The more I hear my peers demonize Americans who need any sort of government assistance, the more I realize how warped their world view truly is. The bulk of the antiwelfare rants stem from Conservative Christians. Frequently, I wonder whether they see the blatant irony/hypocrisy. How can a party dedicated to "protecting Christian values" care so little about the plight of the poor?
Though I've been an atheist for quite some time, I was brought up with the Christian faith (Catholicism), which gave me a decent amount of biblical knowledge. My own quest for spirituality took that knowledge to another level. Throughout the bible (and various other religious texts), there are hundreds of verses about taking care of the weak, the hungry, and the poor. Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't believe that, at any point, it says, "Help the poor, unless your taxes go up because of it."
The majority of people who are food stamp recipients are not abusing the system in anyway. They simply need temporary assistance because of a crumbling economy, which, in an interesting twist, was caused by the very people who claim to protect Christian values, yet left the American working class hanging. It astounds me to no end. People in need have been demonized by those whose faith's main tenant is "love thy neighbor." It's the same with the pro-life/pro-choice argument. It never fails to make me laugh when people condemn abortion only to praise warfare and the death penalty a few moments later.
Perhaps their perception of the world has been distorted by a lifetime of comfort and security. Growing up without suffering has eliminated the possibility for compassionate behavior. Without knowing how hard life is for the majority of the country, they come to believe that everyone has it as easy as the affluent white protestant community. This leads to defamation of the unemployed, the homeless, the impoverished and oppressed.
It's apparent how these people will vote in the coming election. There's no use discussing policy with them. A rational person can see the hypocrisy in their beliefs. These are not rational people. Unlike those they persecute, these far-right, Christian warriors are a detriment to our society. Not because of their faith, but because of how they use it to oppress.
Excellent blog. Well stated.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Thoughts like these usually occur due to ignorant facebook status or tweets. For some reason, today my news feed was full of nonsensical arguments against food stamps and "Obamacare". Everyone of them were penned by conservative Christians. There appears to be some sort of disconnect between their politics and religious beliefs.
DeleteExactly. They all but claim to be walking in Jesus' shoes, yet have no problem turning a blind eye to another's need. I don't understand it at all. I am a Christian, and I cannot find anything that says we are to ignore our brother's plight! I have so many 'conservative Christian' friends and realtives, and this year particularly, I'm thinking--"I thought I knew you. I guess I didn't really!"
ReplyDeleteMy favorite thing--when it is something they want, and they get it, it's called God's will. When it is something the 'other side' wants and they get it, it's called evil, and they declare war on it! I haven't been successful at all getting them to admit that sometimes God's will is a 'no'.
It must be awesome to be smarter than God!
Enjoying your blog!