealthy your relationship here is, in the first place.

If you have only known relationships where you are blamed for others’ problems and unhappiness, by having your income taxed more and more, and still being accused of not doing enough, or putting enough skin in the game, then your relationship may seem normal to you. If you are belittled and trivialized for your feelings, such your concern about our border with Mexico, even though our government refuses to prosecute those here illegally, for the murderous crimes they commit – then yes, it may all seem normal to you.

But it’s not. Not by a long shot. And if those blaming or belittling you happen to be popular, and likeable, it makes letting go of the relationship even harder, because who would take your side anyway, especially if you might be viewed as a bigot, a racist, or uncaring by speaking out?

Maybe they call you names like “deplorables”, or humiliate you, put you down, and make fun of you in front of other people, by saying you “cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people” who aren’t like you? Maybe they demean your faith, calling Catholicism “severely backward,” and “a middle ages dictatorship?”

Maybe it’s their dishonesty or disloyalty to you that make the relationship abusive, such as Hillary Clinton using a private email server, exposing classified, national security information, and putting our families at risk, all while pretending she didn’t know what she was doing. Or how about so-called journalists who secretly championed one candidate, while smearing all the others, cheating during the debates, and still pretending to be impartial stewards of the truth?

For others, an abusive relationship is being with someone who is consistently irresponsible and unwilling, or unable, to handle their responsibilities. Maybe that is like Secretary Clinton protecting our embassy that was burned-down, and those American killed in Benghazi? Or keeping American forces in Iraq to contain the spread of ISIS throughout the world, regardless of the popularity of doing such. Maybe it’s running up our national debt to nearly $20 trillion since 2009, even though economic growth has been the slowest in our nation’s history, and the number of people unemployed has never been higher.

Yes, it was inevitable that this day would come. A point where we, the people, became aware that must let go of the abusive relationships of the past and realize that the pain of remaining in them, simply outweigh the desire to just keep “working it out”.

That time for change is now.

Today, the continued corruption from the Clintons seems less inevitable, and more intolerable. The media charade of objectivity is even less convincing now, but more contemptible than ever before.

Career politicians seem more temporary, and the right to bear arms seems more certain. Our faith is less like something we must hide in the shadows, and more like something we can discuss in the town square.

Our allies, like Israel, will trust again that we have their back, and Iran will never extort our nation again for $150 billion.

It seems more likely today that genuinely affordable healthcare will be made available for more Americans than ever before, that our border will be secure, the jobs shipped overseas will return, and our laws, like our nation, will be restored to their rightful and respectful position in the world.

And while I wrote this column several days before the November 8 election, I could be wrong about who is President-elect right now, but I don’t think I am, though.

For whoever is being inaugurated in January, and for the reasons explained above, they will be President of a country whose voters have been changed forever by this election, for “a mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.”

So, let freedom ring, and may God bless America.

November 9, 2016
Can’t Get Comfortable With That

They are not “comfortable” voting for Donald Trump, they say. Ted Cruz. John Kasich. Lindsey Graham. And now more than 75 Republicans have signed a letter urging that the Republican Party spend the party’s money on helping secure the Republican majority in the Senate, and not on Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

You are not comfortable? Not comfortable? Pardon me, but I don’t give a damn about your comfort. This election isn’t just about you, or your namby-pamby “wow, I’m a big kid now” culture of “what’s in it for me”.

How “comfortable” was the First Infantry Division when they hit the beach at Omaha, knowing they would not likely survive the German snipers firing at them, as their landing craft doors swung open, during the D-Day invasion in 1944?

How “comfortable” is the mother or father who watches their son or daughter go off to war, not knowing exactly where they are, or if they will ever see them again? Not knowing if they are enduring heat and hunger, or surviving mortar fire and roadside bombs?

How “comfortable” were the American soldiers in the Revolutionary War, who were merely a group of civilians fighting the most formidable and professional army in the world, not to mention the world’s greatest navy? Or how “comfortable” were those who signed our Declaration of Independence, sacrificing their own lives and property, for the belief that our rights are granted unto us by our Creator, while committing High Treason against Great Britain and their sovereign, King George the 3^rd, in the process?

