How can Catholics battle political fatigue?
(iStock photo)Contributing writer Nathan Schneider joins Kerry Weber and Matt Malone, S.J., to talk about Catholic activism under President Trump. Chief correspondent Kevin Clarke joins to offer his perspective. In discussion of the boycotts of Uber and Nordstrom, Schneider questions the usefulness of reactionary protests. "Is it Christian enough to just respond to each thing as it comes, to react? Or is there a calling to set a different kind of agenda, and to direct our attention elsewhere?"
Elaborating on these questions, Schneider commented: "Protest shouldn't just be happening in isolation, it should be part of telling a different kind of story about the world we're trying to create.... The boycotts that have been successful are the ones where people are waging them with a particular purpose in mind and in the context of a broader story that they're trying to tell about where the world should head. I worry about the protests are just a reaction."
I've learned so much from Christian activists who recognize that once you get into the work of social change, you're never going to get out.
According to Schneider, political fatigue is more likely to occur when efforts are focused on reactionary boycotts and isolated protests. "I've learned so much...from Christian activists who—I think maybe because of their sense of original sin—recognize that once you get into the work of social change, you're never going to get out. You might as well do it in a way that's sustainable, that has a type of longterm horizon."
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