Last night Turner Classic Movies showed King of Kings during their 8 pm time slot. At first, I wondered why they were showing a film about Christ's death, instead of showing a movie about his birth. As I shuddered through the horrible acting and stiff direction, I tried to focus on the message.
My son and I have lived through five difficult heart breaking years. We lost everything that my husband, son, and I worked like slaves to earn over a thirty year span. We were living well, then God sent us a message, and we didn't listen. We forced Him to remove all the extraneous distractions from our lives. Don't get me wrong, I am not a religious person. I would describe myself as spiritual. But, I do believe that God talks to all of us, no matter our station in life or our religion.
Wondering where I'm going with this? Please join me below the squiggle.
Republicans seem to cling to the concept that those who work hard, live a clean life, and make wise spending decisions will be rewarded with monetary success. Their pundents preach that those folks who are poor, ill, homeless, or hungry, must have done something wrong. Maybe they drink, use drugs, won't work, don't work hard enough or enough hours, or maybe they are ill because they didn't care for themselves wisely. Whatever the scenario, a Republican will blame the homeless, the hungry, or the ill for their condition. Did you loose your home during the housing bust? Entirely your fault, because you paid too much for your home. Are you ill and unable to work? You must be fat, or smoke, or abuse drugs, or have been sexually permissive. Are your children hungry? Why would you bring a child into the world if you weren't certain you could provide for him/her? Of course, if you tried to have an abortion, they attempted to force you to carry the child to term. Do you need more education in order to make more than minimum wage? Sorry, we are cutting back on financial aid for students. You can either owe a quater of a million dollars after you graduate college, or work for slave wages for the rest of your life. Republicans teach personal responsibility, but practice greed, corruption, and double dealing.
The movie last night showed the entire Sermon on the Mount. Jesus talked at legnth about WHO he came her to serve. He came for the ill, the lame, the blind, the sinner, the leper, and for all the other outcasts. He came for my son, for me, and for the other suffering people we met during the past five years. He did not come to help the rich get richer. Jesus would have told American Corporations to cease making a profit and to begin paying a living wage to their employees. Jesus would have denounced democracy as an inherently evil system. He told us to recognize the tree from its fruits. The fruits of democracy seem to be fiscal injustice for most of us. People aren't poor because they are evil, or even because they sin. The roots of poverty grow out of the greed of those who are well off. Nobody needs the extreme levels of income that wealthy Americans enjoy today; they could live as well on a tenth of those earnings.
While I was snuggly wrapped in my upper middle class life, I didn't see the suffering of my fellow Americans. I love my country so very much, and I have a deep concern for my fellow citizens. After my life fell apart, and my son and I were left mired in ill health and poverty, I began wondering how I might get us out of our horrible situation. I have always read copiously and I love books, all books. When I was in high school I won a few writing contests. During the forty years that I worked, I often wrote technical reports, user manuals, and internal documentation for computer programs. The only thing I enjoy doing as much as reading, is writing. With the hard kick in my backside that God delivered to me as incentive, I began writing again, in two venues. The first is a fifty thousand word novel that I wrote last month (November 2014) for my first NaNoWriMo challenge. The second venue is my diary here. I am thankful that my eyes were opened, and that I have been given a voice that I can use to fight inequality and injustice.