Now, outside of the Christian fight against abortion (something I will get to in a little bit), I find Graham's wording to be both ignorant and hypocritical. Allow me to explain by first offering a basic civics lesson to Mr. Graham and his ilk.
According to the Encyclopaedia Brittanica, socialism is the
"social and economic doctrine that calls for public rather than private ownership or control of property and natural resources. According to the socialist view, individuals do not live or work in isolation but live in cooperation with one another. Furthermore, everything that people produce is in some sense a social product, and everyone who contributes to the production of a good is entitled to a share in it. Society as a whole, therefore, should own or at least control property for the benefit of all its members.
This conviction puts socialism in opposition to capitalism, which is based on private ownership of the means of production and allows individual choices in a free market to determine how goods and services are distributed. Socialists complain that capitalism necessarily leads to unfair and exploitative concentrations of wealth and power in the hands of the relative few who emerge victorious from free-market competition—people who then use their wealth and power to reinforce their dominance in society."
Now, the United States is not a socialist country, but we most certainly have socialist programs--government programs that take taxpayer monies and distribute those monies in a way that help the most people, especially those that cannot afford to help themselves. Those programs include, but are not limited to, Social Security, Medicare, welfare and food stamps, public education, public housing assistance, and public safety (including police, fire, and military services). Yes, Mr. Graham, our country has "socialist agendas," and those agendas are extremely helpful to many human souls. Your disparaging term is, therefore, extremely misguided.
Moreover, to equate "socialist" with "godless" is plain hypocritical for a pastor. I assure you that Jesus was far more "socialist" than "capitalist." (See Matthew 19:21 and Mark 10:25 and Luke 12:33 and Luke 14:12-14.) Plus, beyond Jesus's own words, the Bible continually tells human beings to take care of the poor (Proverbs 19:17 and Proverbs 29:7 and Deuteronomy 15:7-11 and Hebrews 13:16). And, just in general, isn't the Church, by definition, a socialist organization--one that encourages (or even spiritually mandates) generous money-giving from those who are more fortunate in order to help those who are less? But I guess when you're a "pastor" with a net worth of $10 million, then maybe the Bible's own "socialist agenda" is something that you tend to ignore.
And finally, the abortion thing. I will first admit that the Christian fight against (practically) unlimited abortion seems genuine and moral. (There are some parts of their fight with which I certainly disagree--for example, instances of rape, incest, and the health of the mother, just to name a few--but that's not my point right now.) However, it is the Republican claim of being "pro-lifers" with which I have a serious problem. In fact, based on their other programs (or their destruction of programs), I would argue that their use of the term is the epitome of their hypocrisy in this instance.
First, a powerful quote by Sister Joan Chittister:
Trump and the Republicans have fought hard against welfare, against public housing assistance, and against public education, all socialist programs that are meant to help everyone, especially those who are less fortunate. So, to reiterate Chittister's claim, Trump and the Republicans want only for the baby to pop out of the womb, but that's where their "morality" in helping care for this human life specifically ends.
Plus, let us not forget that it is the Republican party (i.e., the ones claiming to be "pro-LIFERS"), not the Democratic party, that overwhelmingly ...
- supports the use of the death penalty,
- supports the proliferation of the military,
- supports the NRA agenda unequivocally,
- supports the rejection of refugees fleeing for their lives,
- supports the poisoning and destruction of the environment,
- supports a minimum wage that is in no way a living wage,
- supports tax programs that help the wealthy and hurt the poor.
And all of this Republican support inarguably causes suffering, destruction, and even death (i.e., NOT life).
So, Mr. Graham, all of this is to say what I stated at the beginning: Your support of Trump and his agendas makes you and your political species nothing more than ignorant, hypocritical, and iniquitous, so stop trying to claim the moral high ground when your foundation is built on nothing more than sinking sand (See Matthew 7:24-27) .
No comments:
Post a Comment