WHY I BELIEVE IN SAINTS

I’m not at all religious and was never raised anywhere near a Catholic Church, other than St. Vincent’s was two blocks from our house, growing up.

I do, however, believe in saints. I’ve been fortunate to meet some, know a couple of them well, and see others.

It’s highly likely that my list of saints and Papa Fankie’s differ - other than on Saint Captain Chaplain Father Kapaun (look him up - when I wrote about him in “The Frozen Chosen” I had difficulty seeing the keyboard and the screen through all the rain that suddenly started falling) - but Papa F and I are both using a similar measuring scale, just a differing POV.

To me, a saint is someone who Does The Right Thing when it’s the hardest to do, when doing it carries the serious risk if not the fact of death as a result of so doing, when doing it means those nearest and dearest may very likely turn away, when it leaves one’s life completely vulnerable and totally uncomortable.

The people who do that are measuring sticks for the rest of us to see the distance between what we claim we believe and what we actually do about those beliefs.

Such decisions are never easy. They’re not the decisions one thinks twice about - they’re the decisions one thinks ten times, forty times, a hundred times about, and still may not be completely certain. But something inside says Do It, Regardless. And it is done.

That kind of decision is particularly hard when we’re young. When it means losing close friends, when it means cutting oneself off from a promising future one has worked hard to gain entry to, when it leaves the future dark and unknowable.

That’s why I am here to tell you that Cassidy Hutchinson is a saint.

She was 24 years old, just into her future, with few resources to support the decision she made, and a lot of dangerous enemies to to be made as the result of such a decision. Her decision to Do The Right Thing stands out all the more because all those around her failed to do so; so many with more experience, more knowledge, more resources for support, who failed the test when it was presented.

As a friend of mine once put it, a Character Test is to see if you have any.

I’ve made some hard decisions in my life - none even close to so consequential as hers - so I have a small clue how hard it is. Loss of friends. Loss of social status and acclaim. Loss of income. Loss of future. Those are the considerations that create that distance between what we say we believe and what we will do in the instant that belief becomes important, the distance that is illuminated when we are in the presence of a saint.

I watched her appearance last night on Rachel Maddow’s show, and it was clear that Rachel understands the concept of sainthood I am talking about here, by her attitude and actions when Cassidy came on for the interview.

I have seen very few people just past their 27th birthday who have the gravitas, the composure, the presence, of Cassidy Hutchinson. The other saints I have known all had it, but not at that age.

She knew while she was going through the motions of compromising with evil and “following orders” that it was wrong. When the opportunity presented itself, she had no difficulty grabbing hold and “extending and clarifying” her previous testimony, knowing what the cost would be. Like she said, she was no victim - “I knew what I was doing and what it was going to cost.” And she did it anyway, regardless.

That’s how you pass the test.

Perhaps if someone reads her book to the illiterate Trump, he’ll realize the jeopardy he is in, going up in a courtroom against someone like Cassidy Hutchinson, who said she was willing to “testify about everything,” and he’ll plead guilty before that happens and throw himself on the mercy of the court.

I won’t however, be holding my breath in the expectation of that happening.

No, Trump will go down as a result of Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony, and he will never understand how it happened, because he cannot conceive of the existence of a person like her.

Just like Matt Gaetz has no understanding of the fact that he was decapitated last night by her response to his bullshit statement about interacting with her. “I have standards for the men I am involved with, and Matt Gaetz will never qualify.”

We’re all very fortunate that Cassidy Hutchinson walks among us.

I’m going to be very interested to read this book, and I am sure it will form the basis of future posts here.

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