If this is the type of discomfort you feel you are experiencing, perhaps you can muddle through the pain, and choose the candidate most likely to protect our Constitutional principles, because it’s what our country needs, and not just because of what you want.

Yes, we are all grieving the loss of the America we grew up in, and the erosion of the fundamental values that provided us all with a sense of security, identity and purpose as proud Americans. No, we didn’t always agree, but at least we felt like we could make a difference.

And now, we no longer feel in control of our own lives. Well, how “comfortable” does that make you feel?

How “comfortable” are you that government has seemingly crept into every nook and cranny, and that we can’t choose our doctor anymore, or the curriculum being taught in our schools, or even practice our religion in some instances, without being bullied into silence. How “comfortable” are you that we can’t even recite the Pledge of Allegiance “under God” without being sued? Or that we’re paying more and more taxes each year, and that household incomes are the lowest they’ve been in 20 years, and that 94 million Americans are not even working right now – how “comfortable” does that make you feel?

How “comfortable” are you that any human being, whether they are Secretary of State or the secretary in your office at work, would lie to a grieving mother about how and why their son lost his life, like Hillary Clinton did about Benghazi?

Some say they still cannot vote for Trump. He doesn’t look or sound the part. Some are considering voting for a Libertarian Party candidate, or not voting at all. Some have even said that they will vote for Hillary. Admittedly, they just aren’t “comfortable” with any of the choices.

If this describes you, please reconsider how “comfortable” you have been over the past eight (8) years because a Hillary Clinton administration will essentially be the second game in a double-header of a major league baseball game where both teams end up losing.

She wants to raise taxes on the middle class (saying everyone should pay their “fair share”) and she will continue deficit spending and increasing our federal debt with a $275 billion federal investment in public works spending. Her national security policy will be more of the same that allowed ISIS to gain power and become the world’s most dangerous organization, and her immigration policy will simply promote more sanctuary cities where people in our country illegally can evade prosecution of our laws and conceal themselves long enough to attack our homeland, all while political correctness continues to run amuck and silence the voices of those who should be heard.

Not everything that feels “comfortable” is what we need, and not everything that is “uncomfortable” should be avoided. In fact, if you look back at your life, the times that you are most grateful for are often those times where you were not “comfortable” because it was in those times that you became stronger. And I believe the same can be true for our country.

Trump may not be your choice, but he’s the only choice that makes sense. It’s a catch-22 situation, for many, many, principled people. But if you protest his candidacy, you will elect Hillary, and inadvertently preserve the very conditions that gave rise to his campaign (and your objections to it), in the first place. By not voting for Trump, you actually make it less likely that other principled conservatives will ever have a shot again, at least not anytime soon, to be elected to the highest office in our land.

By then, unfortunately, it may just be too late. And as for me, I can’t just get “comfortable” with that.

August 17, 2016
When It’s All About You

President Obama’s remarks, at the memorial service for 5 slain Dallas police officers recently, was a sad reflection of why our nation is so divided, and why it’s not only important for us to do what is right in our communities, but to do it for the right reasons – and not just because of what’s in it, for you.

That’s because you can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him. After all, most people are really nice to those who can help them, in some way. Whether it’s your manager at work when you are asking for a raise, or your plumber when you have a burst pipe and water is running everywhere – we act differently when there’s something in it for us – even when it’s the right thing to do in the first place.

And yes, having the POTUS attend this memorial service is both honorable and appropriate. But when the President took the opportunity at the memorial service to make a speech supporting more gun control legislation, in a room full of people hurting, with heavy hearts from the loss of these officers’ lives – it felt like the President came to Dallas more for what was in it for him – and about how a grieving community could help make the case for his political agenda.

