George Weigel writes (CR, Nov. 20) about “The Two Americas.” He, of course, is talking about the two major political parties which campaigned on the issues that he refers to and the supporters of each party. Most Catholics, and millions of others, are concerned about the issues Mr. Weigel raises, but with others as well. The reason such choices for voters were so difficult is that neither candidate had views which were totally consistent with what those voters wanted or with church beliefs. There was support for abortion and embryonic stem cell research on the one side, and support for pre-emptive and hence unjust war and indifference to the gap between the rich and the rest of our citizens on the other. Do we ignore those issues in selecting a president and vote based solely on the issues of abortion and embryonic stem cell research? Clearly, many Catholic voters did not.
An unsatisfactory outcome for many is an inevitable outcome in an election. It produces winners and losers and the test of our Republic is how well we deal with both defeat and victory. A loss on Election Day does not diminish the justness of the cause. It does suggest, however, that progress here and around the world to elevate the sanctity of human life is a struggle for hearts and minds, and election outcomes are but a sign of how successful we are in that struggle. Clearly, there is a lot of work to be done, much of it in the Catholic community, itself.