Political Papist Column
Homeless California and helpful charities
A. MONTES POLITICAL PAPIST COLUMNIST For several years now, the Golden State’s number of homeless residents has been under scrutiny. The issue stole the limelight even more than usual when President Donald J. Trump decried Los Angeles’ and San Francisco’s political leaders for the awful conditions and threatened to send federal government intervention if the […]
Political Papist Column: Feminism, hypocrisy and the draft
A. MONTES POLITICAL PAPIST COLUMNIST TikTok, that ever-popular video platform and source of the world’s stupidest dances, is currently awash with memes about World War III. Some of them are funny, most are stupid, but a rare few offer an ironic twist of politics. I’m thinking of one in particular, in which a young woman references gender equality […]
Impeachment inquiry: What we know so far
A. MONTES POLITICAL PAPIST COLUMN If you’ve looked at the news at all recently, you’ve probably seen something about the attempted impeachment of President Trump by some members of the Democratic party. When I first started researching, my main query was simply “why?” I donned my field clothes (a sweater and socks), grabbed my weapon of choice (hot chocolate) and set out to discover […]
The sins of socialism, part three: Robin Hood or just robbin’?
A. MONTES POLITICAL PAPIST COLUMNIST I grew up watching Disney’s anthropomorphic, animated “Robin Hood” movie, a pure, timeless classic. I used to imagine myself as one of Robin’s Merry Men, living in a beautiful forest, wearing a stylish leather jerkin and green tights and sneaking into Prince John’s palace to steal back money for the desperate poor. Oh, and practicing archery. What a life. But as I grew older, I realized that forests are full of bugs (I find ants […]
Political Papist: The sins of socialism, part two: Is work wicked or worthwhile?
A. MONTES POLITICAL PAPIST COLUMNIST When I studied abroad, I travelled to Galway, Ireland, for a couple days with two close friends, staying at a bed-and-breakfast run by an abrasive old Irish man who greeted us by calling us “Yanks.” At first, I did not think highly of him; he elaborated extensively on his love of […]
The sins of socialism, part one: Economic fairness or envious fiction?
A. MONTES POLITICAL PAPIST COLUMNIST If you follow any Gen-Z bloggers, Instagram or Tumblr accounts or Twitter profiles, you’ve probably seen complaints about the “rich white men” who run the economy, who run for office and who run away from the idea of giving up even a penny of their wealth. It appears, on the […]
Agenda before truth: A Catholic response
A. MONTES POLITICAL PAPIST COLUMNIST Why, hello there! This is the Political Papist, a column about Catholics in politics. If you’re anything like me, you probably think politics is difficult, disheartening and obnoxious. That’s true. But, as children of God and American citizens, it is our duty to stand up for the truth, even if it’s […]