Unfortunately, this “what’s in it for me” culture is increasingly expected. Although the President’s remarks should have been only to express the nation’s sympathies to the grieving families and the law enforcement communities, as well as the Dallas community at-large, he took this solemn time to lobby the crowd, saying that “(w)e flood communities with so many guns that it is easier for a teenager to buy a Glock than get his hands on a computer or even a book.”

First of all, none of that is true. None of it – not to mention that the killer in Dallas was not even close to being a teenager, or an at-risk youth. Secondly, Pew Research Center conducted a survey last year and found 87 percent of U.S. teenagers had access to either a desktop or laptop computer and books are plentiful in our communities. In fact, our public schools literally hand our children books every year, not to mention there are more libraries in the U.S. than McDonald’s restaurants. So why lie to an audience, not to mention one that is grieving, just to advance an agenda?

Well, it’s not the first time for this administration. Remember the BP oil spill, and Obama’s moratorium on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico because he said it was a matter of national security? There are 32,000 Louisiana jobs dependent on drilling, and many drilling rigs were forced to leave the Gulf of Mexico because of inactivity – and they haven’t come back. In the end, the moratorium on drilling was used to help pass new alternative energy legislation in Congress, not increase our national security.

Remember too that Obama began withdrawing our combat troops from Iraq in 2011, and justified doing so because he said we had achieved success and “(t)he tide of war is receding.” But it wasn’t true. To the contrary, our military advisors had warned that it was too soon to leave, and that the tide of war had not, in fact, receded. In the end, though, this single decision to withdraw from Iraq left the door wide open for ISIS to flourish, and expand their terror around the world – all while Obama could now make good on his 2008 campaign promise to withdraw our combat troops and he was re-elected in 2012.

There are other examples of this “what’s in it for me” culture, but the bottom line is that it’s rotting our country from the top down. It is no doubt what is largely responsible for the increasingly deeper divisions between blacks and white, rich and poor, conservatives and liberals, etc. over the last 8 years.

Yes, I know our culture, and all of the advertisements within it, promote this life being all about us, and what’s in it for us: “Have it your way,” “You deserve a break today,” or “You’re worth it.”

But the first sentence in the book, A Purpose Driven Life, perhaps says it best: “It’s not about you”.

And our President should be the first one in line to say so – especially at a memorial service for those who put their lives in harm’s way, so he won’t ever have to.

July 14, 2016
Last Best Hope

It was the highest voter turnout in Great Britain in almost 25 years. In fact, more than 30 million British voters went to the polls last month and voted on whether Great Britain should withdraw from the European Union (or “EU”).

What is the EU? Well, I’m glad you asked, because it wasn’t exactly what I thought it was, either. For starters, the EU is an economic and political partnership involving 28 European countries. The idea began after World War II on the premise that countries that trade with one another are less like to war with one another. It then developed into a single market, and by 1999, 11 of the EU countries even adopted their own currency, the “Euro”.

You see, even though Europe does not have a common language, culture, or value system, the “EU” nonetheless has its own, single parliament system of government, and sets rules for its member countries on everything from the environment, transport, and consumer rights.

The trouble is, most Europeans don’t really know how it all works, or who’s in charge, and there’s no real sovereignty for these countries, as members of the EU. For example, under EU law, Great Britain cannot prevent anyone from any other EU member state from coming to live in their country. Their border is completely open, as result. And because the EU makes the laws – the voters in Great Britain don’t have much of a say so, at all.

This is one of the many reasons that almost 72% of the British turned out to vote on the issue of withdrawing from the EU. Some see it as these voters wanting to “take back” their country, or restore their national identity. And if so, we would do well in the United States to do the same.

After all, a nation is a group of people who share a destiny, and with that destiny, an identity. But this national identity needs pride, and a sense of affection that is expressed to the exclusion of any other allegiance. But because there is no common language, culture, or value system in Europe, is it really any surprise that the British saw the foundation of their nation eroding away – and wanted to do something about it?

Did you know that only 54% of us here in the U.S. are very proud to be Americans? Compare that with only 33% of people in Germany, France, and Italy (all EU members) that say the same about their own country. These are countries who are clearly losing their national identities – and quickly. The result is utter failure.

