Go for the Knockout
It’s said that you shouldn’t kick a man when he’s down. That’s good, Christian advice. But anyone who’s ever seen a prize fight also
knows that when a fighter has his opponent weak and on the ropes, he goes for
the knockout.
We, as people of God, are in one heck of a fight, and at
least one of our adversaries is on the ropes.
We need to go for the knockout.
I’m talking about the Affordable Care Act – Obamacare. There are many reasons for Catholics to oppose
this law. First, and most obviously, by
funding abortion and forcing Christians to violate their consciences by
participating in objectionable activities, the law can be defined as
objectionably evil.
There are other problems with it, as well. Its movement toward government-run health
care is a dangerous trend and violates the social justice principle of
subsidiarity. The establishment of death
panels, only a glimpse of what’s to come, I believe, makes little account of
the dignity of every human person. And
as the law has begun to take effect, many of the problems that opponents
predicted are coming to bear.
The law is on the ropes.
Just last week we saw another delay in the implementation of a key
part. Perhaps this was a prudent act to
improve its implementation. But
certainly Democrats are excited that much of the pain to come won’t hit until
after the upcoming election.
The stated goal of providing health insurance and quality
care for everyone is a laudable one. The
problem is that Obamacare is not the way to get there. Unfortunately, there have been many alternate
proposals in recent years, none of which have been given proper consideration
in Washington, or coverage by the media.
As the election season comes upon us, however, it is time to
make our move, to go for the knockout.
Obamacare remains as unpopular as ever.
We must actively promote alternate ideas, and support candidates willing
to repeal Obamacare.
As Hobby Lobby, the Little Sisters of the Poor, and others
fight in court for our religious freedoms, we need to support groups like the
Thomas More Society and the Beckett Fund for Religious Liberty.
We need to get educated, write letters, call talk shows,
canvas neighborhoods, and put our money where our mouth is, as we are able. Another key element is working to ensure the
integrity of our elections, which has been rightly called into question. It is important that we contact our Secretary
of State, for whichever state in which we live, and demand that the nonsense of
2012 is not repeated. We can support project veritas, which is on the ground seeking legitimate election results.
And most of all, we must do everything with Christian
charity. We are not driven by a desire
simply to repeal Obamacare, but to replace it, with a truly moral,
compassionate solution that respects religious liberty and the right to life,
provides quality health care services and coverage to all people without
consideration of their “worth,” and that is implementable. It is quite a job, but if we “work as though
all depends on us and pray as though all depends on God,” we can have good
reason for hope.
