Whose Side Are You On?

Whose Side Are You On?

Over on the National Catholic Reporter website, ncronline.org, there is an excellent article by Bishop Steven E. Blair, Bishop of Stockton, CA., Human Costs and Moral Challenges of a Broken Economy.  If you go there, it is within the Distinctly Catholic blog, third item down.

Bishop Blair’s concluding remarks, whether one is Catholic or not, should encourage anyone to go to NCR and read the entire article.

“On this Labor Day in 2011, in the midst of continuing economic turmoil, we are called to renew our commitment to the God-given task of defending  human life and dignity, celebrating work and defending workers with both hope and conviction.  This is a time for prayer, reflection, and action.  In the words of our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI:

The current crisis obliges us to re-plan our journey, to set ourselves new rules and to discover new forms of commitment, to build on positive experiences and to reject negative ones.  The crisis thus becomes an opportunity for discernment, in which to shape a new vision for the future (Caritas in Veritate, no. 21.).

Compare these words with the crass and senseless maunderings of Rick Perry (crass) and Michelle Bachmann (senseless).  They are both professed Christians, but in their statements there is no consideration of caring for the poor and/or vulnerable; there is no consideration of anyone other than the wealthy, both individuals and corporations.  This is such a corruption of the early Protestant settlers who believed that one’s spiritual circumstances could be discerned by one’s material circumstances, but who also understood that sometimes circumstances intervened.  For this bunch, circumstances be damned. 

They have no consideration of the fact that sometimes people are dealt a bad hand by life, and try as they might they need help to just survive.  For them, it is all the fault of the person in need.  If they had worked harder, prayed harder, whatever, then they wouldn’t be in the situation they are in.  They have forgotten the old saying, “There, but for the grace of God, go I”.  It is their own fault they need help, so don’t enable them to need more.

During this election season we need to remember that these folks believe, whether rightly or wrongly, that they are acting in accord with God’s wishes.  Both Bachmann and Perry have stated that they prayed, and God told them to run.  One of them has to be wrong!  Regardless of the religion, the most dangerous people in the world are those who believe that they know exactly what God wants.  This gives them carte blanche to do whatever they want to do.  If they wake up in a foul mood from eating too much pizza the night before, look out!  It is sort of like the Red Queen, “Off with their heads”.

We have a similar situation now in this country to the one Abraham Lincoln faced with people coming in to him to tell him that he should remind the people of the North that God was on their side.  Lincoln’s response to that was that he would not because he would rather be on God’s side.  Pretty good response, and one I wish our presidential candidates would emulate.