Neither the Democratic Party nor the Republican Party has a platform or priorities that fully reflect the principles of Catholic social teaching. Money has infected the American political system, threatening the very foundations of representative government. Politicians run polls so they know to avoid words like poverty and social justice, which don’t win votes. Major challenges go unaddressed as polarization grows and divided government seems to be the default setting—a recipe for inaction as our parties purify themselves ideologically. Lobbyists write bills, politicians beg for money, and the public is too often duped by negative campaign ads that play to their worst instincts. Cable news shows preach to the choir or offer intentionally worthless debates based on bumper sticker slogans and superficial analysis.

It is an ugly scene. There is no use sugarcoating it. Anyone who seeks to live virtuously is tempted to turn off the noise, ignore the idiocy, and focus on their everyday life. Many idealistic young people look to NGOs to change the world, hoping to sidestep the filth of politics. This escape would be nothing new. The Gilded Age was an era when the best of men sat on the sidelines, while the greedy and corrupt pursued politics for their own ends. To run for office was to risk losing one’s reputation for honesty and integrity. (Of course, many non-white men and all women did not have the opportunity to opt-out, as they were undemocratically excluded by others.)

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The temptation to flee the political sphere is understandable, but it is not acceptable. Pope Francis recently made this point, saying, “If Christians were to disengage in their direct involvement in politics, it would betray the mission of lay faithful, called to be salt and light in the world always in this kind of presence.” Pope Francis is right: “A good Catholic meddles in politics.”

People have both a right and duty to participate in government (the bishops and patriarchs who have cozied up to dictators in certain parts of the world and prefer secular authoritarian regimes run by mass murderers to systems where the public can participate may need to be reminded of this, but that’s a different issue). Pope Francis has explained:

“None of us can say, ‘I have nothing to do with this, they govern. . . .’ No, no, I am responsible for their governance, and I have to do the best so that they govern well, and I have to do my best by participating in politics according to my ability. Politics, according to the Social Doctrine of the Church, is one of the highest forms of charity, because it serves the common good. I cannot wash my hands, eh? We all have to give something!”

The Gilded Age would not have turned into the Progressive Era if ethical citizens did not enter the political arena to promote the common good. They risked their own purity to serve others, and the country benefited.

The 20^th century featured some of humanity’s darkest moments, particularly when totalitarianism was on the march, destroying everything in its wake; but it also showed the difference good men and women can make when they stand by their principles and refuse to back down. Pope Francis recently highlighted a couple of these exemplary public servants:

“Think of De Gasperi. Think of France: Schumann, who has a cause for beatification. One can become a saint through politics. And I don’t want to name more: two examples of those who pursued the common good are enough.”

When those of us in the West wish to ignore mass atrocities, many turn to the ‘ancient hatreds’ defense, which at its core states that those fighting (those non-North American or Western European people, naturally) are so savage and consumed by hatred that they must inevitably fight given their proximity to one another, and there is nothing anyone else can do to stop them. Thus, we are free to ignore children being set on fire by their own government or whole communities slaughtered. But if one looks at the history of ancient hatreds and perpetual conflict, it is hard to top the history of enmity in Western Europe.

Yet in the wake of World War II, outstanding public servants— Alcide De Gasperi , Robert Schuman, Konrad Adenauer, Jean Monet, and others—put an end to the constant, senseless wars that had taken place for centuries in Western Europe. Many were driven by their Christian faith to build a new world out of the ruins of a horrific war. They laid the foundations for the European Union and post-war peace. They helped to establish free democracies and more just societies. They helped to build Christian Democratic parties that reflected many of principles found in the Church’s social encyclicals. These fine politicians, who resisted the totalitarian temptation and the frightened conformity of too many other Christians, acted with courage and prudence to make extraordinary contributions to the common good.

The United States certainly could use a Christian Democratic Party animated by the principles of Catholic social teaching. But realistically, what we need today are regular men and women who believe in solidarity, human dignity, social justice, and the common good, who are willing to enter the arena, to expose themselves to the muck of contemporary American politics and to fight to protect the vulnerable, to transform the system so that is serves the people, and to avoid being corrupted in the process.

Who will fight for the vulnerable people in desperate need of a mosquito net, medicine, or their next meal, while free market fundamentalists recklessly push to slash life-saving programs? Who will really fight? Who will speak up for the child in the womb and his or her desperate mother? Who will fight to ensure that those in the twilight of their lives are not discarded and those in their first years are not immediately abandoned, left to drift away from their God-given potential?

Christians are called to be salt and light. We are called to be thorns in the sides of our own political parties. We are called to be the unrealistic fools who resist the status quo and work relentlessly to upend it. We are called to pursue a loved-based justice through politics. Don’t check out.