Well, it’s been nearly 48 hours since the end of the voting. Despite perhaps two mornings of grumbling into our coffee, complaining on our blogs and maybe even shedding a tear or two, most of us are looking for the good (and wondering just how long four years will feel). There have been no riots, no bloodshed. Nobody’s packing their bags to move to…uh, where?

I love democracy.

But of course, in the last 48 hours, about 5000 babies have been aborted, and about 5000 women have had their lives changed immeasurably.

Sadly though, had McCain won, that statistic would not have changed. Yes, I believe he could have appointed Justices who could have hastened the demise of Roe v. Wade and thrown these laws back into the states’ jurisdiction. But true results would have been a long time coming.

And given the results of more than a few pro-life ballot questions – utter failure – I am doubting the efficacy of fighting these battles through the courts and legislatures.

Don’t get me wrong: I firmly believe that unborn children should have their rights protected under the law. I am thoroughly convinced that pro-abortion laws have, in effect, given women little choice but to abort. And I know that if FOCA passes, (and it would not have a chance of passage under McCain), there will be virtually no restrictions on abortion, not even for minors who are legally not responsible enough to make any other medical decisions for themselves.

But in the effort to save lives – and I don’t mean just unborn children, and I don’t mean just preserving a body, I’m talking about a whole person, body and soul, and two victims, mother and child – in an effort to save the life of a child and to preserve the dignity, the mental and physical health, and the immortal soul of a woman, I have no confidence in politicians or judges, nor in laws or mandates, nor in marches or protests.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord.” Jeremiah 17:7

I’m not sure of all the things that go through a person’s mind when deciding for whom to vote, but of one thing I am convinced: abortion is not a paramount issue for most voters. And it is that, not any other disagreement with someone’s politics, that gives me a sickening feeling. If the Dems want to raise taxes (and they will, despite the rhetoric), if they want to give all my money away to my neighbors, if they want to try to pacify rogue nations with summits, if they want to re-define the family, and tell me that I’m full of hate because I have strong convictions about morality, and criminalize my expression of this opinion – all this, I can bear.

But the apathy to the unborn? Dear God, have mercy!

The technology is there, showing itty bitty babies doing cute things in the womb. We’ve all seen it. And yet we insist “it” is sub-human. We turn a blind-eye and a deaf-ear because to admit our inhumanity in our actions is too difficult. To admit that an unborn baby is human and worthy of the same inalienable rights as the ones who were (intentionally) born, would be to admit that we are monsters, because only monsters could allow such a slaughter.

Ending slavery required a war. Ending the Holocaust required a war. I can not accept that ending abortion requires a war. But I am admitting defeat in ending it through legal means.

Instead, we are left with the hardest road. Prayer. Sacrifice. Sackcloth and ashes. Educating the ignorant. Counseling the doubtful. Charity in thought, word and deed.

And being filled with joy despite the carnage in which we live, because nobody loves a dour saint.

I believe that God is in control. I don’t believe that He is pleased that infanticide is sugar-coated as “choice.” But I believe it is His will that we struggle. Perhaps had McCain won, we would have all gone back to our cushy lives comforted that we did our part in voting for pro-life politicians, and that would be the end of it until the next election.

But now we all know that we have a LOT of work to do. We will have no help from the government, so we can stop placing our hope there and turn to Him who can do all things.

Some of us might get pumped up at a political rally. Some of us may feel patriotic flipping switches at a polling station. Some of us may work for a campaign and get thrilled at the prospect of making a difference.

And some of us may get all warm and fuzzy feeling inside after committing misdemeanor theft and squelching somebody else’s free speech:

In his blog post, Busse said “yanking out the signs and running like a scared rabbit back to my idling car was one of the single-most exhilarating and empowering political acts that I have ever done.”

Several days ago, Billy asked his dad if he could take some Obama signs down. He’s 8. We can excuse him for not understanding fully the right to freely support any person and the right to tell the world for whom you plan to vote and the right to try to convince others that “your guy” is the best person for the job. I will consider myself a failure as a mother if he reaches adulthood and thinks stealing yard signs is acceptable, let alone “exhilarating and empowering.”

Silly me. I thought that money we donate at church would be used by Catholic organizations to help the needy and disadvantaged.

Note to self: collections slated for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) should be avoided.

The CCHD sent $1,037,000 to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) in 2007, including a $40,000 grant to an ACORN affiliate in Las Vegas that was raided last month by the Nevada attorney general’s office in a voter-fraud probe.

The Catholic aid agency has given more than $7.3 million to ACORN over the past decade for about 320 projects, according to the Catholic News Service.

If I want to donate money to ACORN, I will donate money to ACORN. If I don’t want to donate money to ACORN, then I can’t donate to the CCHD either.

What other non-Catholic organizations are getting my money?