I would call these the heroic vocations, or the anti-violence vocations: you place your life in the line of fire, risking death, to protect the community from violence. They, in my view, are the very highest secular vocations. They are inferior, of course, to the priesthood and religious life, which are of their very nature, objectively closer to Christ. (Subjectively, we know, many lay people are deeply holy; and some priests and religious are deeply sinful.)
Yesterday Luke visited West Point and was favorably impressed. Fr. Gabe Costa, friend of Fr. Joe, chaplain and math professor, explained that the place resembles a seminary in its formative dimension, unlike most college life. Tommy has also expressed interest. I would never push anyone towards or away from a specific vocation: this is a matter of the heart and mind in union with God. But we do well to consider the nature and value of different vocations.
Our family leans overwhelmingly into human services: psychology, medicine, teaching. We have no one in the fire or police departments. Paul Anthony served in the army as JAG lawyer; cousin Connor is a DOJ prosecutor, which is very close to police work. Going back in time, all of my five uncles (4 Laracy and 1 Gallagher) served honorably in World War II. Uncle Jack Laracy fought with Patton. Uncle Bill Gallagher was awarded the Purple Heart (wounded in battle) and went on to serve many years, secretively, in army intelligence.
My generation came of age in the anti-military fervor of the Vietnam war era. We boomers, especially the loudest, cockiest and most influential of us, have carried a prejudice against the military. In liberal and progressive circles (but not in the lower echelons of society, or the South) a cloud of shame hangs over things military. There abides a soft pacifism that blames American militarism, imperialism, and colonialism for much of our global violence. And so: the oil greed of the USA fuels the turmoil in the Middle East; NATOs ambitions regarding Ukraine triggered Putin's invasion.
When Obama took office, there were great expectations for an era of peace, especially in the Middle East: he would break with the oil fascination and Neo-conservative militarism of Bush with his own Muslim background and his enlightened reasonableness and inclination to dialogue. What ensued, of course, was that the entire region exploded in violence. This was neither caused by nor could it have been prevented by Obama. But it unveils the illusory progressive optimism that underlaid the scapegoating of American power as the root of all evil.
Denial of Evil: The Root Error of Progressivism. Secular progressivism most fundamentally denies the realities of sin (original, mortal and venial), Satan, and hell....the world, the flesh and the devil...our perennial enemies! It confesses that these are myths, non-entities, and that we humans can bring happiness by our own agency through: therapy, education, negotiation, open-mindedness, science, technology, globalism rather than nationalism/localism, the inevitable "arc of history," the "awokening" of the oppressed and victory over the oppressors. And so, we can: defund the police; disarm ourselves; embrace anti-racism and the entire woke agenda; liberate our sexuality; empower the enlightened, liberal, mother-state; and live in utopia here on earth forever.
Evil today. Consider:
- The details of the Hamas attack on Oct 7, 2023. The rape, torture and murder, even of mothers and children in each others presence. The continued captivity of the hostages. The placement of Hamas militia in hospitals, schools, nurseries.
- Russia's unprovoked invasion of the Ukraine with its relentless bombing of civilian populations.
- The massive, near total suppression of human rights and dignity in China, North Korea as well as Cuba, Venezuela and now Nicaragua.
- Gangs currently being deported (Tren de Agua) ritualistically torture their murder victims. A member is in charge of "dismemberment."
- Heroic Vocations are those which directly engage such evil: soldier, police, firefighter. They risk their lives to protect the rest of us. These are the most courageous, noble, and virtuous of professions. Each requires an extraordinary degree of virtue...patience, restraint, forgiveness...in order to engage such evil but not be drawn into it.
A vocation to the military, police or fire department is similar to the calling to priesthood. It is a special mission; requires unusual virtue; is absolutely necessary for the good of the entire community. In elite, liberal culture they are widely disparaged as being violent, corrupt, racist. These field do attract some bad types: sociopaths, borderlines, bullies. But the heart and soul of these careers are noble an heroic.
These can involve the use of force, including lethal force, in the service of anti-violence. Such force, even when lethal, is essentially non-violent as it is defensive of innocent life and of the good of the community. We will be quite proud if any of our young people are drawn, in God's providence, to such service.
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