Robbing Peter to pay Paul, for pre-emptive wars of destruction and debt.
pend greater than one half of our federal budget on war,
borrow from Social Security for war, still rack up debt from unfunded war,
create a new Department of Homeland Security as further backup for war. Then bemoan the situation and demand gross
cuts to social security, education, environment, infrastructure—anything that
does not serve the interest of the war and security industries. And this in the country that spends as much on these industries as do all the rest of the countries of the world combined. This in the country in which
its wealthiest 1% has become the class that controls more wealth than 40% of all
the rest of its own people. While the
80% of us on the lower and middle class ends, have only 7% of our country’s
wealth [video - graphic representation].
A Wall Street Journal column contends the
disparity is greater. Yes there is class warfare. 
More important, this situation of the rich and powerful,
detached from the needs of common people and the poor, here and worldwide, is
deep social sin. Jesus cries out loudly
against this injustice. “Woe to you who are rich” and He tells the devastating story of the rich man and Lazarus
ultimately separated by the chasm between heaven and hell. There is so much in the Gospel that warns
against hoarding riches. For the
super-rich that’s a huge impediment to salvation. Yet it’s a message for all of us who live in
this richest country on the planet.
To protect our wealth, property, privilege, we believe we’ve
the right and responsibility to maintain the world’s largest war machine. Nation states are designed to operate with the
mentality of the war machine [it’s necessary to kill, to survive], but our Christian
churches must operate on the faith taught by Jesus.
Church + society’s justified violence = the greatest impediment to the New Evangelization. We continue to misconstrue the basic Gospel truth: greater love than this no one has than to lay down their life for their friends {not the taking of life in defense of their friends}. Jesus showed us this way so clearly—telling us to put away the sword, forgiving his enemies, as he died for all of us, on the cross. Violence is the devil’s tool. God is love. Justified violence is the Deceiver’s most potent lie.
If God sends His Son to tell you that the way to salvation
is nonviolent love and mercy, why, as in our budget, would you spend more than
½ your resources on war and violence? – why would your church endorse even one
farthing, or send even one member off in support of the justified violence of
war? It does not do so for the justified
violence of abortion.
“God will not be mocked” can put off for a time--as when Jesus suffered the mockery of the
cross. But God, the creator and
sustainer, will never long be successfully ignored.
******************************
A past departing Pope understood completely the nature of our nonviolent
merciful loving God. The church and
society wasn't interested in what he was saying. On April 22, 2011, six years into his reign, Pope Benedict
XVI proclaimed---
“It could be
expected that, when God came to earth, he
would be a man of
great power, destroying the opposing
forces; that he
would be a man of powerful violence as an
instrument of
peace. Not at all! He came in weakness.
He came with only
the strength of love, totally without
violence, even to
the point of going to the cross. This is
what shows us the
true face of God: that violence never
comes from God,
never helps bring anything good, but is
a destructive means
and not the path to escape difficulties.
...This is Jesus’ true message:
seek peace with the means of peace and leave violence
aside.”
For a remarkable insight into Pope Benedict's inspiration and recent decision, above and beyond the media controversies, see Fr. E. C. McCarthy's complete article.
Illumination by Kathy Brahney
More ---
John Perkins,
author of Economic Hit Man, on how wealth extends globally.
Ed Asner’s look
at the crash of 2008--Tax the Rich An animated fairy tale. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6ZsXrzF8Cc
What, and exclusive who’s is -- the plutonomy?
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