Monday, April 18, 2011

Our Fork in the Road

Our nation and all who call themselves followers of Jesus are at a fork in the road.  One fork travels the ethic of Ayn Rand, alive in the Tea Party.  The other fork travels the ethic of Jesus.  The irony is that the Ayn Rand crowd is loaded with professed followers of Jesus.  Yet, each fork is a unique journey of values, quite different, each offering distinctly different outcomes.

Ayn Rand was born in Russia and emigrated to the United States.  Two of her biggest books are: The Fountainhead, and Atlas Shrugged.  Avid followers include Alan Greenspan, the economist Milton Friedman, and Congressman Paul Ryan.  Some call her an objectivist.  Some quotes:

If any civilization is to survive, it is the morality of
altruism that we have to reject.

I swear, by my life and the love of it, that I will never live
for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to 
live for mine.

...the only way a government can be of service to national
prosperity is by keeping its hands off [business].

Civilization is the process of setting man  free from men.

The purpose of morality is to teach you not to suffer and die,
but to enjoy yourself and live.

God [is] a being whose only definition is that he is beyond
man's power to conceive.

Many say that Ayn Rand opened the door to unbridled greed and unrestrained capitalism.  Considering her disciples, this is a reasonable conclusion.  I would add a third outcome: triumphant selfishness.  Evan Knappenberger, a disabled Iraq war veteran and activist writes of his conversion from Rand to Jesus: 

Like Rand, I denounced compassion as weakness, abhorring
the idea of living for others.  Not only does Rand state 
unequivocally that greed is good and selfishness a virtue,
but she [claims that] love of personal gain is the only 
"objective" good in the universe.  Rand leaves the masses of 
humanity to die of starvation while a chosen elite live in
harmony in a capitalist utopia.
  Sojourners, March 2011, p. 22

Paul Ryan's budget plan travels the Rand Road: cut spending on education, food stamps, low income housing, Medicare, reduce taxes on corporations and cut taxes on the wealthiest Americans from 35% to 25%, and permanently extend the Bush tax cuts.  Do all this while:

One percent of the U.S. population holds between 34 and 39 percent
of the nation's wealth; the top 5% hold between 66 and 72% of 
the wealth; and the bottom 50% hold 2% of the wealth.  The share
of America's income held by the top 1% of the population
has more than doubled since 1980, while the bottom 90% 
has, since 1975, coped with flat wages and mounting debt.
Christian Century, April 19, 2011, p.22

Then there is the Jesus Road.  Consider Acts 2:44-45: "All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need."  In the Parable of the Rich Fool, Jesus says, "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions."  Colossians 3:2-5 states: "Set your minds on things that are above....Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: ...impurity...evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry)."  And Amos 5:21, 24: "I take no delight in your solemn assemblies....But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream."

It is time for a bold Christian witness!  It is time to step up and make the Reign of God real!  It is time to trod the Jesus Road!  I am convinced that this is the only way back from our nation and the world being forever lost.  The Light of Christ enlightens our darkness and guides us through this perilous time.

We are at our fork in the road.

Peace!
Ron

CORRECTION: Two blogs ago, I incorrectly wrote: "The richest 400 people in the USA control 50% of the nation's wealth."  The correct statistic should have read: "The top 400 people control as much wealth as the bottom 50%."  My apology to Michael Moore for mis-hearing his comment.  Thank you, Duane, for bringing this matter to my attention. 



   

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Invasion of the Vipers

I'll join the chorus!  If the writer of Genesis can use a viper as the symbol for evil and the fall (Genesis 3:1-5), if Zophar in Job can speak of wicked people as "the tongue of a viper" (Job 20:16), if the prophet Isaiah can refer to the sinfulness of God's people as those who "hatch out vipers" (Isaiah 59:5), if John the Baptist can call the Pharisees and Sadducees a "brood of vipers" (Matthew 3:7), if Jesus can condemn the Pharisees as a "brood of vipers" (Matthew 12:34), if Paul can refer to all who have sinned as "The venom of vipers is under their lips" (Romans 3:13b), I'm in!

The character of our nation is being invaded by vipers.  I think Gandhi's SEVEN DEADLY SOCIAL SINS defines these vipers:

Politics without principle
Wealth without work
Commerce without morality
Pleasure without conscience
Education without character
Science without humanity
Worship without sacrifice

These poisons are draining the life out of America's soul.  In his last editorial for the New York Times, March 26, 2011Bob Herbert wrote:  "Arthur Miller...liked to say that the essence of America was its promises.  That was a long time ago.  Limitless greed, unrestrained corporate power and a ferocious addiction to foreign oil have led us to an era of perpetual war and economic decline."  The vipers strike!

Herbert goes on: "But like greedy children, the folks at the top are seizing virtually all the marbles.  Income and wealth inequality in the U.S  have reached stages that would make the Third World blush.  As the Economic Policy Institute has reported, the richest 10% of Americans received an unconscionable 100% of the average income growth in the years 2000 to 2007, the most extended period of economic expansion....In 2009, the richest 5% claimed 63.5% of the nation's wealth.  The overwhelming majority, the bottom 80%, collectively held just 12.8%."  The vipers strike!

And General Electric, one of our largest corporations, didn't have to pay any taxes last year.  The vipers strike!

Meanwhile, we are told we only have a debt problem, not a tax problem.  Cut taxes and the wealth will flow to all, so we are told.  I like what Leo Gerard of the United Steelworkers said: "If tax cuts for the wealthy created jobs, we would have full employment."  The vipers strike!

Governors in the states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and Florida pull a bait and switch to eliminate collective bargaining and destroy unions.  The vipers strike!

Republican lawmakers, influenced by the Tea Party gang, attempt to cut and squeeze as much as possible out of 12% of our discretionary budget, included funding for child nutrition, Planned Parenthood, Pell Grants for education, and other programs supporting the most vulnerable.  All this in the name of fiscal responsibility.  Forget about the common good, life is all about survival of the fittest. The vipers strike!

Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Prize winning economist, writes: "...one...of the reasons we have so much inequality is that the top 1% want it that way."  The vipers strike!

And now we are in War #3!  The vipers strike!

Years ago, I recall a lecture by the great theologian, Helmut Thielecke, as he talked about the Fall in Genesis.  He observed that when the serpent tempted humankind, the words used were not filled with fire and brimstone or vituperous hatred.  No, instead, the serpent engaged in a theological conversation, asking essentially, "Wouldn't you like to be like God?" (Genesis 3:1-5). In short, brokenness happens because humanity chooses to break God's design.  Stiglitz is correct.  Tyler Cowen, Professor of Economics at George Mason would concur: "The root cause of income inequality...is extreme human ingenuity, albeit of a perverse kind." The vipers strike!

What is the way back?  Remember John the Baptist: "Repent!"  Remember Micah: "What does the Lord require but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God."  Remember Amos: "Let justice roll down like water, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream!"  Remember Jesus: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled."

I'm in!

Peace!
Ron