Just look at France or Spain or Greece: these nations are replete with worker protests, and are facing mounting financial difficulties, and unchecked immigration of unassimilated migrant workers, many who are openly hostile to their own host nation, demanding continued entitlement to unsustainable, state-funded social programs, and threatening the peace and stability of that nation.

Margaret Thatcher once said that Europe is “a classic Utopian project, a monument to the vanity of intellectuals, a program whose inevitable destiny is failure: Only the scale of the final damage is in doubt.” Indeed, she was right.

But none of this is new. Back in 2011, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy admitted, “We have been too concerned about the identity of the person who was arriving and not enough about the identity of the country that was receiving him.”

Former British Prime Minister James Cameron said essentially the same in 2011, “(W)e have encouraged different cultures to live separate lives, apart from each other and apart from the mainstream. We’ve even tolerated these segregated communities behaving in ways that run completely counter to our values.”

Does this sound familiar? And while America’s shores once assimilated different cultures and religions into “one nation under God,” today the “great melting pot” in the U.S. means that traditionalists get thrown into the boiling kettle of liberal diversity. Before long, our own nation’s identity will begin to erode precipitously, just as those European countries are witnessing now for themselves.

And similar to errors of those European countries, such as France and Great Britain, President Obama continues to express indifference, regarding our open border with Mexico, which continues to be plagued by cartel violence, drugs, and other forms of illegal smuggling, as well as illegal immigration and terrorism. In fact, the authority of state and local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration law has been diminished under the Obama administration, as the federal government now largely abandons the prosecution of non-criminal illegal immigrants and allows them to remain in the U.S.

Even dyed-in-the-wool liberals must see the parallels here with the European nations and the consequences of unchecked, unassimilated immigrants to one’s nation. The proverbial handwriting is on the wall.

Unlike the British, we cannot withdraw from any EU-like organization to save our country. We are everything that our country has protect its national identity – and we must act before it is too late. There is simply no place for us to go because, in the words of Ronald Reagan, “We are indeed, and we are today, the last best hope of man on earth”.

July 5, 2016
More Guts Than They Ever Will

The recent twin bombing, terrorist attacks in Brussels that killed 31 people and injured at least 270 sent shock waves throughout Europe.

About 75 years ago, it was the same. Although the enemy back then was a different one, shock waves were being sent throughout Europe, as Nazi Germany attacked Poland.

And on the day before the Normandy invasion, D-Day, General George S. Patton Jr. told the soldiers of the U.S. Third Army on June 5, 1944, “We’ll win this war, but we’ll win it only by fighting and by showing the Germans that we’ve got more guts than they have; or ever will have.”

Fighting and showing. Fighting and showing. It’s not bragging if you can back it up, as Muhammad Ali often said. And of course, America did back it up – throughout the war. The Allies backed-up German forces across Europe, liberating Paris, and 100 concentration camps in Germany, as Hitler found himself defeated; not by chance, but by American grit and determination, and by those who made the ultimate sacrifice, so that man might live free of the darkest atrocities, and live, instead, in peace with one another.

Today, our nation’s response to threats of terror around the world is very different. Our response today is not to fight, or show. It’s to talk.

“We defeat them in part by saying you are not strong, you are weak,” Obama declared about ISIS, “We send a message to those who might be inspired by them to say you are not going to change our values of liberty and openness and the respect of all people.”

Obviously, President Obama forgot the schoolyard lesson that “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” How can telling ISIS that they are weak, defeat them?

BUT, only a few years ago, while campaigning for President, he took a decidedly more forceful tone, when he was at war with his political adversaries (and not terrorists), saying that “(w)e’re going to punish our enemies and we’re going to reward our friends”. When he was running against John McCain, in fact, he was even more pointed, “If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun.”

And it’s this preoccupation with politics, rather than peace, or prosperity, or practicality, that is why so many Americans have given up on elected officials, altogether. They know something is missing in our country. And I miss it too. And it’s the ordinary things, admittedly, that we might have always taken for granted.

I miss a President that wants to win. That doesn’t apologize for the sacrifices that our men and women in uniform have made, for so many nations around the world. That doesn’t go around the world telling everyone that America “sometimes makes mistakes” and that “we are not perfect.”

I miss the America where genuine difference of opinion was debated without anyone being labeled a racist, bigot, greedy, selfish, or an imbecile.

I miss a President that encourages the independent, American spirit of ingenuity, hard work, and the pursuit of the American dream.

I miss a President that inspires success without conditioning its achievement on government bureaucracy or income redistribution.

I miss a President that doesn’t conduct himself as a politician running for office, when he has already been elected to the highest office in the land and has a duty to all Americans, and not just certain special interests. A President should be the leader of our nation first, and defender of our Constitution, not a leader of a “movement”.

And that’s why I say I miss what some might have considered ordinary at one time; like fighting for what’s right and best for the cause of freedom, and not what’s only politically correct.

Only then will those who intend to do us harm know – like the Germans learned from those brave soldiers in Normandy – that we Americans have more guts than they have, or ever will, but to defeat them…we need a president who believes that too.

March 25, 2016
National Identity

When the folks in Washington begin talking about increasing the number of Syrian refugees in our country by over 250% from last year, or raising that number next year to as many as 100,000, many Americans wonder how we will be able to afford spending as much as $1.6 billion on these refugees annually, when we have not yet addressed the record number of American families already living below the poverty level in own country, and the historic unemployment levels that continue to weaken our communities.

Yes, I know. I shouldn’t be concerned with that because of what it says in the Bible: “For I was hungry and you never gave me food, I was a stranger and you never made me welcome…” However, it also says, “Anyone who does not look after his own relations, especially if they are living with him, has rejected the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” In other words, are we taking good care of our neighbors who already call this country their home?

And before you start saddling up to ride that high horse you are about to ride off into the sunset on, please remember that the U.S. contributed nearly $500 million for humanitarian aid to the Syrian refugees, just this past September alone, and that is on top of the $1 billion contributed last year – more than any other country in the world.

Even five of the wealthiest Muslim countries have taken NO Syrian refugees in at all, saying that doing so would open them up to an increasing risk of terrorism in THEIR country. Isn’t that what our own FBI and Department of Homeland Security is warning us, as well?

But in light of the recent terrorism in France, the most stark danger for most Americans is that the profile of the great majority of Syrian refugees to this country do not (will not) meet the profile of the typical refugee family, as was revealed during testimony before a Congressional hearing last month. Instead of family members, more of these refugees are “young, single, males”.

And to add to that: The FBI director and the Homeland Security Secretary have admitted that there is not a system in place right now to properly screen and conduct background checks on these refugees, and soon we will have a whole new set of problems to deal with in our country, as a result.

There have always been refugees, and the U.S. has always given them sanctuary. Times are different today, and at the root of this Syrian refugee matter is the erosion of national identities around the world, especially in Europe, where assimilation has been difficult.

In fact, as early as 2011, French President Nicolas Sarkozy admitted, “We have been too concerned about the identity of the person who was arriving and not enough about the identity of the country that was receiving him.” British Prime Minister James Cameron said essentially the same, “(W)e have encouraged different cultures to live separate lives, apart from each other and apart from the mainstream. We’ve even tolerated these segregated communities behaving in ways that run completely counter to our values.”

And while America’s shores once assimilated different cultures and religions into “one nation under God,” today the “great melting pot” in the U.S. often means only more political correctness. Before long, our own nation’s identity will begin to erode precipitously, as well, just as those European countries are experiencing now for themselves.

And similar to the errors of those European countries, such as France and Great Britain, Obama continues to express indifference, regarding our open border with Mexico, which continues to be plagued by cartel violence, drugs, and other forms of illegal smuggling, illegal immigration, and now, he wants to increase the number of refugees in this country by 250%.

Even dyed-in-the-wool liberals must see the parallels here with the European nations and the consequences of unchecked, unassimilated immigrants to one’s nation. The proverbial handwriting is on the wall.

