US Elections/ The Bumper Sticker Approach to Politics

Steubenville, Ohio is a small city, located on the far eastern edge of the state of Ohio, and pressed up against the Ohio River, which forms the border with the state of West Virginia.
 

The city is deeply divided. Its prosperous past as a booming steel town contrasts sharply with its present economic malaise, which results from the weakened US steel industry; according to a June 20, 2008 census, the median income for a household in the city was $26,516, while about 20.4% of the population live below the poverty line. Into this economically depressed community of staunch union supporters and Democrats (there are six Democrats for every Republican), an influx of new residents has been drawn to the city by Franciscan University of Steubenville, a Catholic school that has become known for its commitment to “a more rigorous form of faith” and as a haven for those who wish to revive “old rituals [while] hewing to strict doctrine...[It is a place] where normal college life intersects with ultradevout Catholicism” (Newsweek). These newcomers are politically conservative, with an ardent desire to overturn Roe v. Wade.
 

To protect the unborn, these Catholics will turn out in numbers to protest when pro-abortion candidates visit the town (John Kerry and Bill Clinton); their cars sport multiple pro-life bumper stickers; and they generously support a local crisis pregnancy agency. Nonetheless, conversations between the small but vocal university Catholics and long-time Democratic residents and are limited, and each group tends to maintain its distance from the other.

The political views of the local residents are well summarized by a recent letter that appeared in the Herald Star, the local newspaper:

Are you and your family honestly better today after 8 years of a Republican president and Congress? Gas prices are up. Wages are down. Abortion is up... Housing values are down. Investments in the stock market are down (and in many cases gone)... Americans and others continue to die in wars that have nothing to do with national security and everything to do with... greed. The wealthy are wealthier, the poor are poorer and for the first time in decades the middle class is poorer... God is good and He gave the world a great leader... Franklin Roosevelt... His solidarity with the people and their interests made these policies effective... Barak Obama, like FDR, offers a freshness and hope that is needed today. His call for real change is what this country needs after 8 years of greed-based and bankrupt polices. McCain says he promotes change but has a 19-year congressional record that he simply supports same-old, same- old policies that favor the privileged and rich. Obama policies would benefit most Americans. Research shows that when health care access is increased (as under President Clinton) that abortion rates go down. If one is seriously pro-life, look beyond what is said by those with political interests and look to the facts: poverty and desperation cause abortion (Michael S. Davis Wintersville, Ohio).
 

This letter’s explicit reference to the question of abortion reflects that residents of Steubenville who support Obama have noticed the bumper stickers. Their question is, in essence: You say that you are “pro-life” but why do you seem to care so little about the quality of my life? Why do you support a candidate who will increase the difficulty of my life? and even: Why do you seem to care so little about the quality of your own life?
 

If, as Catholics, we wish to influence our neighbors’ opinions, we will have to mix ourselves in with their lives, share their sufferings, and make an effort to improve the quality of life for all. The sorts of conversations that will be needed can’t be carried out via bumper stickers or protest placards.