How do we value life?

From NPR https://www.npr.org/2020/09/20/913667325/how-joe-bidens-faith-shapes-his-politics

When Joe Biden seeks to inspire or comfort, he turns to his faith. He speeches are woven with references to God, biblical language or the pope.

On Monday, the Democratic presidential nominee spoke to the faith-based anti-poverty group the Poor People's Campaign, and described the United States under President Trump as a "nation in the wilderness."

"All of you remind me of how Scripture describes a calling born out of the wilderness," Biden told the virtual audience. "A calling to serve, not to be served. A calling toward justice, healing, hope — not hate. To speak the good news, and followed by some good deeds. It's not just enough to speak the good news, but good deeds."

This wasn't a one-off religious reference; this is how Biden routinely speaks.

The former vice president launched his candidacy by referring to his campaign as a "battle for the soul of the nation." It was the central theme of his primary run, and remains a core tenet of his campaign. If elected, Biden would become only the second Catholic president in American history. It's not a detail he highlights, but people who know him well say his Catholic faith is central to how he sees the world.

The true Trump comes out when considering his handling of the Coronarivus. Here he is sending ties/hats to the crowd in one of his barnstormer events. This is the day before he announced his diagnosis of having contracted the disease. He was contagious at the time. He had a serious case of Covid including dangerous drop in oxygen levels and difficulty breathing. The quarantine period is set at two weeks after all positive tests conclude. This is from October 14 in Iowa: not even two weeks from the first (publicly) announced positive covid test.

Trump should have remained in Walter Reed hospital for that period or even longer. Instead he did cameos at the White House and then started traveling to do campaigning. How many people does he put at risk by doing this? This is a reflection on his valuation of other people and their safety. Why would he put himself at such risk? He has fourteen medical doctors in attendance . He has his own medical wing traveling with him instead of staying at a hospital where their services could be shared with many other patients.

Trump has been continuing to downplay the Coronavirus even after having become very sick himself. Now he's some kind of super human for having "defeated" it. How does this play out for those of us who do not have 14 MD's to attend to any contingency? He still does his rallies without wearing a mask. The latest: now Trump is saying he will fire Dr Fauci after the election.

Catholics have been asked to consider the whole package. We were specifically by Pope John Paull II to vote on the topic of abortion in 2000. This is an incredibly important topic But we have been manipulated on this topic in the two decades since then. By folks that do not stand for Life and morality but can steal away voters by claiming this position. We are now asked to consider the overall picture. Who cares more about life and Catholic values more? I have taken the time to get to know what Joe Biden is about. He is a wonderful caring man. No, he can not in so many words come out for Pro-Life. I have however become convinced his heart is there . He does not espouse the alternative. Please get to know the man more yourselves. It is on the contrary also clear that Trump cares about that topic as a way to gain more votes. Please take that into your consideration and your prayers.

Observations:

Voting for Trump is voting for a person that disregards experts across a wide swath of fields. His treatment of Dr. Fauci, the leaders of the CDC and the lies he tells up to this minute to the American public show he cares about one thing: to win reelection. I come from a family of researchers and am appalled at his promotion of falsehoods in medicine, science, and the intelligence services. He has sidelined experts in favor of persons who say what he wants for his image an benefit - again mostly at the service of trying to win this election.

Trusting in Trump means trusting in his cronies as well. One of his first actions was to put the CEO of ExxonMobil in as Secretary of the Department of the Interior. Guess what has meant for our National Parks and public lands He dismantles structures of government. Look at his track record of selecting heads of the government bureaus. He puts people he likes and often enough are actively hostile to the institutions they now lead.

In international affairs Trump has undermined 7 decades of Post WWII diplomacy. Read up on how the respected German government now feels about the US. We have sidelined longstanding allies and made serious blunders. He has weakened ties to core allies and simply destroyed ties to a host of countries in South China Sea region (that Obama had carefully built up to counter Chinese domination). Trump blew up that coalition within months of taking office - and China gladly stepped in . He also throws out the experts in field ranging from medicine to science to even the intellgence services. A good manager makes the most of the resources at their disposal. Trump throws out the expert resources and puts in his friends. He put in the prior CEO of ExxonMobil to be the head of the Department of the Interior. He put someone in charge of the EPA to intentionally thwart its mission. A Republican president had created the EPA !

Trump appears to be a pathological liar. Follow his statements and see that they represent his preferred stance and/or his ignorance. Truth/facts are about portraying reality - whether it were pleasing and/or supporting one's agenda or not. That is antithetical to the way Trump operates.

Trumps' handling of Covid has been astounding. The New England Journal of Medicine is a world leader. The extent of mishandling of this crisis brought them to an unprecented set of declarations. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2029812 . Some excerpts:

> Here in the United States, our leaders have failed that test. They have taken a crisis and turned it into a tragedy.

> our leaders have largely chosen to ignore and even denigrate experts.

With his having contracted Covid along with many of this staff - yet his insistence to downplay its dangers he continues to add to the blood already on his hands.

A large swath of prominent Republicans want to see the country steered back to competence. Biden is recognized as an experienced, empathetic, intelligent, and able person - and also a moderate . A partial list from wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Republicans_who_oppose_the_Donald_Trump_2020_presidential_campaign .

Partial list of Republicans that oppose Trump for 2020

A bonus this time around is that the challenger Joe Biden is a strong candidate In his qualifications abilities, and demeanor. He does not have the baggage of Clinton (who I voted for only reluctantly) and he has shown real competence. He is not flashy. Is that so important?

Stephen Boesch. Mountain View, California October 28, 2020 stephen.boesch@utexas.edu