Ordo amoris this, J.D.
J.D. Vance, our Cabbage Patch Vice President™, has the distinction of being criticized by the old pope, Francis I, and the new one, Leo XIV, for his fumbling, puerile application of the medieval theological doctrine, ordo omoris.
As one wag said on social media, that puts him in pretty ratified company. Vance may be the only twofer extant. Nice job, J.D. Especially for a ‘baby Catholic’ as Vance describes himself.
Vance believes the doctrine tells us what we need to know about the Administration’s policy of rounding up people with foreign-sounding names, including some citizens, and shipping them off to El Salvador or, say, Libya without a scintilla of due process. They aren’t family, after all.
If you read the link above to an article on a Jesuit media news source, you will come to understand that Vance is not a great Catholic thinker. He’s not a great thinker generally, but it is especially satisfying to see the hillbilly author get dressed down by a couple of genuine theologians. There are lots of articles extant about this, and there’s no need for me to add to them further. And yet, there is another item in the news that forms an almost, well, spiritual link to Vance’s doctrinal shenanigans. I learned about it from Jonathan V. Last in a Bulwark podcast.
In a recent Doge-y action, the Trump administration cancelled all in-person training at the National Fire Academy of Emmitsburg, Maryland, in the western part of the state, just across the border from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. You can read about in the NPR article at the link. The National Fire Academy bills itself as the War College for Firefighters, and to the 3,000 odd souls who call Emmitsburg home, it’s a really big deal. Visiting trainees spend a lot of money on lodging, food, and entertainment while in town.
Emmitsburg is what you would call “Trumpy.” But its resident are downright bumfuzzled by Trump’s action here.
Emmitsburg voted overwhelmingly for President Trump in November. NPR interviewed about two dozen people here. Almost all of them voted for Trump, and many said his plans to cut federal spending were a key attraction. Now, they say they are puzzled as to why the administration would cancel national training for firefighters.
JVL called these residents and the mayor of Emmitsburg, Frank Davis, “provincial” and lots of other more colorful things. His rant at the end of the Bulwark Postcast with Tim Miller on May 6th is epic. I recommend it.
J.D. Vance and the burghers of Emmitsburg share this thought process: If it isn’t happening to me, it’s not important. If it is happening to me, it is important. And if it’s happening to somebody else, that’s okay, maybe even good.
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