37Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
41Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
44They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
45He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
46Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
- Gospel according to St. Matthew: 25:34-46.
A good friend pointed out this scripture passage to me the other day, and after reading and meditating about it, not only is its beauty and simplicity the essence of Christian teachings, its also an excellent answer to the question of "What would Jesus do?" if He were participating in the health care debate.
Many of the most strident voices against health care reform have also been spreading a series of lies which are clearly intended to scare Americans into opposing health care reform. While nominally the health insurance industry has accepted the idea of reform, in reality, they haven't. Look deep enough behind the focus groups and the people who are being bussed in to disrupt town hall meetings and I think one would find funding from the health care insurance lobby.
The health insurance industry in the US is one of the largest and best funded of any of the insurance businesses. They're also a fairly unique creature. No other western economy uses health insurance to pay for their medical care to the extent that does the United States. Yet, many of the suggestions for health care reform would threaten this sacred cow. For instance, all of the suggestions for reform would do away with "pre-existing conditions". They would also usually prohibit insurance companies from canceling insurance because people got sick. It seems like a no-brainer, but the purpose of health insurance is to pay for treatment when one is sick.
Many of those who are most opposed to health care reform are Republicans. Republicans have been engaged in some of the most egregious lies about the various proposals, including Sarah Palin and her repeated claims about "death panels". Ms. Palin bills herself as a Christian, yet she spreads lies about a bill before Congress. We have heard virtually nothing from Republicans about how to work on the problem facing our nation on health care and to guarantee health care for all.
The same Republicans who claim that they stand for family values and Christian ideals spent a great deal of time recently making sure that it was very clear that those who don't have proper documentation of citizenship would be denied government benefits, including any inclusion in any government funding for health care. Christ didn't care about citizenship, He cared about people. I have written elsewhere that denying basic health care to anyone on the basis of immigration or citizenship status makes little fiscal sense, but when dealing with immigration issues, it appears fiscal realities and Republicans have diverged. However, that's not the point of this article. The point of this article is the difference between word and actions on the part of many who are opposed to health care reform.
It is time for the Republican party to "walk the walk" as well as mouth the words of Christian values. It is not enough to be a Christian on Sundays, when an election is looming, or when there are sound bites and photo ops to be had. Christianity is not an amusement nor is it part-time gig. Its a way of life which means caring for the sick, among other things. Often this is inconvenient. Very often its uncomfortable and decidedly unpleasant. Yet, by caring for God's children, and indeed, all of them, we live the way that Christ intended for us to live.
Those who oppose health care reform simply because its being pushed by democrats are wrong to do so. There are legitimate reasons to be opposed to many of the plans out there, including how to pay for them. However, to oppose them because they threaten the sacred cows of the insurance industry that has worked long and hard to make insurance payments unaffordable for many Americans, is just plain wrong. The way to oppose such plans is to present better plans that can be shown that they will work better at accomplishing what should be a common goal: making sure all have access to affordable, quality health care in the US.
I liked this when I read it in draft form; I like it even better in the final presentation.
ReplyDeleteThank you ToE.
As ToE knows, this is my favorite book, and favorate parable, of the Bible.
ReplyDeleteI firmly believe that we are all called to 'reflect the face of God', and furhter, 'to see the face of God reflected in the people around us.'
I do not believe in a puppet-master, secretly controlling our movements so that miracles may be acted out through us, but rather, that it is and always has been, God's design to have us BE the miracles by providing a path, a architectural plan, to learn to be 'Christ-like' - and through it, create an Earth and society where the poor do not starve, the sick do not suffer, the needy do not live in cardboard boxes, and the prisoners and less popular are not 'dehumanized' as we seem ready and willing to do - writing off their lives with a simple back of our hand wave that 'they brought it on themselves.' Even if true - and of course our scorn for Muslims is wildly off-base (at least that of the far right is) - when did Christ give us leave to simply allow them to perish and suffer because we don't like them?
In the case of health care - our decision to allow the poor and/or immigrants to go without care (or certainly far substandard care as they may be afforded/provided by using Emergency Room care as the last and only safety net for treatment, rather than preventative care) - such a decision to me, flies directly in the face of what the richest nation on Earth should be able to do. Our singular focus on money has relegated us, as a nation, to the same fate as the parable about the chances of a rich man ascending to heaven, our conduct has made our nation appear as if we are more likely to pass a camel through the eye of a needle than be concerned first about people, and second about profit. We appear unready to walk in the footsteps of Christ, no matter how many times we invoke the name of God.
The problem is that these things do cost money and where is is going to come from? I can think of several ways we can do more for other countries. This whole ethenol thing is nuts, if you want to make ethenol fuel make it from sugar cane or something like that. Making it from corn takes more energy to make than it saves in your car and we have less food. America used to produce enough corn and wheat to feed 20% of the entire world, now we export far less. As far as health care I understand we have a problem with health care but I don't think the people in Washington are so much attempting to fix the system as they are just replacing it. And Pen, I have nothing against immigrants, just illegal immigrants. If we really need that many low paid people to come into the country then raise the limits on how many can come in legally and let them in. Then they will be covered by minimum wage and workplace safety regulations, they will be paying taxes, and they will be entitled to the same benefits as the rest of us.
ReplyDeleteTtucker, thank you for your thoughtful post.
ReplyDeleteYou're right. Where is the money going to come from? I don't know, and I don't know anyone who does know. We haven't been given good information on this from ANYONE. That is an excellent reason to oppose the bills. What are NOT good reasons to oppose the bills are the xenophobia and outright hostility to the poor that we have seen so far from some (although not all) of the far right wing. These are often the same people who claim how they support Christian values, while then telling us that the poor should fend for themselves. That was the intent of this post, to point out the hypocracy.