You see, a nation is a group of people who share a destiny, and with that destiny, an identity. The truth is that this national identity needs pride, and a sense of affection that is expressed to the exclusion of any other allegiance. This is the foundation of nation building. As it erodes, so will the nation. This is why it is abhorrent that Obama is not interested in American pride, or in “America winning,” as he recently said.

Mr. President, we believe that America is exceptional, but not because of what it does or what you have to say about our country.

It’s exceptional because of what it believes. And that is why, in the words of Ronald Reagan, “We are indeed, and we are today, the last best hope of man on earth”.

November 20, 2015
The Shepherd Tends His Flock

Pope Francis is only the fourth Pope to visit the United States. As he visits Washington, D.C., New York City, and Philadelphia, the crowds who come to see him stretch for as long as the eye can see. Many say that millions will crowd out one another to merely catch a glimpse of the Pope because our country, as well as across the world, are starving for spirituality. In fact, Mother Theresa once said that the poverty in the West is a different kind of poverty – one of spirituality, adding that “there’s a hunger for love, as there is a hunger for God.”[br]

After all, Jesus had said the same, saying, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty….” And it is perhaps this point that explains why so many millions, even those who are not of the Catholic faith, will get up at 4:00 a.m. in the morning, or travel thousands of miles, if only to be in the presence of the Pope.[br]

And as Catholics, we believe that whenever the Pope teaches a doctrine on faith or morals, and asserts his official authority as leader of the Church, he is to be held infallible, or otherwise incapable of error. But when the Pope makes statements about what many feel are political matters, and not of faith or morality, many say that the Pope is still infallible, and should not be questioned, especially by Catholics.[br]

Recently, the Pope advocated for the U.S. to open its borders to refugees from around the world, saying, “When the stranger in our midst appeals to us, we must not repeat the sins and the errors of the past.” Is this a truth? Or is that his opinion?[br]

Surely he knows that 80% of our population growth is already from immigrants that are in our country, and we spend $113 billion on the effects from illegal immigration, and that we’ve even set-up sanctuary cities for illegal immigrants by immunizing them from the laws of our very own country.[br]

And surely he knows that our country is nearly $20 trillion in debt, and that unchecked illegal immigration has continued to overcrowd our schools and made learning more difficult for our children, since we know that smaller schools tend to have higher attendance and graduation rates, less violence, higher grades, and test scores.[br]

I’m sure he knows that continuing to allow illegal immigration to grow chaotically, without a plan, means that our nation’s ability to care for the sick, regardless of their citizenship, will continue to decline, as hundreds of hospitals are now closing or reducing treatment services because the uninsured number of illegal immigrants continues to grow. The average wait time in a California emergency room, for example, is now 4 hours (and growing).[br]

When he blames the Syrian refugee crisis on the “the god of money” or on a “bad, unjust” socio-economic system, but doesn’t comment on the Islamic State that has now taken over half of Syria, a third of Iraq and is expanding out into Gaza, Libya and Afghanistan – is this a truth, or is that his opinion?[br]

He has criticized global leaders for their failure to combat climate change. But is it his opinion that the earth is warming, or it is a truth? Surely he knows that in 2014 there was record ice in Antarctica, record snowfall, record cold, and that the oceans are rising much less than predicted (95% less). Surely he know that nature produces much more CO2 than man, and that 99% of scientists don’t believe in man-made global warming.[br]

Despite this all, how can we question the Pope if he is infallible? This illustrates the common confusion between infallibility and imperfection. After all, there are many Popes that even disagree with one another. Infallibility does not make a Pope’s private, theological opinions become “truth”. He learns the “truth” as we all do – through careful study. His infallibility, according to the Catholic Church, applies to “solemn, official teachings on faith and morals.”[br]

Whether you believe or not that the Pope is infallible on matters such as immigration or global warming, we simply cannot have it all. Life is a series of trade-offs. You can’t have all of the joys of having children, and then have lots of time for yourself, or your career. You can’t eat poorly, and then have good health. You can’t speak up and remain silent.[br]

