Of Trump, Trolls, and Tedious Comments!

I must be getting old and crotchety. My patience for long-winded dissertations in the comment section has reached a low point. If you want to spend 500-1000 words illustrating your Trump derangement syndrome and trolling, start your own blog. And I'm not posting comments with a dozen links or buckets of rash judgment.

In the past, I used to post just about every comment, even the ones with ad hominem attacks and presumptions about the state of my soul. That time is long gone. I'm a lot less tolerant  of long-winded nonsense.

In fact, my tolerance for nonsense in general has fallen to zero. Maybe it's my age. I turned 78 in March. Or perhaps I'm just more realistic. It is absolutely useless to get into arguments with Trump and Musk haters, Protestants who think I worship Mary, champions of Martin Luther, courtesy-deprived barbarians who just want to call names and waggle their fingers, people who insist I must adopt their opinions, etc. As I said, if you want to engage in all that nonsense, START YOUR OWN BLOG!

My philosophy of blogging is to write what happens to strike me at the moment. It may be something I read during morning prayer. Maybe I saw an article in The Wanderer or Chronicles or on LifeSiteNews or Canon212. Maybe I heard Fr. Murray from the papal posse say something on Raymond Arroyo's show that was worth sharing. Maybe I want a break so I talk about my chickens or bees or life at Camp Kreitzer. 

My interests are eclectic and, like the blog says, I'm "looking at life from a Catholic point of view" and with (I hope) a faithful Catholic heart. If, in doing that, I can offer a little hope to someone struggling, or even make a new friend (Several readers have made the effort to visit Camp Kreitzer and break bread with us.), then that's enough. Some things I can't do anymore, but I can still sit at the computer keyboard and write. I offer my eight typing fingers to the Lord.

What does it mean to be a Catholic? The old Baltimore Catechism offers the most concise answer. We were made "to know, to love, and to serve God and be happy with Him in heaven." How do we do that? By obeying God's commandments and following the teachings of the apostles and the Church God left us as a guide and protector. "Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build My Church." Thank you, Lord, for giving us the "checks" to heaven as Emily Dickinson wrote.

I never saw a Moor-

I never saw the Sea, 

Yet know I how the Heather looks

And what a Billow be.

I never spoke with God

Nor visited in Heaven-

Yet certain am I of the spot

As if the Checks were given. 

(NB: The word "checks" referred to the slip the conductor on a train put on the back of the seat to "check" that the passenger alighted at the proper stop and paid the full price for his ticket. It is a much more definite term than the word "chart" which has been substituted in many anthologies. It's a perversion of the poem that dilutes Dickinson's point.)

But I digress.

 The dogmas of the Church are like the car manual in your glove compartment. If you study it and follow the rules, the car will run well. If you never read the manual or decide to ignore its instructions -- good luck! If you decide you want to use water in the gas tank or substitute honey for oil what do you think will happen? Will you rail at the car for ruining your travel plans and costing you a bundle in repair bills? Or will you take responsibility?

God is not the great spoilsport in the sky who wants to forbid us to do anything fun. He knows us, has ever hair on our heads counted, and wants us to love and trust Him to do what's best for us. Anything outside His will leads us to misery. Read The Hound of Heaven. The key to happiness is to know, love, and serve the Lord and He has given us the Church, her teachings, and seven sacraments of love to help us.

There are plenty of false teachers today trying to lure us away from the truth. They try to make us believe Catholics are made, not in God's image and likeness, but in their own. They have their own ideas and insist they can create Utopia through their efforts. Those who listen to their false promises will be disappointed.

Catholics are not social justice warriors who think forced redistribution of income is charity. Catholics are not environmental wackos who believe we can save the earth by limiting population through abortion and contraception. Catholics don't embrace insane beliefs, e.g., that there are dozens of "genders" and pronoun identifiers, that men can magically become women and women men by playing dress-up and mutilating their bodies. Catholics don't believe every illegal alien entering the country is a "refugee fleeing persecution" when 80% are coming to collect unearned goodies from liberal government thieves. Catholics know that man doesn't have all the answers; only God does. 

I ask the Blessed Mother to be my editor-in-chief. I ask my guardian angel to be my editorial adviser. While a reader may have a bee in his bonnet about the Gaza/Israel conflict, the border situation, tariffs, Martin Luther, etc. I am more likely to address, abortion; assisted suicide; the dismal state of the Church; education of our children; the scandal of Catholic Charities, Catholic Relief Services, and the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the synodal nonsense, etc. As I said, it depends on what I feel inspired to write.

I get a little sick of being called out for not addressing a troll's concerns and issues. START YOUR OWN BLOG. You can attack Trump and Musk and rail on about the right for men in drag to compete against women all you want. Whether anyone will read your blog is another question, but  don't expect me to provide you a forum to advance your rants. 

The last two dissertations I received went straight into the trash bin unread except for the first two sentences. I have no problem with polite and reasoned disagreement. I love Socratic dialogue. But I will not engage with trolls and rude barbarians. I will, however, offer my rosary for them and pray they learn the truth that courtesy is the grease that makes social contacts run smoothly. I will always try to treat readers with respect or at least respectful tolerance. I would appreciate the same courtesy in return.

And that is my new default position!