Happy Independence Day! That wish is expressed somewhat furtively!

Many of us are feeling frightened and anxious on this Fourth of July, 2023. It seems that women, Black and brown people, and those of us who know that sexual orientation and gender identity cannot be squeezed into a stark binary of male/female have taken some really tough hits this past year — hard fought rights we began taking for granted have been attacked and swept away by six Supreme Court justices.

Today we may go to the park to watch fireworks. We may host family and neighborhood picnics of burgers, potato salad, corn on the cob and down watermelon leaning forward to accommodate the slobber. We may feel proud and self-congratulatory — if somewhat naively — in claiming to live in the freest country in the world. We may even hear patriotic platitudes from the media reminding us, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men [and women] are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights.”

Is this truly what we believe? Is it truly more than a bromide? Are we willing to defend such bold, noble proclamations? What precisely do we believe is “self-evident?” — some self-assured binary of right and wrong, male/female, yes/no, black/white, us/them certitudes? Such bald assertions just feel too secure, defensive and self-serving in light of the ennobling rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness lavishly proclaimed in our Declaration of Independence.

Many ask me, “Richard, how do you remain so resolutely Catholic?” Many more of us are asking, “Can we remain living in a MAGA nation?” Well, the flippant but equally accurate answer is that I’ve been given a remarkably good education in theology and Church history. That includes a masters degree in Political Philosophy and I’ve taught American Government. Another reason is that I’m old! — all I need is to look back at the America or the Catholic Church into which I was born in 1950 and where we are in 2023 — Wowzer! Change happens, dramatically over time, but not without jarring setbacks at other times!

Much has been made in religious circles about how devout Catholics like Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi make sense of their responsibilities as President or Speaker of the House. They demonstrate how I, and other people of committed faith, escape that most subtle and sinister of binaries — that I cannot be a patriotic American (in defense of the rights so nefariously compromised in the last year) and a committed Catholic equally proud of my religious identity.

As a person of faith and a patriot, I do believe that all men and women have been endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. And among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Yes, that is why people form governments — to protect these rights and provide for our common welfare. That is why the bedrock of Catholic moral teaching — as you will see being played out in the throes of contemporary America — is the supremacy of the well-intentioned and well-informed individual human conscience!

Admittedly, it’s tough! But it’s how I keep the faith — in America and in my Church.