And Yet—Somehow—Life Goes On.

I think the stoics had it right when they said that if you wanted to be happy, you could not let external events affect you. It makes sense; if your happiness depends on factors entirely beyond your control, how could you ever achieve it?

This is particularly true for elections. I was mildly upset for a little while after the 2006 election, when the Republicans, apparently tired of running the legislative branch of government, succeeded in giving it away to their opposition. Eventually I realized that it didn't matter if the rest of the nation disagreed with my political or social beliefs. I don't require a majority referendum to validate what I know to be the truth.

With this election, obviously the greatest loss is in the cause for the defense of human life, given Obama's track record of being the single most pro-choice member of the senate, going so far as to oppose legal rights for newly born infants, and boldly standing up for his vote against the ban on the single most barbaric procedure ever devised by man.

The judges that Obama will appoint are going to set the pro-life cause back decades, and we will undoubtedly be feeling their effects for years after.

But, ultimately, this civil rights battle won't be won in the courts, but in the hearts and minds of the people across this great nation. And it is constantly being fought and won on a daily basis, judging by polls and statistics. The abortion ratio continues to fall, even under pro-abortion presidents, and each new generation is more pro-life than the previous. According to a 2003 Gallup poll, 72% of teens believe that abortion is morally wrong, and fewer teens than adults believe it should be allowed in all circumstances (19% vs. 26%). And as the Baby Gap widens, this shift will likely continue. Any philosophy that frowns on procreation is unlikely to survive.

My next concern was over economics. Considering Obama's proximity to the people who, if not caused, then severely contributed to the current financial situation, and considering his outright socialism, I was worried about financial security.

But it's times like this that we should thank God for our Papa, Benedict XVI, who reminds us, "we are now seeing, in the collapse of major banks, that money vanishes, it is nothing. All these things that appear to be real are in fact secondary. Only God's words are a solid reality."

And he is right (of course). What is money? Does it make me happy or lead me to God? If not, why should I be concerned about it, then?

While a national election may seem far more "big picture" than burnt toast, it is important to remember that in the biggest picture, which is that of God, they are both as dust. And in that big picture view, it doesn't matter who wins the election; His is the final victory.

But perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind, even in the midst of darkness, is St. Thomas Aquinas' insistence that "God permits evil in order to draw forth some greater good." What that greater good is, how it will come about, and when, are questions we may not ever fully understand the answers to until God reveals them to us in the next life.