THE REAL WAR IS AGAINST THE POOR, NOT AGAINST CHRISTMAS

…Fox’s Bill O’Reilly is the so called “Father of the War on Christmas”.

 

The bogus “War on Christmas” ignores the real war of the conservatives against America’s poor.

Are you all aware that there are only 1.6% of Americans that are atheists?

Obviously, the ½ Governor of Alaska, Ms. Sarah Palin, has no idea of the very small number of American atheists.  She has instead gone across the country alerting people that large numbers of, “angry atheists,” want to “abort Christ from Christmas.”

Palin is trying to act like a modern day Paul Revere.  But as she screwed that issue up, during the 2012 elections, when Palin told us that in 1775, Mr. Revere had warned the British, (not the colonists), that the, “British were about to attack the colonists….?”  Well, she’s at it again.

As usual, Ms. Palin still can’t find her hind-quarters with both hands.

But this epic “War on Christmas” battle is continuing to pit the forces on the right, who demand that we say “Merry Christmas”, to everyone, regardless of their faith or lack thereof, against those who say “Happy Holidays.”

As an example, Fox’s, Bill O’Reilly, the unofficial “Father of the War on Christmas” recently claimed that there are dastardly people who want to, “banish any mention of Jesus in the public square.” And apparently this 1.6% of Americans are so dangerous that it compelled the Texas Governor, Rick Perry, to enact the “Merry Christmas law”.  This law ensures that public school teachers in Texas can say “Merry Christmas” without fear of some kind of attack against them.  Really….Governor Perry spent the state’s money for enacting such a ridiculous law.

But the glaring hypocrisy of the right is that they want to keep “Christ in Christmas,” however, they don’t want to keep Christ’s teachings in the policies they advocate.

It’s as if there are two Jesus Christ’s.  There’s the one in the Bible who advocates helping people in need, especially the poor.

Then there’s the Jesus that conservatives worship, whose philosophy is to callously slash programs that help the less fortunate, from food stamps, to children’s health insurance, to unemployment benefits.

I’m not a religious scholar, but I do get to listen to a local Sunday morning program called “God Talk” where a real PhD in religious studies has made me look up some of the studies of the basic teachings of Jesus. And guess what, the New Testament is filled with passages where Jesus implores his followers to care for the poor. And that also includes those devout conservative Republicans that are now cutting food stamps, unemployment insurance, Head Start programs, Meals-on-Wheels, and health insurance for children. 

The best known passage about this issue is Matthew 25:34-36.  In this passage, Jesus made clear the importance of helping people in need: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.”

In September, the House Republicans voted to slash $40 billion from the food stamps program. If this had become law, it would’ve result in nearly four million Americans being deprived of these desperately needed benefits. The Democratic Senate and the president prevented this from happening…for now.

So much for the, “I was hungry and you gave me food.” Issue for the Republicans and the New Testament.

The conservatives have also continued to waged a war to destroy Obamacare which would provide health insurance to millions of Americans who can’t afford coverage.

In fact, 20 States with Republican governors and Republican-controlled legislatures have refused to expand Medicaid under Obamacare, making it more challenging if not impossible for the impoverished residents of these States to afford or receive health insurance coverage.

So, what would Jesus actually do about the 1.3 million Americans whose unemployment benefits will end just a few days after Christmas?

Jesus, according to the conservatives, would say “no” to any extension of unemployment insurance. Really, that’s what the Republicans are saying Jesus would say and do.  And remember, these unemployed people are not “slackers” as the GOP says they are.  These people have worked and they lost their jobs due to no fault of their own.

In fact, GOP Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) recently cited the following passage from the Bible as a reason to stop all the benefits for the poor: “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.” Mr. Cramer is totally ignoring the fact, supported by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), that there are 4 unemployed Americans for every single American job opening.

The issue is that whether you are able and willing to work or not, there is no job available for 3 out of 4 job seekers. And interestingly enough, during the federal government shutdown last September, this Congressman Cramer was the only member of the North Dakota Congressional delegation who didn’t donate his salary to charity.

But let’s not forget that from 1995 until 2012, Cramer’s farm in his North Dakota district was included in the $10.4 billion in agricultural subsidies from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That makes his district the single largest recipient of farm subsidies in the nation. Keep in mind that the purpose of these subsidies to make the sale of crops competitive. Without them, the recipients would lose their jobs.  In other words, the subsidies, 80% of which go to big corporate farmers, create exactly the culture of permanent dependency that Cramer complains about. And let’s not forget that one of the congressman’s largest campaign contributions is from the corporate agriculture industry, which has given Cramer $133,040, just to run for public office.

But Cramer is not alone in this hypocrisy. Many other House Republicans who have harshly condemned the SNAP program recipients, (Food Stamps, etc), they are receiving huge agricultural subsidies.

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) is in a district that has been the third-largest recipient of subsidies, receiving more than $9 billion since 1995. In voting for SNAP cuts, he was the one that ironically claimed that his, “Democratic colleagues have long been for expanding the dependency class here in America.”

Talk about the, “Pot calling the Kettle Black”.

But let’s get back to Christmas.  The reality is, Christmas will be fine, but without our help, the poor won’t be.   Christmas is not in danger of becoming homeless, nor concerned about having enough food to eat to be able to concentrate at school or at work.  Unfortunately, America’s needy are invisible to most of us, including the 16 million children in this country who live in poverty.
 

Today, we rarely hear about the poor in our nation unless they are being demonized by those on the right, such as these super hypocrites, House Reps. Cramer and King, calling all the poor “lazy”, or blaming them for abusing the system.  What a total joke these Republicans are.

Those leading the bogus fight for keeping “Christ in Christmas” need to answer one simple question. “What do you think Jesus would care more about: feeding the hungry and caring for the sick, or requiring that all Americans say ‘Merry Christmas’ instead of ‘Happy Holidays’?”

The answer is clear to anyone who has ever read the Bible.

Copyright, G.Ater  2013