Jesus
Wasn't A Conservative, And God Isn't Republican
by
Rev. Paul J. Bern
In
light of this past week's Republican debate on TV, which I didn't
bother to watch, I thought it would be timely to comment on the state
of conservatism in our country today as it relates to social and
economic injustice. I like to relax and unwind at the end of each
workday by watching a couple of hours of Christian television in the
evening, primarily on TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network, channels
vary so check your local listings) and You Tube. Most of the time the
shows and the preaching are pretty good, although some programs are
better than others. The best shows are the ones that go deepest into
the Word as far as their interpretation of the Scriptures is
concerned. The ones that aren't quite so good tend to get way, way
out there as far as their teaching and preaching goes (such as the
prosperity gospel and word of faith movements, among others), with
the preachers espousing radically right-wing conservative
interpretations of Scripture that are ill-informed at best, or
bigoted, and even outright heresy at worst.
I
have a pretty good idea as to why these right-wing neoconservative
preachers and teachers have such an extremist view of the Bible. I
think it's because their version of Scripture matches their arrogant
beliefs, giving these types of people an egocentric viewpoint on
their walk with Christ. Although these men and women TV ministers are
certainly entitled to their own opinions, I strongly disagree as to
their application of conservative ideology to the interpretation of
the Scriptures. I have an even bigger problem with biblical
quotations being used in such a way as to twist them around to fit a
certain point of view or for financial gain (such as tithing
according to Old Testament law instead of worshiping Jesus Christ as
the fulfillment of the Old Law). Not all Christians are conservative
right-wing extremists nor are we all evangelical Rush Limbaugh's.
Many of us like myself are much more moderate for a couple of
reasons. First, when we read the Bible, especially the four Gospels,
we realize that Jesus was incredibly liberal by today's standards,
and also far more peaceful then the current crop of presidential
candidates who seem to be desperate to prove who among them is the
most conservative. Twenty three years ago when I first gave my heart
and soul to Christ, the Spirit of the Lord spoke to me clearly,
saying that if I wanted to worship the Prince of Peace then it is
necessary for me to become a man of peace (which I was not back
then). So I pass that on every chance I get, and it most applies to
anyone who has anger issues or who holds grudges. It's time for all
of us to get go of those things.
Second,
it has been my observation that the most religious people in public
office or running for an election are often the most argumentative
and most prone to resorting to violence to solve problems. Those who
become indignant at the mention of the word 'abortion', showing their
outrage before the TV cameras at the taking of a single unborn life,
have no problem sending their/your sons and daughters off to war, and
cheering when a predator drone blows up another house full of unarmed
Afghan, Iraqi or Syrian civilians. God must be shaking His head in
disbelief right about now. We as a nation have gotten to a point in
our history now where the military-industrial-incarceration complex
that’s still clinging to its soon-to-be former power and refusing
to move on, is appealing to one of military history’s most colossal
mistakes, basking in the glory of the act, while forgetting the
bitter irony of the event.
The
Christian right, which is neither, wants glory. They want credit for
being the heroes, for saving civilization, drawing on the outdated
legacies of World War Two and the Cold War. The irony is their
narrow-mindedness, their lack of perception, and their superficial
perspective on world events due to their refusal to learn the lessons
of history, dooms them to be a curse upon their land. Nothing is
getting done, because of the Conservatives of this land. And what are
conservatives fighting to defend? One of the worst situations this
country has been in for a long time. Want reform of the financial
markets? Screw you, we're filibustering. Want health care reform? Too
friggin' bad, forty thousand people a year can die so the rest can be
charged twice as much as the rest of the world for comparatively
inferior care.
Of
course, resisting this evil and predatory system is painted as
resisting big government and the “evil tax-and-spend liberals”.
Some even call the American people's resistance as insurrection or as
politically subversive (such as the Occupy and 99% Movements, among
others). Never mind that we now have Obama-care, which is not the
most desirable national health care out there but it's better than
being completely uninsured and going to an ER for medical needs.
