Save us from "Social Justice"
Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 5:52 pm
Our local area was graced recently by a presentation at Duquesne University of the Holy Ghost ("DooKane") on the subject of "Social Justice." I believe the main speaker was the liberal pundit, E.J. Dionne.
Much of the evening was spent with Dionne lauding the RC Church in America for its leadership in the area of "Social Justice." In addition to the usual stuff - the Church promotes public spending for those initiatives which generally comport to its "Corporal Works of Mercy" - the Church was lauded for its "leadership" in the area of immigration policy.
While there can be no doubt that the Messiah encouraged His followers to donate to the poor, feed the hungry, visit the imprisoned, give shelter to the homeless, and so forth, I'm not sure it follows, logically, that His followers should engage in political activity and initiatives that compel the general citizenry, Christian or not, and generally against their will, to pay for "charitable" works and donations by an impersonal, inefficient, and corrupt Government. (More than half of the money supposedly dedicated to help The Poor ends up in the pockets of bureaucrats, self-aggrandizing foundations, and contractors or one sort or another).
Indeed, I suspect that many people who promote such Government activities do so in order to make themselves feel like they, personally, are committing charitable acts through their efforts to confiscate Other Peoples' Money and have it distributed to those whom They would consider worthy objects of charity. Politicians crassly promote the falsehood that in promulgating such laws and regulations, they are being "charitable." Dare I say, this is both hypocritical and perverse? (And dare I point out that study after study indicates that "liberals" give much less to charity than do conservatives?)
As Christ himself recognized, there is no "social justice" ("you will always have the poor with you"), and we Christians need to focus on the non-temporal aspects of our eternal life rather than accumulating trivialities such as food, shelter, and clothing.
The role of the Church (and of so-called "Chistians" generally) in promoting immigration lawlessness is even more tenuous and bizarre. What policy is it, exactly, that they would propose? That any godforsaken unfortunate from anywhere in the world who could benefit from being under the protection of the American "safety net" is welcome to come and do so? Or is it only those from Mexico and Central America? Do they suggest that we annex these shit-hole countries and give them all free food, shelter, health care, and non-English "education," like we do in California? Or is it only the ones who break into the U.S.? Inquiring minds want to know.
Do the Catholic/Christian do-gooders who espouse "Social Justice" care at all about the United States Constitution, which prohibits the Federal Government from acting as a charitable organization?
Oh, yeah. I forgot. The Constitution is a "living document," and says whatever I think it ought to say, regardless of the printed words.
Many countries have tried to establish governments founded on the principles of "Social Justice," and they have mainly ended in grotesque corruption and financial ruin. The "best" of them - basically the countries of Western Europe - have been able to hang on and provide cradle-to-grave security until now, but the paradigm is in a death spiral for a number of reasons, chiefly, that when you pay people to do nothing, perversely enough, they will elect to do nothing.
The very expression, "Social Justice," makes me nauseous, and causes me to involuntarily reach for my wallet.
Much of the evening was spent with Dionne lauding the RC Church in America for its leadership in the area of "Social Justice." In addition to the usual stuff - the Church promotes public spending for those initiatives which generally comport to its "Corporal Works of Mercy" - the Church was lauded for its "leadership" in the area of immigration policy.
While there can be no doubt that the Messiah encouraged His followers to donate to the poor, feed the hungry, visit the imprisoned, give shelter to the homeless, and so forth, I'm not sure it follows, logically, that His followers should engage in political activity and initiatives that compel the general citizenry, Christian or not, and generally against their will, to pay for "charitable" works and donations by an impersonal, inefficient, and corrupt Government. (More than half of the money supposedly dedicated to help The Poor ends up in the pockets of bureaucrats, self-aggrandizing foundations, and contractors or one sort or another).
Indeed, I suspect that many people who promote such Government activities do so in order to make themselves feel like they, personally, are committing charitable acts through their efforts to confiscate Other Peoples' Money and have it distributed to those whom They would consider worthy objects of charity. Politicians crassly promote the falsehood that in promulgating such laws and regulations, they are being "charitable." Dare I say, this is both hypocritical and perverse? (And dare I point out that study after study indicates that "liberals" give much less to charity than do conservatives?)
As Christ himself recognized, there is no "social justice" ("you will always have the poor with you"), and we Christians need to focus on the non-temporal aspects of our eternal life rather than accumulating trivialities such as food, shelter, and clothing.
The role of the Church (and of so-called "Chistians" generally) in promoting immigration lawlessness is even more tenuous and bizarre. What policy is it, exactly, that they would propose? That any godforsaken unfortunate from anywhere in the world who could benefit from being under the protection of the American "safety net" is welcome to come and do so? Or is it only those from Mexico and Central America? Do they suggest that we annex these shit-hole countries and give them all free food, shelter, health care, and non-English "education," like we do in California? Or is it only the ones who break into the U.S.? Inquiring minds want to know.
Do the Catholic/Christian do-gooders who espouse "Social Justice" care at all about the United States Constitution, which prohibits the Federal Government from acting as a charitable organization?
Oh, yeah. I forgot. The Constitution is a "living document," and says whatever I think it ought to say, regardless of the printed words.
Many countries have tried to establish governments founded on the principles of "Social Justice," and they have mainly ended in grotesque corruption and financial ruin. The "best" of them - basically the countries of Western Europe - have been able to hang on and provide cradle-to-grave security until now, but the paradigm is in a death spiral for a number of reasons, chiefly, that when you pay people to do nothing, perversely enough, they will elect to do nothing.
The very expression, "Social Justice," makes me nauseous, and causes me to involuntarily reach for my wallet.