It's taken me a year but I finally found the words to say it

I'm here to talk about what's been somewhat annoying to me, and as always, it has to do with people.

Now I will be the first to say, I've taken a minimal amount of classes and read only a small amount of historical and political texts to really grasp the rhetoric and employ the nomenclature. So hopefully you will not see me brandish too many words from that culture for I do not have the experience nor the knowledge.

However, in reference as of lately people have been speaking in quite controversial language concerning the such political activity of health care. Now in my understanding the quarrel is over should health care be in the private sector and the public sector. I am trying my hardest to see if not just two, but all the sides to this quarrel. For those who oppose it, there is the belief that whenever a sort of relief as "free" is employed there will be those will corruptly take advantage of it. So if there was a "free" health care supported by hard working tax payers, then there would be those "ghetto" people who are to lazy to work and get a job and getting free relief, while those of us hard working types are supporting God's country. And there is the point that needs to be made that the rich are the one's funding a large part of our country. Their tax dollars are the one's really which make a difference, while their are many, not to that there aren't rich who don't, person's of the lower class bracket who escape being taxed and yet demand a free lunch.

Next, having my mother be apart of the health care system, through my years of growing up in my family's home, I've heard on numerous occasion how the bureaucrats of any structure, public or private, are manipulating the system by filling their pockets while the respected workers, being here the physicians, nurses, and such, are making minimal when compared to the prices being charged. And at the rate of the inflating health care prices, the work is shifting to almost a sales oriented system, raising the total owed from each individual, rather than a "caring for an individuals health system." And then there's the idealism of the supposed liberals or progressives or idealists that dreams of a health care system that would allow everyone in this county free health care, because health care, meaning medical care should not be earned but is instilled through our governmental upbringing as the freedom of "life", liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Ok, now that that's all covered, I want to take one of those and really run wild because I'm really vexed. I'm fucking indignant. And somewhere deep inside of me, I want to be apologetic, but I just can't be.

I've been hearing through numerous channels, the right wing, more specific, the Christian Right Wing's (and know I do apologize for including in this generalization those who oppose the thinking of this social group) opposition for health care and deeming it such titles as communism and socialism. My problem with this is in how could anyone supposedly believing something so mystical, unorthodox, unsystematic, where there is a belief in an idea, a whisper that ripped through the fabric of our universe, and supposedly, our hearts, apply such logic to their thinking where the restoration of a person's life is in question. The problem with this Christian thought, that only opposes health care reform do to political constituency, is that when socialism or communism is used you are looking through the lens of history applying to our current situation, trying to use rationale and logic, as an effort of deductive reasoning to support yourself and your stand; now when considering the narrative you praise as certain, true, and life altering, which I alluded to earlier with terms as mystical and unorthodox, how is it possible you can apply any systematic thought and say that it is YHWY based.

Now here I will impose a critical read of the story that is again, supposed to birth this mystical belief. In the Gospel of Matthew a story comes to place when the Pharisees come to Jesus and ask him a question based in trickery. They ask him, being Jesus, if they should pay their taxes to there oppressors, the Romans. To add some context the story, know that the Jewish people of Judah were oppressed by the Romans on many a front, and when it came taxation, the Jews were taxed up to 70% of there earnings--and very much known, the Jewish hierarchy was taxing part of that tax. