David Obeid: The Fight

Friday, 17 September 2010

The Fight - Updated

I was looking through some old files and came across this. I needed a bit of tweaking, so tweak I did:

"The Fight" - Updated

Some time ago the topic of my choice to raise my children on acreage some 200km from Sydney was brought up by a friend of mine. He described the move in terms of a choice between "fight" and "flight".

The idea was that staying in Sydney was "fighting" and leaving Sydney was "flighting". I want to take some time to look at these ideas and examine what exactly the "fight" is and how one "fights" or "flies" from the "fight".

What I Am

I am a mediocre Catholic with designs on becoming a great one. I am a married layman. My wife and I have been blessed with 6 children plus one who has already been entrusted to the mercy of God. We have, for a variety of reasons, chosen to home school our children. I hold a Bachelor of Education in Mathematics and two Master's degrees – one in Arts (majoring in Pure and Applied Mathematics) and one in Religious Education. I work as a high school mathematics teacher and I dabble in small scale farming of cattle and meat sheep (with meagre but increasing success!) on our small farm. I used to conduct an adult catechism class for 7 weeks out of each school term at the Catholic presbytery in the nearby town of Goulburn using the 'Evangelium' course produced by the Catholic Truth Society in the UK until the new Parish Priest there realised he and I were not on the same page in matters Catholic. From time to time I give talks, participate in "question and answer" panels and participate in debates defending the Catholic faith. I don't have much spare time, but if I did, I would spend more time working on the farm, improving the buildings on my farm, and exercising, hunting and fishing with my family. I wouldn't mind learning how to BBQ better either.

What I Am Not

I am not a member of the Church's hierarchy. I am not a school principal or a member of any school executive. I do not hold any political office.

What I Can't Do

I cannot command the obedience of Bishops, let alone consecrated religious men and women or priests (the Parish Priest in Goulburn being a case in point).

Putting It All Together

If we put the above together it becomes pretty clear that apart from the home schooling, the 100acre backyard, the high powered chainsaw, sheep and cattle, the fresh air, the closeness to nature (in both its beauty and ferocity), the easy drive to and from work, the unfortunate difficulty in finding a Mass without liturgical abuses or theologically suspect homilies nearby and an income that couldn't afford a 'Sydney sized' mortgage, I'm just like most of my friends in Sydney.

So What's Different?

I don't equate "fight" with "Sydney". I don't think that "fighting" involves the attendance at Catholic social events that in the end are little more than social events that Catholics attend. I don't think that "fighting" is giving talks or conferences to people cemented in their position that they themselves would never teach other people (such as their own children in homeschooling or other adult groups) (thereby reducing the talk to mere "info-tainment"). I think that the "fight" is getting me and my wife and children to heaven. Because I don't hold authority over corrupt systems (in Sydney or elsewhere) I can't pretend to "fight" against problems that are outside of my field of influence. The previous sentence is well worth repeating: Because I don't hold authority over corrupt systems (in Sydney or elsewhere) I can't pretend to "fight" against problems that are outside of my field of influence. I do what I can, where I can (often badly, but always) to the best of my ability – just like my friends in Sydney, only without the notion that I'm somehow saving the Church more or less than others who do what they can with the gifts they are given.

David Obeid