Why do some Catholics lean politically conservative?

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I don’t have a degree, but I do own a small business. To tell people that they can’t have something they want because they don’t have a degree is silly in my opinion. First: it takes a desire to want it.
Second: save your money so you can start it.
Third: work your butt off to make sure it works out the way you want.

I’ve been in business for ten years for myself. I’m a homebuilder that made it through the recession without bankruptcy.
I had to adapt to the changing environment to keep my business alive.

I did all of this without a college education. Not to mention the thousands of dollars I didn’t have to spend.

College is not for everyone.
 
College is not for everyone.
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I definitely agree and I think it could be good for the Republican platform is counteract tuition-free college by championing support for things like vocational education.

That said, I do think the point that Denny is trying to make is that things aren’t so easy especially if the odds are against you. Additionally, @Midori’s post, mentions how individuals need an inventory of resources to thrive and lacking multiple ones can make life a struggle.
There are different resources, and the more resources you lack, the more likely that the unexpected will whirlwind you into a bad situation. Obviously, you have financial resources, but you also have emotional resources— being able to respond to stress appropriately, not indulge in self-destructive behaviors. You have your mental/cognitive resources-- where education comes in-- but also being able to just be sharp and focused and know how to deal with daily life. You have your spiritual resources-- you perceive your place in the world, and how you fit into the great scheme of things, your relationship with the divine, and where you’re going, and why. You have your physical resources-- your health is a big part of it, but also your ability to work, your mobility. You have your support systems-- a spouse, parents, in-laws, etc. You have relationships and role models-- you see successful, non-self-destructive people, and you emulate their behavior. You have your knowledge of hidden rules-- you know how to act in a socially acceptable manner given your circumstances, take cues, and so on. You know how to use language formally in a way that’s appropriate to a situation-- you’re able to express your thoughts clearly, communicate in writing as well as verbally, have an acceptable vocabulary, and so on.
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Furthermore, if we had enough full-time jobs on hand, perhaps poverty wouldn’t be so difficult to climb out of and immigration wouldn’t be such a pressing issue. Though to give credit to conservatives, it seems they’re betting on not just private charity but also better opportunities and their entire agenda hasn’t been enforced yet in a holistic manner (cutting both taxes and spending to name one issue) .
 
Larryk113 said:
College is not for everyone.
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But a trade or apprenticeship will help. I have not advocated college degrees alone, I advocate for some training above and beyond high school…My own grandfather was an immigrant with a 5th grade education. He had a gift such as yourself, his was art. He studied under a painter called Sarkis at night in downtown Detroit, perfected his artistic ability to show it to a potential employer. That employer was Chrysler. He was hired as an automotive sculptor when it was done in clay at that time.

My point being that without a trade, a vocation, guidance, or the ability to “learn” something (when there is a will to do so) it is beneficial to the contribution of society vs the dole…Education should be available for those that want it, and wealth shouldn’t hinder a dream.

ciao’
 
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RCIAGraduate said:
Furthermore, if we had enough full-time jobs on hand, perhaps poverty wouldn’t be so difficult to climb out of and immigration wouldn’t be such a pressing issue
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I’m in Alabama. Everybody I know in my field (construction) needs help. The problem we run into is people don’t want to work. Granted construction is hard work but I think the whole college is a must mentality has really hit the trades work environment. We joke around on job sites when we see a young man working hard (few and far between) that he’ll be rich one day because no one else will know how to do it. Most of the guys that work for or with me are 35 + years old. just a couple of 18+.

And I get the point of people having mentors and good examples…I did. But that starts at home.
 
Pro Life concerns all the living from the moment of conception. It is just that the most massively ignored in proportion to the magnitude are the children in the womb.
 
That’s an awesome story about your grandad!!

I guess the thing I don’t get is why should the government (or taxpayers)pay for college? There are student loans if one so chooses, that’s how my wife made it through Auburn. College is not the answer to everything poverty. I have friends with college degrees that make less than guys that work for me starting out. Everyone is different, that I get. But sometimes a bootstrap mentality is what one may need to get going.
 
Some things I agree with, some not due to the inability to see how they have actually been successful in either the creation of jobs or wage increases beyond the minimum wage. Nonetheless, a good narrative on your behalf.
I’m thinking of examples of an impeccable people who’s relative numbers have remained small but mighty. Persecuted through the ages and still to this day, one could look at our Jewish brothers and sisters. These people have advocated for education and evolved notoriously intelligent and successful for the most part. They never would have defeated the armies to return to their homeland in the late 40’s through shear force of numbers, they utilized skill through technology and were outnumbered greatly but won a war to reclaim a homeland.
Education is one way of teaching a man to fish for more than a day. Technical trainings and vocational schools for those that have no fathers in the homes, no mentors either are beneficial. No one need be destined for poverty when there is a way to learn something that can be utilized as a profitable livelihood. I don’t understand the conservative way, I don’t believe I ever will or am meant to anymore. We all evolve.
Thanks for the involvement within your thread, it was enlightening but unfortunately not all for the good.
 
