Remember way back when that secret video of Mitt Romney came
out in which he described the 47% of Americans who don’t pay taxes as “victims”
who would vote for the President no matter what? Initially he said he had misspoke,
later he declared that he was “completely wrong.” The Democrats of course hammered Romney on
this “47% controversy” while the Republicans did their best to downplay the
comments right up until they lost the
election.
It’s a funny thing, for the last two year the Right has declared
that Obama was dividing America, promoting “class warfare” and pitting one side
against the other. Well, what did the Right do as soon as they lost the election? They went right back to the “47%” mantra again (technically now it’s the 52%). Rather than taking some personal responsibility
for promoting policies that are often out-of-touch and unpopular, the Right
chose to blame the media, the electoral college, and most of all the so-called “moochers.”
Now I’ll be honest, the Right has done a fabulous job
framing the narrative, promoting the “job creators” while demonizing the “moochers.”
This was an election, they said,
between the “makers” and the “takers.”
Conveniently of course, they were very limited about what was and was
not an “entitlement.”
Recently I talked to a man who blamed Obama for his two
years of unemployment, yet when I pushed back that the two years of
unemployment benefits he received (thanks to Obama) was itself an entitlement,
he retorted that he had “earned” that.
It’s quite the self-serving narrative, if it’s something that benefits a
conservative its “pro-business” or “good for America,” if it’s something that benefits
low-income folks it’s an entitlement. Give
me a break. That small business tax
credit used to buy the Lexus SUV because it’s classified as a “light truck,”
the subsidies on corn that turn a crop into a profit, the tax breaks a city or
county gives a business to relocate, the DARPA funded project called the
internet on which so many business rely on, the streets so many drive on, and
the 15% tax paid for money made off the hard work of someone else (who
themselves get taxed higher). These, and
many, many more are all example of entitlements whether you want to call them
that or not. A Facebook friend posted
that he was glad his family had taught him to “reject entitlements.” I’m sure
they gave back the many tax deductions and credits they received every year and
will continue to receive. Oh, wait,
probably not.
What’s even worse, the Right has intertwined this narrative
with Scripture. This unholy alliance—true heresy if I’ve ever seen such—is
anything but biblical. Try as they might
to convince that “personal responsibility” is a biblical value, if we could go
back in time and speak with Peter, Paul, and John they’d have absolutely no
idea what we were talking about. The
Bible, written and assembled over 2000 years ago in a culture massively
different than our own can’t be used to justify our own 21st century
ideas without a horrific hack job.
Anachronistically reading the text, many try to interpret individualism
into a world that was entirely communal.
There was no “I,” there was the
family, the community, and the society.
The problem, of course, is that so many on the religious right
have blindly followed this shoddy interpretation and engrained it into their spirituality.
Questioning the “doctrine” of personal responsibility becomes akin to attacking
their faith and they come at you with the same anger and fury as if you were
questioning the very existence of God.
Further, they’ve constructed a quasi-Calvinistic theology that asserts
their financial “blessings” are because they have found favor in the eyes of
God. Conveniently ignoring the many
passages about taking care of the poor and not stockpiling wealth, they sit in
their McMansions or drive their Escalades while reflecting on how “God has been
good.” Reality check, you’ve been good
to yourself.
If I’m a “moocher” for voting for Obama, you are selfish,
egotistical, and materialistic for voting Romney. Heck, I thought the Democrats were wrong in ’08
for elevating Obama to a “Savior-like” status, yet Rush Limbaugh has
practically deified Obama as the omnipresent, omniscient, eternal “Santa.” Republicans, it’s time to take some personal responsibility
for your policies. If you won’t, feel free to continue losing elections, because
there is a majority of Americans who believe the same things I do:
-That health care is a right, and not a privilege
-That it is the duty of a democratic society to educate its
citizenry
-That no stomach should ever go to bed hungry
-That minimum wage is not a living wage
-That just as this country welcomed our white, European
ancestors seeking a better life; we should also extend that welcome to our
neighbors south of the border who want the same for their families
(oh, and I forgot to use “hypocritical” in the entire blog,
until now)
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