Never mind that the conservative right-wingers own conduct speaks
poorly to their skills as fiscal guardians (such as invading Iraq in
2003, among others). The Republicans have always needed their dark
enemies to highlight their glorious crusades. They did it in Vietnam,
twice in Iraq, and Afghanistan. Clandestine wars are ongoing in
Libya, Yemen and Syria. Everything was about defending what GW Bush
and his Congress was doing at the time, everything was about
justifying colossal mistakes. Whether turning a soldier's request for
more armor into another chapter in the epic of the “evil liberal
media”, or blaming hurricane Katrina's death toll and the
subsequent humanitarian disaster on the victims themselves, or coming
up with a million different justifications for outing former CIA
operative Valerie Wilson, the Republicans devoted themselves to the
task of rationalizing failure on a massive scale. The most recent
effort has been the prosecution of private Bradley Manning (or
Chelsea, take your pick) due to his/her alleged “complicity” in
helping Wiki-leaks and its founder, Julian Assange, publish a
treasure trove of supposedly secret messages that exposed the sheer
folly of America's involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the lies
about it disseminated among the American people by those in positions
of public trust.
President
Obama has the right idea regarding his public option, otherwise known
as “Obama-care”, putting everyone on a national health care
system of sorts, but I would be surprised if he will be able to make
us all pay for it. Instead, health care is a basic human right that
should be given away to the general public without cost. Instead,
conservative right-wingers have made any form of universal health
care coverage in the US to be this great evil, health care reform has
to be government taking decisions from your doctors hands. Never mind
the facts. In fact, forget about 'em. The Republicans want grandiose
rhetoric and emotionally overwhelming appeals. Nobody wants to talk
about the underlying issues, such as the fact that our for-profit
health care system is broken, and greed is what broke it to the point
that it will have to be replaced. I have outlined one good way to go
about this in my first book, “The
Middle and Working Class Manifesto”,
but I will give you the condensed version in three sentences. First,
combine Medicare, Medicaid, all US government health care plans and
the VA hospital system into a single national health care system.
Second, streamline the various inter-agency departments by
eliminating all duplicate positions. Third, abolish Medicaid since it
will no longer be needed and have Web-based Medicare replace it all.
For additional details, you'll have to buy
the book.
If
I sound angry here, that is only to be expected. This is what I've
fought for during the last several years after having to take early
retirement for medical reasons. I have been through all this stuff
myself, seeing the system from the patient's point of view. I don't
want to live in a country where the government exists in an alternate
universe, where the politicians are so oblivious to reality. I don't
want to live in a country where the needs of the top 1% of US
economic affluence are taken care of with five-star service while the
remaining 99% huddle in emergency rooms waiting their turn to see a
doctor for hours on end. Since I don't have plans to leave this
country that I love, I have plans to be part of a movement of
millions answering the call around my nation, to make a new
government that runs this country as a part of the reality-based
community. Rather than jump the gun and jump to conclusions as it
suits some ideology, I'm in favor of a government that is constantly
on the move, doing objective good for this country.
I'm
in favor of the conservatives finally coming to grips with the fact
that their policies haven't been working. They can remain
conservatives, keep on favoring conservative ideas, but what gives
them the right to let things go straight 'to hell in a hand basket'
to prove ideological points? They are more out of the majority than
they've been in years in no small part due to their failure to put
politics aside and deal with an emergency with the fortunes of the
nation, rather than the fortunes of their party first and foremost.
Failure is not an option for me. A government that lets things fail
to prove political points is not doing its job. A government that
justifies failure by making political points, is not worthy of
governing this country.
For
the last two decades, America has been the victim of unwise policies,
policies that presupposed a willingness for restraint from the
financial sector, policies that presupposed that preservation of a
military strategy and distraction from a critical theater of battle
would somehow lead to success. These were people who looked at our
economy in the summer of 2008 and said 'the fundamentals of the
economy were sound', right up until the point where the crash of
September 2008-2010 made the obvious truth unavoidable. I don't want
more government by people who are simply persisting in their policies
until events overtake them and make it impossible for them to
maintain the status quo. I want people who are adapting to our
problems in advance, and allowing the government that flexibility.
The
last thing this country needs is another decade or decades worth of
governance from an outmoded capitalist economic system that cannot
tell the difference between a defeat and a victory and resists all
efforts to bring its attentions to these problems. The Democrats
aren't perfect, like Obama might say. There is at least a recognition
among the rank and file that the current situation is not to be
tolerated, or continued. The charge of the Conservative Light Brigade
should end, and this country should be allowed to get back to
deciding what the wise thing is, not what is politically convenient
to an unwilling, undignified minority.
No comments:
Post a Comment