Yes but we have high schools for that, why integrate career-technical education (CTE) within the framework of High Schools, I can see the benefits of postsecondary education but just lengthening the education program and delaying work can also cause an issue as well.
 
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DENNYINMI said:
We all evolve.
Thanks for the involvement within your thread, it was enlightening but unfortunately not all for the good.
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Thanks for the involvement within your thread, it was enlightening but unfortunately not all for the good.
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Discussing politics can be fun but I understand how it can spark strife and division, for any whom I offended and for any damage I caused, please excuse me. I don’t wish to drag you (and most especially your soul) down. All of you.
 
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Intensely sad. The culture of death as a human issue, that has political ramifications shows how Jesus Christ as the least, most vulnerable, and helpless among us continues to be treated by most of the world — and the acceptance and complacency is extraordinary. And it is all tied into God’s design for the family as the building block of society - while should always be compassionately asserted;
has been attacked, along with other of God’s designs for a false freedom.
The greatest enemy of peace, the culture of death thrives by silence; and everyone suffers.
 
Human beings are given certain values early in life. If internalized, they integrate new values and beliefs around those, incorporating them according to determined importance or fit. This integration continues unless some other factor, usually life events or ongoing education, disrupts the built structure of values and beliefs.

For some, the structure of values and beliefs is changed mindfully through an examination and reinterpretation of sorts. But for many, such introspection is absent. New pieces are added to the structure merely because they fit what is already there. Start building a circle and you must add round pieces. Start building a square and you must add square pieces. Good politicians know what pieces to hand you. Indeed, according to what you’ve built, you know what pieces you want from them. What you give them in return is power.

Over time, however, it becomes harder and harder to change the structure one has spent a lifetime building or being told by those in power to build. In the end, either one is happy with what they’ve built or one is disappointed. Yet, even the disappointed find change hard. So, Indeed, we must be careful what we integrate into our thinking and who we allow to help us build.

How well are we doing so far? 😎
 
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Point well taken. Can you or @redbetta name an example of people falling into chronic, long-term poverty without it being their fault? Under what circumstances does this happen?
 
If the main breadwinner of the house becomes ill or disabled and cannot go back to work. These things can be aggravated if there is no family or friends around to help out.
 
Industrial closings and downturns can cause long term poverty problems.

But even then, it is usually still partly the man’s fault.

He didn’t study in school and ended up with a shovel in the open hearth, and when that job went kaput, he was unprepared for anything else
 
But how do we know if he didn’t study? What if he tried his darnedest but for whatever he wasn’t “fit for college” perhaps he had to work part-time to support his family, maybe his kind and loving parents couldn’t afford college despite their arduous efforts, perhaps he had disabilities like mild cognitive debilitation which limited his prospects among other reasons. Pardon for my melodramatic scenarios, but it seems like there are folks, maybe a lot who lost the “rat race” and perhaps these were folks who tried.

In respect to chronic poverty, couldn’t a lot of poverty be attributed to things like having seasonal work (and you live in a rural community where opportunities are limited) so you can only work “x” months in a year. Sadly, while those seasonal jobs provide, they don’t pay enough to be able to save, meaning those folks have no future (again, the US doesn’t seem to have enough 40 hour jobs to give work to all who would like to pursue it). What can be done about these folks; I feel that perhaps many low and moderate income folks have to deal with the backlash of economic volatility, how can we instead provide economic security rather than financial instability so these people may have a measure of repose?
 
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Catholics were predominately Democrat (and by the way, still are) up until Roe. v. Wade. That’s when we start seeing a shift right. This is only an issue in the USA, of course.

I agree that most issues that are important to Catholics are supported best by the Democratic Party. While a fewer number of important issues are traditionally supported by the Republican Party.
 
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Augustinian said:
He didn’t study in school and ended up with a shovel in the open hearth
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So who should be doing these jobs? Nobody?

An underclass of people we perpetually look down on?
Augustinian said:
and when that job went kaput, he was unprepared for anything else
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I think that most of us would be unprepared if our jobs went kaput. White collar jobs require specialized and pricey degrees, certifications, and licenses, and it costs heaps of money and time to start over in a new white collar trade.

Also, I’m a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom and have been out of the workforce for awhile as a result. Do you look down on me because I’m professionally “unprepared?”
 
I agree. Two truisms that are fairly true are that Democrats care most for the poor and Republicans care most about the already well off. The second is that the young are idealistic and forward-looking so tend to vote for Democrats, older people are more set in their ways and rigid so trend Republican.
 
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