The headline states 2021, but it is a question I’ve been pondering for a long number of years, but especially more so over the last four years.
In watching elected officials, law enforcement, and religious leaders, I wonder if they have asked themselves this question in their respective roles. They call themselves Christian, but in my humble opinion, I’m not sure they were raised in the same way I was, nor that they are actually reading the Bible to know the teachings of Christ.
Let’s start with some of the Commandments, like not committing adultery, not stealing, not murdering, or bearing false witness against your neighbor.
When we think of our leaders, and their have been cases on both sides of the aisle, but not minding the commandments does tend to skew more towards the right side than the left side. The right side has a habit of having affairs on the side, or paying people to have sex with them while still being married. The right side use Big Lies to raise money, thus stealing from others. The right side tells Big Lies and spouts propagandist lies on a seemingly daily basis. The right side think nothing of murdering people of color and the poor on a regular basis, either directly as law enforcement officers, or indirectly through laws and policies.
Jesus said we should help those less fortunate than us—the poor, the lame, the crippled, the blind. The Jesus I believe in want those more fortunate, the rich, and I would include the government, should be in the business of helping the less fortunate through polices and finances.
Billionaire should not be a thing. One can not spend a billion dollars in a life time, let alone 200 billion. I do believe people should be able to use their skills and acumen to become wealthy. I also believe after a certain figure, a reasonable figure when looking at the whole of society, the rich should be taxed at a very high rate. I also believe anyone profiting in the billions should, on their own, be giving back to those less fortunate. It has never been true that anyone can pull themselves up by their bootstraps and make it in our country; this is even less true in the modern age than in times past. We should not let this myth go unchallenged any longer.
The government should be in the business of helping people in need. A minimum wage should be tied to the cost of living index, not a static figure that remains unchanged year after year after year (it should go up as well anytime Congress votes themselves a raise). There should be Universal Basic Income for each household in the nation, even rich households. There should be universal healthcare for all. There should be universal childcare and preschool for all. There should be universal quality education and exceptional educational facilities for all. There should universal low cost, but quality, housing for all. There should be free Internet access for all. These are all basic human, and moral, rights for our time. These things are not privileges, but things that would lift us all and change the downward trajectory we are currently experiencing as a nation.
These are also all teachings of Jesus (except the Internet, but believe it would be included if walking the earth of today), to care for the less fortunate among us. Although I am using Jesus’ name, I do mean all religious teachings of which I’m aware, as all call on us to help the less fortunate among us.
Helping the less fortunate is discussed explicitly in the Bible. The Good Book does not mention gays and lesbians, abortion, voter suppression, low taxes for the rich, religious leaders becoming millionaires, or having religion become actively involved in politics (it actually mentions the opposite, religion and politics should not be intertwined).
However, which do you see those on the right focusing upon as they go about their day? Are they doing everything in their power to ensure we are all taken care of as God’s children, or are they actively working to increase their own coffers and power?
Which type of people would you want more in elected offices? Those who are imperfect, but work to make all of our lives, and our nation a better place as an example for the world to follow? Or those who are imperfect, and work to make the lives of most of us ever more difficult as an example to no one except maybe the dictators, authoritarians, and human rights violators of the world?
I know which people I would choose? I invite you to join me in supporting those who want to help us all, lift us all, and better us all.
Who will you choose?
Personal Reflections of a Middle-Aged Man 