Shall we swim?
For Christian Americans and American Christians, for the Clergy, and for Pope Leo XIV
Written April 2-4, 2026
Posted April 4, 2026
What’s it all about?
Exactly one week ago on my journey from Lent into Holy Week, amidst the news of U.S. troop deployment to the Middle East,[1] I sadly found myself reflecting on what differences exist between our President and a mob boss. Isn’t it currently true that both line their pockets while others die violently as a result of their Orders and deeds?[2,3,4]
The one significant difference, I concluded, is that a mob boss recently convicted of 34 counts of felony by a jury of his peers[5] is no longer free to do his will.
As a Christian and an American, I was, on that Friday and on the Friday hence, disheartened that American Christians and the leaders in Israel – the Promised Land – are largely responsible for the present circumstances. Is this what the Judeo-Christian faith is about? We know about “eye for an eye,”[6] “Isaiah’s beard,”[7] turning the other cheek[8], and loving our enemy[9]. How do we get past these words to preemptively strike, with overwhelming and lethal force, a neighbor that we don’t like, assassinating the heads of the household. Where in the Good Book are the words unequivocably supporting these actions? Shamefully, even the other villainous aggressor’s words about what We the People, once holding certain truths, have done cannot be dismissed with ease. [10, 11]
When asked about his political philosophy, Franklin Delano Roosevelt succinctly identified himself as, “a Christian and a Democrat.”[12] As a child in the ’70s, I recall the words “in that order” uttered after this proclamation in the television mini-series titled, Franklin and Eleanor.[13] I must watch it again to verify this. A Christian and a Democrat. A Christian and a Republican. A Christian and an American. Is that who we are, the faithful in America?
Prime Minister Netanyahu recently drew flak for his comment about Jesus and Chinggis Kahn. In trying to justify his words, he reportedly posted, “A morally superior civilization may still fall to a ruthless enemy if it does not have the power to defend itself.”[14] “Morally superior.” “Defend.” Words of judgement, comparative strength, and utility.
As a Christian and an American, my Faith proclaims judge not.[15] President Lincoln knew this in his 701 words.[16]
With regard to relative power and ability to defend, no argument there. Defense is genetic and natural. However, is it right for the mightier to aggress on their neighbor’s house preemptively or reactively with overwhelming force beyond an eye for an eye – to escalate, turning the victim into the villain?
Are we Christian Americans of Faith, or are we faithful American Christians? When it comes to your defense, it seems there are two choices for civil people of faith: an eye for an eye[17] or bearing all things[18]. And, when you arrive at those two roads in the wood[19], may you choose by your faith, in accord with good.
Are we wandering in the desert this Holy season with Chinggis Kahn, or are we walking in peace with Jesus? In my humble view, Jesus and true Democracy together have the advantage on Genghis Kahn, but who am I to say. It is Jesus in us and we in Him, in Spirit and Truth, that shall speak that day.[20] Maybe we’ve gone astray by letting politics into the temple,[21] changing us from Christian Americans to American Christians. Maybe my father was right after all, the pulpit is no place for politics. By letting the divisive Fox into the temple, the clergy risk scattering their flocks with the sin of idolatry.[22]
So, fellow Americans of faith, are you with Jesus in Spirit and Truth?[23] Maybe that is too difficult. Perhaps you will be with Paul.[24] Still too hard? Then, how about a swim with Peter.[25, 26]
References:
[3] Renée Good, Alex Pretti; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Minab_school_attack
[6] Leviticus 24:17-22
[7] Isaiah 50:6
[8] Matthew 5:38-39
[9] Matthew 5:43-47
[10] https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/putin-calls-the-killing-of-khamenei-a-cynical-murder/
[11] https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/05/obamas-warning-to-biden-israel-00125437
[12] https://sb.rfpa.org/review-article-fdr-nominal-christian-and-influential-democrat/
[13] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_and_Franklin_(miniseries)
[15] Matthew 7:1
[16] President Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865; chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.gilderlehrman.org/sites/default/files/inline-pdfs/06044_FPS.pdf
[17] Leviticus 24:17-22
[18] 1 Corinthians 13:7
[19] Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44272/the-road-not-taken
[20] John 14:1-31
[21] Matthew 21:12-17
[22] Tim Alberta, “The Church of America: My father, my faith, and Donald Trump,” The Atlantic, January/February 2024
[23] John 4, 23-24
[24] 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
[25] Matthew 14:28-31, John 21:7
[26] John 21:15-17
1 John 4:1-21
Revised April 6, 2026 (Changed wording in last sentence of paragraph 4.)
THE 2024 PRESIDENTIAL VOTE: RELIGION AND RACE
Written March 22-23, 2026
Posted March 23, 2026
“‘There is no Catholic vote, and yet the Catholic vote will decide the election.’”[1] The exit polls, graphed to the right, suggest truth in this statement. However, in 2024 it is not due to a large shift in the Catholic vote. It is mainly due to a large number of Catholics not voting.
Foreword with Dedication
“The Decision” is offered to the American Catholic community to help these voters through a difficult choice, and better inform those who may have been misinformed[20]. I apologize if the words offend anyone.
I dedicate the letter to my deceased father, a WWII veteran, and to his comrades. He served aboard the U.S.S. Franklin as a naval pilot. He rarely talked about the war or his many years of service. He seemed to value honesty above all else.
Later in life, when sailing near Jericho Bay, he told me about March 19, 1945. He was delayed reaching his position for unknown reasons. The bombs bursting on deck hurled him to the waters 50 feet below. The impact dislocated his shoulder. Had he been on schedule, he would have perished. Though he survived, many others did not on that day.
In the late ’70s, when milking cows in the barn illustrated in a painting by our neighbor, he asked me an unusual question: “Is it better to be married to an honest murderer or a liar?” I was in high school and dumbstricken by the question. Hesitatingly, I answered, “The liar?” His reply was, “No, the murderer, because at least you know where you stand.”
Though separating from the Church, his faith remained. When his body was failing and we were on yet another trip to the doctor and then hospital, he turned to me and said, “There’s a song that keeps coming to me.” Then he sang, “I don’t care if it rains or freezes; I am safe in the arms of Jesus.”
For Dad, and for those who defended and defend true democracy embodied by passionate debates settled time after time through peaceful voting and possibly compromise; true democracy embodied by Justice, domestic Tranquility, general Welfare, and the Blessings of Liberty to form that “more perfect Union,”[25] and for those who have dearly sacrificed so much seeking righteousness.[11]
Afterword
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