So when the Pope offers his comments, surely he also expects us to consider there are trade-offs to achieve the great works we are called by God to accomplish, such as extending mercy to those who are suffering and coming to our country, while making sure we have a sustainable system in place to transition them from pain to prosperity.[br]

After all, we are not called to merely accept our circumstances, but to change the things we can change. As Pastor Joel Osteen wrote, “You were not created to just get by with an average, unrewarding, or unfulfilling life. God created you to leave your mark on this generation.”[br]

And we can do that. The path we take to do so may be different than Pope Francis imagines today in his speeches, but I’m sure he won’t mind how we do it – not because it may reveal his infallibility – but because it reveals the teachings of Christ truly are.

September 25, 2015
The Fixer

We all know the “fixer”. That’s the person in almost everyone’s life who tries to make sure that everyone is happy – or that no one is disappointed. It’s the person in your life that intervenes whenever something is wrong, and tries to make peace wherever there is conflict. In fact, maybe you’re a “fixer”, yourself.

We tend to vote for “fixers”, too. Our government is filled with them. These are the candidates that promise everything to everyone. The ones that promise to reduce our national debt, even as it has doubled since 2008. The ones that promise to decrease income inequality and poverty, even though there are more Americans receiving food stamps now, and more Americans unemployed, than at any time in our nation’s history.

Most times, “fixers” are not bad people – just misinformed. They’re people pleasers. And people pleasers have been around a long time. In fact, Rome’s greatest orator, Marcus Cicero, received this campaign advice from his brother in 64 B.C: “Candidates should say whatever the crowd of the day wants to hear.” That advice is equivalent to our modern-day, quintessential political correctness.

But the political correctness has gotten out of hand. You see, we can’t even ask someone from another country, “Where are you from?” these days for fear of them feeling you are calling them a “foreigner”. Or saying that “America is a melting pot” because that could be considered racist in that you are denying a person their own racial/ethnic experiences. Or expressing that you believe “the most qualified person should get the job”, because that might be taken that minorities are given extra, unfair advantages because of their race. Or saying that “Everyone can succeed in this society, if they work hard enough,” could be offensive to some because they might think you are saying the poor are lazy and/or incompetent, and just need to work harder.

And it’s getting more ridiculous by the day. In New York City, Mayor de Blasio just signed a law that will prohibit employers from inquiring about an applicant’s criminal record prior to any job offer. Of course, it is already illegal to not hire someone based solely on their criminal convictions (unless they pose a clear threat to persons or property), but under the new law in New York City, businesses can’t even ask any questions to assess that threat until AFTER they offer the applicant the job. Really?

Apparently, our court system wants in on the “fixing” of things too because last month the U.S. Supreme Court “fixed” Obamacare (for a second time) by allowing federal subsidies in all 50 states, even in states that did not set-up health insurance exchanges – and even as Obamacare is failing. The Congressional Budget Office now expects that 10 million workers will lose their employer-based coverage by 2021 and that there will be 31 million uninsured under Obamacare, up from its 23 million forecast made in 2011. Unbelievable.

Another recent example of our government “fixing” something are the new proposed rules from the Department of Labor (introduced last month), affecting “exempt” workers and overtime pay. According to the Department of Labor’s website, the new rules are intended to “transfer income from employers to employees in the form of higher earnings”. This “fix” could not come at a worse time for businesses in our country, since businesses are shutting down at a higher rate today than they are being opened up, which is the first time this has happened in over 35 years, shuttering future job growth now, as well.

We could go on and on, but the bottom line is that our government cannot “fix” all things for us. Government cannot make us content, make us feel respected or accepted, confer achievement, build our self-esteem, or eliminate life’s inevitable ups and down.

Despite how much politicians may care about others, they cannot keep anyone from experiencing tough times, mainly because our happiness (or unhappiness) depends on our own actions, and not the hopes or wishes of any government, regardless of how many laws they pass to step in and “fix” this or that – or to make sure everyone is happy.

