THE FRUSTRATIONS OF ARGUING WITH A LIBERAL

Reading through the comments on Caveman's "Update on the Wilmington Latin Mass" post reminded me of just how annoying arguing with a liberal is. It appears that some of the St. Mary's parishioners are upset with Caveman's reporting on some of the suspicious mishaps at the August 30th TLM and are letting him know about it with the usual vitriol one would expect from a liberal.

It is well known among people who care that the pastor of St. Mary's parish in Wilmington hates pre-Conciliar Catholicism. It is also well known among people that care that the pastor of St. Mary's parish in Wilmington sees Vatican II as a rupture and a "new springtime." It is well known that among other things, the pastor at St. Mary's hates that form of the Catholic Mass which was the "ordinary form" of the Latin Rite from AT LEAST the 6th century up through the mid part of the 20th century. And it is well known that his hatred for the Mass extends to those who have an affinity for it. In fact, he sees such evil in "pre-Conciliar" Catholicism that he apparently views those who have an affinity for it as fascists.

Knowing all of the above, Caveman took the liberty to post about several observations he made at the August 30th liturgy. Among other things, comments were made on the issue with the thermostat being rigged so that it would not go below 84 degrees. The issue with the sound system. And the issue with the apparent lack of fans in the choir loft. And then the questions were posed on whether all of these issues, among others not commented on, were a result of the effort of the same pastor at St. Mary's parish.

Now I for one see no problem with Caveman's report, analysis, or questions. And I certainly do not see how anyone can in good faith characterize his report as calumny as one of St. Mary's parishioners chastised him. For instance, the most applicable definition for calumny provided by Merriam Webster's online dictionary is as follows: "the act of uttering false charges or misrepresentations maliciously calculated to harm another's reputation." None of the charges made were false and none of them were made with malicious intent to harm another's reputation.

It is a fact that the sound system was absolutely terrible and that this was not the norm. It is a fact that the thermostat was set above 80 degrees and that someone had tampered with it in such a way as to prevent the setting from going below 84 degrees. It is a fact that the Church was sweltering throughout the liturgy, that someone fainted, and that another person threw up. It is a fact that certain persons informed the choir that fans were missing in the choir loft. Taking all of these facts together and considering them in light of the unadulterated contempt the St. Mary's pastor has for what was occurring that evening it is more than reasonable for Caveman to take up his keyboard and to go on the offensive for God and country. He is a marine after all and one of the reasons I at one time was working to enter the U.S. Marine Corps is because I understood that to be a U.S. Marine meant that you defend your own. And if anything, Caveman can be blamed with nothing more than defending his own. So semper fi brother!!!

And so I would just like to thank Caveman for always putting up the good fight and for not being scared to go out on a limb to protect what is sacred. There are few things in this world more frustrating than attempting to argue points of logic and common sense with a liberal. As was the case with the comments to the post I referenced above, liberals have a tendency to attack their enemy by accusing their enemy of behavior that they themselves are engaging in at the very moment they are chastising their enemy for supposedly doing the very same thing. Hence, accuse your enemy of being unCharitable while you yourself are being unCharitable. Liberals will also then begin to use language to attack their enemy which they themselves would never in a million years use in any other conversation, such as the idea that Lucifer actually exists or that mortal sin exists outside of just having an affinity for traditional Catholicism. These tactics are tried and true and they are very effective in knocking a person off their game. They put you on the defensive. Hence the point of my heading, the frustrations of arguing with a liberal. Be it politics or religion, you will never get to the crux of the matter before the conversation degenerates into a bunch of circular argumentation. Meanwhile, the million dollar question goes unanswered, who in fact did put the governor in place at St. Mary's parish on August 30th so that the thermostat could be set no lower than 84 degrees? I think if you find the answer to that question, you just might find out whether there was some "malicious" intent behind the sub-par sound system and the missing fans.

God Bless You Caveman and glad to know you are still among us.