By DEACON MIKE MANNO
I think by now we have all seen at least parts of Mr. President’s “Battle for the Soul of the Nation” address the other week from Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Since both of my parents were from Philly, I’m not a stranger to Independence Hall, although it has been a few years since I was last there.
The Independence Hall I remember was a stately building, well-kept and imposing, as fits its historical significance. I never thought of it before as a symbol of anything but our freedom and heritage, proudly reminding us of the ideals which we must carry forward.
As I traveled through Independence Hall and the adjacent buildings, I could almost see John Hancock, Benjamin Franklin, Sam and John Adams, Roger Sherman, Richard Henry Lee, Charles Carroll, and Thomas Jefferson, among others, carefully placing their names on a document knowing that, if they failed, it would become their death warrant.
And in that building only a few years later men such as George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, James Wilson, Gouverneur Morris, and even the largely forgotten Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer built a foundation for a government — “a republic, if you can keep it” — that was destined to span the ages, at least until our time.
But listening to Mr. Biden on September 1, and seeing the optics his political advisers chose, I was enraged at a vision I thought I would never see in my lifetime. It was not America. With Marine guards standing behind the president, all were bathed in blood red shadows reminiscent of a horror show, my first impression was that all that was lacking was a military tunic for the president, fitted with an over-the-shoulder Sam Browne belt, and a Leni Riefenstahl film crew.
This was not America. This was not a soul worth saving.
Mr. Biden referred to his venue, Independence National Historical Park, as “sacred ground.” It is sacred ground. But our president on that day dishonored it, choosing to use the site for a fiercely partisan speech that condemned half of the American people, hurling pejoratives at those who disagree with him.
“Too much of what’s happening [in] our country today is not normal,” he cried in an accusatory tone that was as red as the background color. “Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic. . . . But there is no question that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven, and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans, and that is a threat to this country.”
The overriding tone, of course, was with the public’s help (read: that votes), Mr. Biden and his political allies could deliver the soul of America from the evil MAGA Republicans and back into the arms of democracy-loving Democrats where it will be safe for the ages.
“And here, in my view, is what is true: MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution. They do not believe in the rule of law. They do not recognize the will of the people. They refuse to accept the results of a free election. And they’re working right now, as I speak, in state after state to give power to decide elections in America to partisans and cronies, empowering election deniers to undermine democracy itself.”
Okay, let’s stop right there. While there are many conflicting voices on what happened in the last election it is clear that something untoward did happen. Whether or not it was enough to change the outcome of the election was not, and probably will never be, a provable claim. Suspicion will abound for as long as the country exists and probably for long after; much like the controversies surrounding the JFK assassination and Jimmy Hoffa’s disappearance. Good people will differ without calling each other names.
But here it goes way beyond normal disagreements, debates, or argumentation. It borders on what psychologists might refer to as “projection,” which is the practice of attributing to another person one’s own failings. It is a tactic that is used by politicians all the time. I remember years ago a senatorial election in which the incumbent was challenged by a pro-life congressman. Campaigning in a heavily Catholic area of the state, the incumbent, a vocally pro-abortion Catholic, told a ladies’ group that he was the only true pro-life candidate in the race. He projected onto his opponent his failings as a pro-abortion candidate. I think if you look hard enough you’ll find things like that happening more than you might realize.
And add to that the politicians who with an evangelical zeal actually believe that those in the other party are not just wrong but evil. When you start putting that all together you can see where Mr. Biden is leading us: to place the blame for all of our country’s ills at the already damned feet of the unredeemable MAGA voter.
“Republicans,” he said, “[are] a clear and present danger to our democracy. . . . MAGA Republicans have made their choice. They embrace anger. They thrive on chaos. They live not in the light of truth but in the shadow of lies. . . . They spread fear and lies — lies told for profit and power.”
MAGA Republicans were accused of even more: “They promote authoritarian leaders, and they fan the flames of political violence that are a threat to our personal rights, to the pursuit of justice, to the rule of law, to the very soul of this country.”
I am not an expert on political theory, nor am I even above average in understanding the psychological make-up of those politicians we might wish to study. But I do know a little bit about our Constitution, the freedoms it protects, and I think that Mr. Biden’s house has a bit too much glass to be throwing any stones.
I just hosted a radio program in which a religious freedom law firm is trying to protect Catholic hospitals and physicians, as well as others who are being told by Mr. Biden’s administration that they must provide or perform abortions against their deeply held religious beliefs. The same goes for transgender surgery, a procedure that is held to be morally reprehensible by many health-care workers of faith. Yet the government is working on a made-up interpretation of sex in civil rights law which now includes abortion and gender identity.
Is that authoritarianism?
How about the government that made a condition of employment that you receive a vaccine that many Christians refuse to take because of its ties to an aborted stem-cell line? We really don’t care about your religious beliefs, if you don’t accept our mandate you cannot work, was the response from, oh, let me guess, MAGA Republicans? I think not.
I’m not a fan of Joe (The Devout) Biden. He’s long ceased to be my cup of tea. My purpose is not to denigrate him but to point out how quickly our ideals can change and, like the child’s toy the kaleidoscope, each twist of the tube can change our view. You see, it is not necessarily what we can see is truth, but how it is presented to us; which way do we twist the tube?
What is the truth is what has proved to be true from age to age and perhaps people of faith have a better eye for this than many others. But the nearly indisputable fact is that what has proven to be true through history, what has been relied upon by our parents and grandparents has a more solid grounding in fact than fly-by-night ideas promulgated to win a political campaign.
The president spoke of finding our “higher angels.” Unfortunately you won’t find them in the hellish sight Mr. Biden produced on that sacred ground.
(You can reach Mike at: DeaconMike@q.com and listen to his weekly program at https://iowacatholicradio.com/faith-on-trial/)
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