For The Record
Embryo Parson Posted on Sunday, August 28, 2022 at 10:02AM Fr. Hart claims in his latest blog entry that I "apparently . . . believe that political support for the former President, of which I am incapable because of my conscience, is the new standard for both conservatism and orthodoxy."
Well, I am grateful that he used the them "apparently", for what "appears" to him is not the case at all. I do believe, however, that traditional Anglicanism necessarily commits us to some form of traditional conservatism, and I do believe, as Rod Dreher wrote at Touchstone back in 2003, that the Democratic Party is the godless party. However, the necessity of being a traditional conservative does not necessarily translate into support for any particular GOP politician. There are other options for tradcons: voting for a third-party candidate, writing in a candidate, or abstaining from voting altogether with a nostalgic glance at the throne accross the pond.
I did vote for Trump in 2016 because the godless party's alternative was unthinkable. I wonder who Fr. Hart voted for in that election. I sure hope it wasn't Hilary.
I also believe the persecution of Trump by Democrats and the Deep State during his tenure was scandalous. However, in the next election I will likely be supporting Ron DeSantis if he runs.
So no, I do not support Trump cultism and I do not believe that supporting Trump is "the new standard for both conservatism and orthodoxy." My sole beef with Fr. Hart is his over-the-top, vulgar rhetoric that is condemnatory of a huge swath of American voters, namely Republicans (and I would suspect Libertarians too), many if not most of whom are Christians. "Trumpublican pieces of $#!+"; "children"; "lying pieces of trash"; "vile critters"; "morons"; "corrupt Republican voters".
Look, I understand political anger. I harbor a fair amount of political anger myself, but it *behooves us as priests* to try as best we can to temper that anger and control our tongues. Hart isn't even trying.
Reader Comments (4)
Thank you for this. Much appreciated.
When true conservatism is as socially unacceptable to those who would prefer a more "socialist" agenda, we seem to get a choice between two wrong answers. As you say, we have to try and do so with some generosity of spirit.
Thank you, Fr.
The original post, which I saw before it was deleted, explicitly said that Fr. Hart was still orthodox.
No one's questioning that.