If Obama says Jump

I love America. Love it to death. However, I disagree greatly with it's dogmas and faith. It's based upon freedom. Freedom of Press. Freedom of Speech. Freedom of Religion.
As an American, these all sound good, right? Hey man, do whatever, as long as it doesn't harm others! You can do ANYTHING, but just keep within these wide boundaries. That's fine, right?
For the Catholic, wrong...
Just a cursory knowledge of Catholic principles of freedom (as eloquently espoused in Mirari Vos which everybody should read!) would tell you that these are wrong. Having any laws other than Catholic ones puts the state at odds with the Church. It puts the state over the Church, when it should be the other way around. The best and most logical form of government is the Church above the state (in matters of faith and morals). As Matthew 12:30 states, "He that is not with me, is against me".
As the early Christians under Roman rule obeyed it's laws while being tortured and killed, so too must Americans, as long as it does not conflict with the Catholic Religion.
As St. Augustine wrote about the early Christians living under the pagan Romans, they were "Christian soldiers, (that) served an infidel emperor. When the issue of Christ was raised, they acknowledged no one but the One who is in heaven. They distinguished the eternal Lord from the temporal lord, but were also subject to the temporal lord for the sake of the eternal Lord." This teaches us to do our best to serve our government with all it's governors, judges and senators with the utmost obedience, but make our Jesus Christ, our Lord and God number one in our lives. If the two conflict, God should (and eventually will) be the victor. As Thomas More said moments before his death in 1535, "I die the king's faithful servant, but God's first." So as much as I dislike Obama, if he says "Jump", I'll ask "How high?", but as long as it doesn't conflict with Catholicism. As Romans states, "There is no authority except from God; what authority there is has been appointed by God. Therefore he who resists authority resists the ordinances of God; and those who resist bring on themselves condemnation."
So once we have this down, what about the freedoms? The Catholic opinion is confusing at first to the modern mind, but makes sense. If certain press and speech are harmful to the mind and spirit, what business does it have in society? Let me ask further, why are some weapons or poisons illegal to have in society? It's because they cause great unnecessary harm to people's bodies. Similarly, many public speakers, movies and magazines cause great harm to people's spiritual and moral welfare. Why should they be legal? As for freedom of religion, we must define freedom. In this case, it means to ability and acceptance of worshiping what you want, where you want. The true Catholic has always been against this in society. His position is that people may believe what they want and worship how they please, but in private. For example, they may not get public funding nor have a procession in the streets. This is to keep the people from spiritual sickness of anti-Catholicism.
This is how it was back in the Middle Ages. I wish it was this healthy today, but I'm afraid society must get worse before it will get better. Catholics today are under indirect malevolence, whether it be from the media's portrayal of things, government taxes for abortion, or "hate" speech. But until it does get better, remember to pray the Rosary, go to mass and make use of those sacramentals!
 

Football and the American Protestant

"Remember, that time is money. He that can earn ten shillings a day by his labor, and goes abroad, or sits idle, one half of that day, though he spends but sixpence during his diversion or idleness, ought not to reckon that the only expense; he has really spent, or rather thrown away, five shillings besides."

-Benjamin Franklin, Advice to a Young Tradesman, Written by an Old One 

Although Benjamin Franklin was a deist, he still was culturally and philosophically Christian. And living by Christian guidelines, he greatly embodied the Protestant work ethic. Coined by Max Weber, the term "Protestant work ethic" refers to a set of ideals that many notice in prominently Protestant societies. Hard work, honesty, frugality and earthly success are perhaps the main and most noticeable examples. This set of ideals originated by particularly the Calvinist religion during the Reformation. They saw abuses in the Catholic Church (some genuine), and intentionally or not, their newly formed religion took on a culture of it's own. Instead of the "suffer on earth to get glory in Heaven" mentality that the Catholic Church proscribed, they took on a duality of the best of both worlds-worldly success and Heavenly glory. This combination is essential for the creation of the hardworking, frugal Protestant. If you add "modern" to that mix, you get the American Protestant.

From George Washington's now felled cherry tree to Andrew Carnegie's, Henry Ford's or John Rockefeller's business empires, America has markedly taken up the call, and followed suit. With over 50% of Americans identifying as Protestant, one can not say that America is not a Christian nation. As Franklin wrote, "time is money". I know I live by that. If you're American, you probably do too, as well as the lessons of the squeaky wheel gets the grease, a penny saved is a penny earned, and honesty is the best policy.

Now what does this all have to do with football?

I've been watching the TV show Friday Night Lights this past month (Whitney's and my current favorite show), and aside from the sporadic "love" scenes it's very much enjoyable. The show is about an elite high school football team, and all it's inner-workings. It deals with the players' lives, the challenges high schoolers go face, and the community of their small Texan town. In my view, it's relatively realistic in terms of player camaraderie and teenage predicaments. Friday Night Lights brings me back to my football days at Monte Vista, where young men's characters were built the real way through blood, sweat and tears, and the field held no glory for the timid.

Me in high school

One particular character I admire in the show is the head coach, Eric Taylor. In my opinion, he is the epitome of the perfect and prototypical American Protestant. By this, I mean that he is hard working, successful, honest, straight edged, and uses these standards to turn his football boys into men. Taylor is a guy I'd love to have been coached from as well as mentored in life. A significant amount of my early life was a mild dabble in the Protestant religion, and although I am now wholeheartedly and firmly a Catholic, I believe I have a Protestant mindset when it comes to many of their ideals. The hard work, honesty and frugality is something I often envy in others, and at the risk of sounding heretically ecumenistic, I believe that the aforementioned Protestant ideals are oftentimes unused or forgotten by most Catholics of today-especially outside of America. To be fair however, Protestants could use a few things from Catholics as well! But please note, this has nothing to due with theology, morals, or beliefs-only tenancies in life.
And at another risk of concluding this post like a high school homework assignment, I will write that I would "recommend this show to a friend". It's very witty, funny and keeps your composure. And if you look at the underlying themes then hey, you just might learn a thing or two!

*Updated note on 5/15/2012*

There have been many traditional Catholics who have disagreed with this post, saying that the Protestant work ethic is essentially destructive. I should explain what I mean by saying that I admire it. I only admire the "work hard", and "do your best" mentality that it entails. I would not promote such ideologies that sometimes go hand in hand with the work ethic, such as making money simply to make money. I believe the many "Catholic" countries (Italy, Spain) have lost a sense of hard work, and should take up that work ethic (provided of course, that doesn't come along with bad intentions).