Titus’ beautiful post about Tolstoy on Lincoln and Carl’s resolute post about the absurdity of the Democrats’ court packing shenanigans brings something to mind I have been wanting to ask for awhile: what was up with Joe Biden’s Lincoln quote during the Inaugural Address in January?
Biden said:
”In another January in Washington, on New Year’s Day 1863, Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
When he put pen to paper, the President said, ‘If my name ever goes down into history it will be for this act and my whole soul is in it.’
My whole soul is in it.”
I really do believe that Abraham Lincoln’s “whole soul” was devoted to his mission as President of keeping the union together and ultimately freeing the slaves. But I don’t believe Joe Biden’s “whole soul” is in the job of the Presidency, looking at the job he has done so far. The problem is, throughout his career Joe Biden has cut off parts of his soul- parts of his Catholic soul and conscience- for power’s sake. Maybe that’s why Biden felt the need to say his whole soul was in it- because it isn’t.
When asked last September how he can reconcile his support for abortion in the law but presumably oppose abortion in accordance with his Catholic faith, Biden said:
“My private beliefs relative to how I would deal with church doctrine is different than my imposing that doctrine on every other person in the world—equally decent Christians and Jews and Muslims and Buddhists.”
What Biden offers with his “can’t impose” excuse is a dodge of course. What does it mean to “impose” one's private beliefs on government? That is a word ordinarily used in the realm of polite manners; for example, when you push away the snacks your Aunt offers at her house, you might say “I don't mean to impose on your hospitality.” What Biden means by “impose” is that his Catholic beliefs on abortion cannot be “forced” on other people through law.
However: Is Biden imposing or forcing the Democratic party's pro-abortion beliefs on people who disagree? In addition, does Biden really think it is an imposition when the government enforces beliefs on other matters, such as the equal protection of rights against racially discriminatory businesses? Biden would probably respond that racial discrimination does a harm, and therefore it is not an imposition for government to stop it. Which is exactly what the pro-life side says about abortion: it does a harm, and the government ought to stop it.
The truth is, by adopting an amoral approach to politics, President Biden kills a part of himself, and creates a dualism- the “real ME” vs. what me the politician does. It’s an approach that many of my fellow Catholics involved in politics over the years have taken. It’s a laugh though, if anyone thinks that’s a real justification; that goes for everybody from Mario Cuomo and John F. Kennedy to Machiavelli.
Solid observations, CJ. He is a man. His soul's reckonings could do our nation substantial good, mostly in the form of not doing certain harms. That may have happened a bit yesterday, if he had anything to do with Pelosi's quick declaration of present opposition to court-packing.
Those truths admitted, I must note that while could be interested to think about the souls of men like Obama, Trump, W., Clinton, etc., I feel none of that--as in zero--with Biden. Like most Americans, it appears, when it comes to Joseph Biden, the man whom I join my church in praying for every time we gather, I follow the advice of my mother.
I would be fascinated to find one of these sophisticated Americans of the Democrat persuasion who is pro-life. Not just for the sake of novelty; to even think of subjecting a man of ambition--or rather a woman--to the opprobrium of America's elites, one would need a good reason; in my case, the reason is very simple: Democrats strike me as optimistic to a fault, almost a caricature of American character, but I think reasonable Democrats are merely very hopeful--not childishly convinced there's no such thing as catastrophe, but hopeful that through democracy, we'll figure it out. That the people with the aid of the state & the elites will do well enough. So that would involve, it seems to me, helping out the poor, who have most of the abortions, & helping out mothers see a hopeful future for their children. That would be lotsa feminism, but it's something I can leave with. I'd like to see politicians in the Democrat party who think that way & act on that conviction. I'd like to see at least one prominent woman of this type.
Compared to that possibility, Biden seems a mere shadow, even aside from his imminent realization of his mortality. I don't think there's anything his soul is really in--his whole soul. The Democrat electorate deserves better; Republicans, too--if half the nation is to lose the election, which must happen in any election, there had better be something to make it up to them...