Why don’t we let the wise in the East talk about politics? Confucius said, politics is nothing but being worthy of oneself—being worthy of king, being worthy of father, and being worthy of son. Someone asked the master Confucius, “How do you do politics?” He answered, “I would enrich economy, strengthen the defense of a country and make people trust one another.” “What if you have to give up one among them?” “I would renounce the defense of a country.” “What if you have to disown one more? “I would forsake economy because without trust, the society can’t sustain.” In looking at the situation in the country now, I am afraid that the country goes in the opposite direction—weakening social trust to keep the economy going.
All these crises would ultimately result from our way of living—acting like the owner of the vineyard although we are workers. The landowner the Creator asks for the legitimate produce from his vineyard; the tenants we chose to be our representatives refuse and want the landowner’s produce. Greed drives the leaders to be like a landowner not a servant. Here we should consider the role of God’s people not only to produce fruit but to work with the tenants. In the Catholic Tradition, responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation. But the US bishops recognize the situation in their statement “Forming consciences for Faithful Citizenship.” Unfortunately, politics in our country often can be a contest of powerful interests, partisan attacks, sound bites, and media hype. The Church calls for a different kind of political engagement: one shaped by the moral convictions of well-formed consciences and focused on the dignity of every human being, the pursuit of the common good, and the protection of the weak and the vulnerable. The Catholic call to faithful citizenship affirms the importance of political participation and insists that public service is a worthy vocation. As Catholics, we should be guided more by our moral convictions than our attachment to a political party to which we belong; we should not let the party transform us in such a way that we neglect or deny fundamental moral truth. We are called to bring together our principles and our political choices, our values and our votes, to help build a better world.
But I want to make sure that in this statement, the bishops do not intend to tell Catholics for whom or against whom to vote. The purpose is to help Catholics form their consciences in accordance with God’s truth. We recognize that the responsibility to make choices in political life rests with each individual in light of a properly formed conscience, and that participation goes well beyond casting a vote in a particular election.
In this world, I believe that we are called to take part in the tenants’ role by showing our right convictions in terms of our votes. Our responsibility to work in the Lord’s vineyard as workers not owners should bring about our stewardship as God’s children in the society. The wise in the East once distinguished rulers: the best ruler is only known by his presence among people; the second ruler is popular with people; people are afraid of the third ruler while people despise the lowest ruler.
Therefore, let us be faithful citizens who focus on moral principles than on the latest polls, focus more on the needs of the weak than on benefits for the strong and focus more on the pursuit of the common good than on the demands of narrow interests. As one nation, with humble leaders, we need to be worthy of the responsible workers who try to make a difference in the world. God bless all.