“Fixing” our problems by being politically correct, or being all things to all people, has not worked, and perhaps if we stopped trying to “fix” everyone’s problems, we could solve our most important ones for good.

July 17, 2015
Are You Fiddling Me?

In 1964, Lyndon Johnson was the first U.S. President to provide the commencement address to the cadets of the United States Coast Guard Academy. He rallied the cadets and explained, in the words of Winston Churchill, that “civilization will not last, freedom will not survive, peace will not be kept, unless mankind unites together to defend them.” And President Johnson’s administration understood those words all too well, being as nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof – confronting one foreign crisis after another.

From assisting the South Vietnamese to defeat Communist aggression, to signing a treaty with the Soviet Union to ban nuclear weapons in outer space, to signing a treaty to prohibit the transfer of nuclear weapons to other nations, and to backing down the Cubans in Guantanamo Bay, these were serious times for our nation. And the world knew it.

Today, we too face serious times.

Right now, we have terrorists taking control of cities in Iraq and controlling 50% of Syria. Iran is moving ever closer to nuclear capability, and North Korea is building a nuclear arsenal, while testing long-range missiles that could strike the U.S. mainland. Russia has flexed its military muscle, and invaded the Republic of Georgia and Ukraine. China is modernizing its weapons with fighter jets, developing prototypes for hypersonic missiles, and building ballistic missile submarines. Our own nation’s borders are so porous that even the U.S. Border Patrol admits that they don’t know who is coming across the border, or whether they wish us well or ill.

Even so, and faced with these threats to peace and freedom around the world, do you know what President Obama identified as the “core” of their military service, when he addressed the cadets earlier this month? Climate change.

Yep. Climate change.

The world is on fire and President Obama is calling upon these cadets to “to start reducing” its carbon emissions now, although he never explained exactly how they could make a difference. On the other hand, China (which is the largest holder of U.S. debt) is now building one or two new coal-fired power stations per week, until at least 2030. It was in 2007 that China overtook the U.S. as the world’s largest carbon emitter and now produces twice as much as the U.S., and 50% of all coal combusted globally.

He also told cadets that climate change is a key pillar of American global leadership. Really? Soon, China alone will be responsible for 40% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, and that’s even based on the agreement we just made with them to reduce carbon emissions.

He also explained to the cadets that when he meets with leaders around the world, “it (climate change) is often at the top of our agenda – a core element of our diplomacy.” Really? How about the murdering of Christians in Muslim war zones, or the trafficking of children by the millions in China, the manipulation of gas prices by Russia, or the ever increasing national debt of the United States, which should we default, would threaten currencies worldwide? Does any of this ever come up, in passing or over coffee?

Speeches like President Obama’s to the cadets makes some Americans wonder where if we have our priorities in order, and despite the imperfection of the past, it makes us wish for a time when America better knew what was most important, and, more critically, understood the order in which it must all be done.

Obama could have reminded the cadets, and their families, of the legacy of the Coast Guard, and how they have served our nation honorably. In World War II, they were among the first casualties of war on the day after Pearl Harbor. He could have inspired them by explaining how Coast Guardsmen were piloting the landing craft on D-day, when our soldiers hit the beaches at Normandy. Or how the Coast Guard rescued over 1,500 soldiers that day when their boats had been sunk by enemy fire.

He could have inspired them with any number of stories of selflessness and love of country. But he didn’t.

And so I am reminded of the expression, “Nero fiddled while Rome burned”. It comes to mind because of the obliviousness of the President’s remarks to the most pressing threats facing our country, and because not only did Nero “fiddle” while his people suffered, he was a poor leader in a time of crisis, as well.

Although it’s only an expression (especially since the fiddle did not exist in ancient Rome), the danger of ignoring what’s most important is still as destructive as it was in 11 A.D. when Rome burned. The question for us all, especially to those whom we elect to public office, is simply this: What are you fiddling with, while our “Rome” is burning?

Image credit: Jon McNaughton

May 22, 2015