I no longer fit into any box. I used to see myself as a socialist. I don’t any more. I used to see myself as progressive of leftist. I don’t any more. But I haven’t changed course and become a conservative all of a sudden, neither in the American nor in the more benign German sense.
Umkahlil comments in her blog about the "liberal bloggers" who complained of not being invited to the press-party, when so many conservatives were. But when she checked out their blogs, she couldn’t even find one pro-Palestinian article in March from all the list of those "liberal" bloggers.
Those "liberals" were totally blind to the suffering of the Palestinian people.
In the same way I could not even find one single article by so-called progressives who could see, that there was enough evidence in Schiavo case to point to a mercy-killing not of a "brain-dead" woman but of a severely handicapped but awake woman, whose life was declared "unworthy" to live, something the Nazis have done to thousands of people.
In the same way I see the German liberals and progressives being satisfied with the ban of women wearing a headscarf teaching in public schools or working in other public services, since according to their logic those women are either oppressed by their families or they are potential terrorists or married to potential terrorists.
So by banning women from working they are trying to liberate them?
I never was a feminist, but when I read progressive stuff, it seems to me, that feminism is a main prerequisite of being a progressive and in nearly all cases, atheism as well. However feminism nowadays means no longer to fight for equal rights in politics, in the family and at the working place, no, it means most and foremost and over all the fight for "female reproduction rights" or just plain pro-choice or still more plain pro-abortion.
Not agreeing on this issue means a woman is self-hating and reactionary. It’s not even possible to discuss the matter, arguments, even scientific arguments are not allowed to be raised. End of discussion, Punkt, basta.
And then what about my religious opinions? Most people in my parish came from countries with far more conservative Catholicism than I. Theologically I do not always agree with them. I can’t read the bible literally, but I see much symbolism in it.
However I do believe in the central points of the Creed, the divinity of Christ, his suffering and death for the sins of the world, his resurrection, the promise of eternal life for us and Christ’s presence in the Eucharist.
But then most German Catholics do no longer believe this either. And those you hear about in the news are all for reforming the Church by turning her upside down.
For sure I wouldn’t mind a few minor changes, but in these so very dangerous times for the Church to get into an inside battle, dancing around her own navel is in my opinion not only self-defeating but out right irresponsible. Should the Church to be changed into something the small but vociferous middle-European liberal Catholics want against more than 90% of her practicing membership in times where we are on the edge of a new world-war?
And so I pray with my whole heart, please, God, let the next Pope be a conservative but not a Zionist. But the German liberal Catholics will tell me, so you want the Pope to be a Jew-hating Inquisitor?
No, I’d say, I just want his main work be not changing the Church from the inside but strengthening her message of peace and justice towards the poor of the world. Let the next Pope also become an ambassador between the world’s cultures and religions, a peace maker, a true pontifex, a builder of bridges.
But the liberals won’t listen to any explanations, they never do. They call me conservative, they call me reactionary, they call me self-hating, and they call me anti-Semitic.
I’m none of those things.
I’m Erlenda, I’m an alien.
