A Little Lonesome Dove

Found myself watching Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry again. I'm not a big Western fan but both the movie and the book are really well done. The subject matter is rather gritty and earthy (not a family movie) but it does deal with some penetrating issues.

The characters are studies in contrasts who are faced with various moral decisions and sometimes simply with survival. The main characters are Woodrow F. Call and Augustus McCrae; one is serious, a workaholic, a noble leader but out of touch with his feelings and moral responsibilities while the other is a free spirit who loves freely in body and heart, avoids work, but has true mettle underneath it all. Both of them are crusty Rangers and best of friends.



One does the right things for the wrong reasons, the other does the wrong things for the right reasons. Putting it in theological terms in the words of author Peter Kreeft, [Call] "wrongly [destroys] heretics in order rightly to destroy heresies; [Gus] wrongly loves heresies in order rightly to love heretics."

Lonesome Dove is a study in forks in the road of otherwise parallel paths.

That, and it has cool fights.

Pro-Life Demonstrator Murdered

A peaceful pro-life demonstrator was murdered outside a school by a drive-by shooter. The victim was an elderly man with an oxygen tank.

Read about it here, here, here, and here.

Where's the outrage by liberals, the media, Planned Barrenhood? Where's the FBI and Secret Service protection for all the grandparents praying on the corner? This statement by PP is kinda lame:

"We want to be very clear that we have no idea if this was related to his views, but Planned Parenthood would never condone any sort of violence against anyone, regardless of their views," said Lamerand.

Yeah, right, I forgot -- they're just in it for the money. After the public tar and feathering of all the peaceful pro-life crowd following the abortionist Tiller's murder, you'd think PP could muster up a little better response.

And yeah, the old guy with the oxygen tank WAS murdered for his views:

[CMR] It's now confirmed that Drake killed Pouillon because he was "offended" by his pro-life message, according to Connected Michigan.

One thing you can bank on: whatever the radical left wing nuts accuse conservatives of, you can be sure it was in their own hearts first.

Whose Kids Are They?

Here is a strange case of a 13 year old teenager, Daniel Hauser, from Minnesota who has been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. His parents have opted not to treat him with chemotherapy, but rather with "alternative" medicines and nutritional supplements. Child protection workers accused Daniel's parents of medical neglect and a judge in Minnesota has ruled that the parents MUST seek conventional treatment for their ailing son.

The story ought to stop here, if only to protest the intrusive nature of this government action. Since when does the government have the right to direct parents of children to take a particular course of medical action? Especially if it's expensive, painful, and with serious side effects? What if that course is morally objectionable? Are children wards of the State and parents only incidental caretakers, whose wishes, conscience, or religion may be discarded at the State's whim?

[Washington Times] "I feel it's a blow to families," [the lawyer] said. "It marginalizes the decisions that parents face every day in regard to their children's medical care. It really affirms the role that big government is better at making our decisions for us."

Now, the story ought to stop here, but it doesn't -- and it only gets weirder. So what about the parents' rights to raise their children as they see fit? What about religious rights -- aren't these worth protecting as well?

Daniel's parents have been supporting what they say is their son's decision to treat the disease with nutritional supplements and other alternative treatments favored by the Nemenhah Band, a Missouri-based religious group that believes in natural healing methods advocated by some American Indians. She also testified that Daniel is a medicine man and elder in the Nemenhah Band.

I don't agree with his parents' decision to seek to cure lymphoma this way, but I do support their right to be wrong. Morally, I think this is disastrous; somebody who is not the State needs to smack some sense into them. Legally, I think they are within their rights.

Now here is the fly in the ointment and the point where I get off the train:

The Hausers have eight children. Mrs. Hauser told the New Ulm Journal newspaper that the family's Catholicism and adherence to the Nemenhah Band are not in conflict, and that she has used natural remedies to treat illnesses.

Ok, in one fell swoop the Hausers just made Catholics, people with large families, and seekers of natural remedies look like crazy whack jobs all lumped together. Oh, and the part where Mrs. Hauser said her son is not in any medical danger -- yeah, that part does make you crazy.

Seeking natural remedies to treat illnesses isn't a bad thing by itself. Even using traditional American Indian remedies isn't a bad thing by itself. Endangering your children IS a bad thing at all times. Saying that belonging to another religion, say, by being a medicine man and elder in the Nemenhah Band is, in fact, in conflict with the Catholic religion. The Nemenhah Band is "an Educational Auxiliary of The Oklevueha Native American Church of Sanpete" and membership is by spiritual adoption only.

"Membership is only by Spiritual Adoption. It is also the only way the Nemenhah Seminary can accept you into the program and designate you a Medicine Man or Medicine Woman."

The effort to blend Catholicism and the Nemenhah Band is called syncretism and it is a type of heresy.

The effort to unite different doctrines and practices, especially in religion. Syncretism is also applied to [...] the attempts made of combining the best elements of different theological schools.

It's syncretism when Tony Blair does it, it's syncretism when Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo does it, and it's syncretism when Colleen Hauser does it along with her impressionable 13 year old son Daniel.

Strain the Gnat, Swallow the Camel

A bunch of people are running around saying, "Look how Catholic Obama is, he is for the poor, for social justice and against war. His policies will make our economy better." (maybe, maybe not)

And so what if it does? It's a matter of proportions. Those things are certainly desirable and generally consistent with Catholic social teaching.

But if you slam the door on discussion and put all hope of stopping the wholesale slaughter of millions (read, so-called "Freedom of Choice Act") beyond reach, then what good is it? We'll be crowing about how nice our new car is, while wading in the blood of innocents. Talk about straining out the gnat while swallowing the camel (Mt 23:24). We will have focused on the lesser good while ignoring the greater good.

What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his immortal soul?

Many are thinking: we will save the economy now, do some Catholic social justice good now, and we can always return to the nasty issue of fighting intrinsic evils later. There's always time for that later ... isn't there?

Don't bet on it.