Sunday, July 31, 2011

The Soulless Shell of a Once Great Nation

Republicans have hatched a grand scheme to shrink the size of government and destroy the social safety net. Their plan is simple: make raising the debt ceiling a big deal by tying it to deficit reduction and then House Republicans will not vote to raise the debt ceiling unless deadly cuts are made to Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid.

Historically raising the debt has been perfunctory, a matter of housekeeping because no new obligations are incurred by raising the debt ceiling. The ability to continue to make payments on obligations already incurred is affected. The failure to raise the debt ceiling would cause a fiscal crisis for the United States and the world.  The United States would no longer be the greatest nation on Earth.

Are Republicans crazy enough to carry out their scheme?  Yes.  Even the sane among Republicans approve the strategy because they believe the President and Democrats are sane and responsible.   The sane Republicans (I am beginning to doubt there are any) believe the President and Democrats will give in to demands by the Republicans to destroy the safety net because the President and Democrats do not want to drive this nation off the cliff. The irony will be that in trying to save us now, the Democrats kill our future.

The scheme has turned into a grand game for Republicans aimed at destroying Medicare (so insurance companies can drain senior's pockets), Social Security (make people work until they die) and Medicaid (without health care the disabled and frail elderly die and are not a drain on society). Republicans are enjoying themselves.   Sadly, some Democrats have joined the game as co-conspirators. 

Republicans believe the fewer with jobs the better because eventually people will take any job at any wage to live.  Hence, no job creation bills.  Republicans aim to create an underclass to serve the rich.  Only those who are strong and healthy will survive to spend their lives toiling at work paying the minimum wage. (\Republicans will do away with the minimum wage as soon as possible and see that only subsistence wages are paid.)  The United States of America will be the soulless shell of a once great nation.  August 2, 2011 will be the anniversary of the beginning of the end.  

Monday, July 25, 2011

Proving We Are Not A Christian Nation

Conservative Christians, who believe the United States was chosen by the one, true God to be his nation founded on God's principles, ignore Christ's summation of the law and the prophets in order to become Republicans.  These Republicans daily demonstrate to the world we are not a Christian nation as they focus on money not people.  If they win the debt ceiling crisis by destroying Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, they will have definitively proved that our government is free of any divine direction.

Christ said that there were two commands that summed up all of God's teachings.  Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.  When asked who is your neighbor, Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan.  In it, a Samaritan (Jews despised Samaritans at the time) helps a man that has been mugged and robbed.  The man is a total stranger.  The Samaritan cares for the man, then pays for his future care.  He tells those caring for the injured man that he will check to see they have carried out his wishes.

What can be clearer?  Christians are to take care of the strangers in our midst who have been attacked by forces outside their control. Christians are not to just take care of them personally if they can, but to see that strangers are cared for.  Christians are to check on the stranger's continued welfare.  In a modern society of millions, how can Christians do this?  Christians can enable a surrogate to act for them.  The government becomes our Good Samaritan.

Republicans do not believe in the Good Samaritan.  I have been repeatedly told that they have no obligation to help anyone outside their immediate family.  That they have no obligation to help those who cannot help themselves.  To the contrary, the Republicans consider those that cannot help themselves defective and a drag on society: they should be abandoned.

Those Republicans who call themselves Christians hold those same views.  One such person in my own church told me that a member of our church who had taken in his grandchildren should not have done so.  That church member should have saved the money he spent taking care of grandchildren so when his health failed he could take care of himself and not ask the church for help. ( He had asked for help. The church did not help. I no longer attend that church.)

Time and again, so-called Christians have written that they will not help people who do not work.  These Christians assume that those not working don't because they are lazy.  Interestingly, when Jesus talks about judgment, he does not say we should check on why a person was hungry, why they are sick, or why they are in prison. Jesus says feed them, take care of them and visit them if you want God to claim you as his own. Republicans have become the goats described in Matthew 25:31-47, turned away by God on judgment day.

With the Republicans dominating the political debate and Democrats cravenly acquiescing to their outrageous demands, this nation is in retreat from any notion of caring for the least among us.  Republicans that call themselves Christian have made being poor a sin.  They believe Christians have no obligation to help sinners.  Republicans of all types have abandoned Christ's command to love your neighbor.  How can our government abandon Christ's command and our country remain a Christian nation?

We are not a Christian nation.  We should not be.  Our founders saw this nation as encompassing all who were citizens regardless of faith.  That is why we have the Bill of Rights: to keep the majority from abusing the minority: to keep Christians from abusing non-Christians.

Those that scream the loudest that we are a Christian nation refuse to follow Christ's command to love your neighbor.  Today, they would shred the social safety net by cutting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Those that profess to be today's only true Christians only love themselves.

Republicans tell us we are to concentrate on money not the well-being of our citizens. Most Republicans have looked around and said, "I have no neighbors except the wealthy."  Even Democrats are falling for that line.  Soon, our government will be of money, by money and for money.  Christ said that "You cannot serve both God and Money."  If Christians who are Republicans choose money over people, then they do not serve God.  By conservative Christians own choosing, we will not be a Christian nation.