trinityvixen | A Political Rant (Yes, it's been a while)

So, reading the Times again today was just endlessly depressing. Maybe because it's hump day, or because it's raining and colder than the balmy weather I had been rather enjoying. I could barely muster up righteous indignation over the whole Gonzales thing. I'm sorry, but a man who wants to know what are the strictly legal limits of laws against torture should not have any job in our government, let alone the job of prosecuting those who would stand against it (ie the people being tortured, most likely). Whatever, I can't even begin to care about that. It was outrageous at the time, they're still looking into it, Bush is going to get him appointed come hell or high water because as long as he says Jesus told him to do it, he'll get whatever he wants. Not to mention Gonzales is Hispanic, and it makes him look like he's promoting diversity in his cabinet.

Then there's all this shit with Tom DeLay, and if I couldn't be bothered to be angry over stuff that's been around and ignored forever, why should I care about DeLay any more? He's an out-and-out crook, nothing new for a politician, and he's a bully, nothing new for a republican, if you ask me. He wants to run the House even though he's done more illegal things on his lunch break than half of his 'moral' constituency will do in their entire lives? Fine, whatever. The next four years are going to suck hardcore, and what can I do about it? I'm still just glad we wrangled out $350 million for the tsunami victims instead of like $35 million, which I heard at first.

Speaking of the tsunami victims, Kristof has another good column about American generosity/stinginess that's really elementary yet incredibly no one seems to have, at least in my light browsing, brought up. The fact is that geneorisity isn't something you do because people are watching, it's something you do because you want to help and have money, time, or love to spare for another human being. Getting mad and donating more because other people think you're stingy doesn't make you more generous, it just means you're ashamed you're not generous. Kristof breaks down the donations on a normal year by the US--from every $100 US GDP (or something) we spend about 15 cents aid. Yes, we have a lot of money, so that means, as all the defensive talking heads have been saying, that we donated billions. However, when countries like the Netherlands beat us by donating nearly five-six times as much to the $100 mark, that's just bleeding pathetic for us. Sure, looks good on paper to say we donated billions more than them, but they're donating more per person. If the Netherlands ruled the world like we did, we'd all be sitting pretty on those donations.

In a country that claims to love its Christianity, they're forgetting one of the most influential, moving lessons Jesus ever taught, probably because it has nothing to do with smiting unbelievers, forcing women to have babies, and persecuting gays. For those of you not familiar with the story, Jesus and his disciples watched men and women putting money into the church's collection plate. Many rich men came and gave gold, more gold than men like the disciples had seen in their entire lives, probably, and they tossed it in, so proud of how generous they were. Then a poor woman came and donated two coppers, barely worth anything, but Jesus said she had given most of all the parishoners for she had given of what she had whereas the others had given of what they could spare. The US is definitely the country that gives of what it doesn't need or can do without instead of making the sacrifice to see that others can live. We're also that guy from another parable, shouting our praises to high heaven, saying how good we are for being so righteous. All the while, those who are truly righteous do not need everyone to hear it--they do the good work for no reward other than satisfaction and knowing they have helped, and because they cannot spend what the rich man does, nor have a lackey friend of theirs in the White House to sing their praises, too, they go unnoticed.

I may not be a great Christian (my paraphrasing the Bible should be a pretty big clue on that score), but that just means I know one when I see one. Bush is no great Christian. I'm reading The Poisonwood Bible, about a Baptist minister so bound and determined to save souls in the Congo in 1960 that he cannot see the jungle for the trees. All that is bad is a test from God, not his own ignorance defeating him; all that is good is a reward for his ministry, not the contributions of his neighbors and the sacrifices of his poor wife and daughters. To me, Bush is like that. Every failure, every set back is an 'unforeseen complication,' not a disaster that had always been in the making (hello, Iraq). Every success is proof that God is on his side, not the joint work of people trying to get along, help each other out without dragging the almighty into it. When we send aid to southeast Asia, we send the message that, hey, the US isn't anti-muslim! We're sending money to those filthy heathen countries, aren't we? Aren't we godly? Aren't we good? I like this line I read in my book today to explain away these proud rich men:

"Don't try to make life a mathematics problem with yourself in the center and everything coming out equal. When you are good, bad things can still happen. And if you are bad, you can still be lucky."

Judge us by our works and our constantness, not by what we claim we are. That is as good a rule as Jesus ever meant. Love your neighbor as yourself, the greatest commandment, and one delievered not with the fires and brimstone of the vengeful God or the pomp and circumstance of the proud President.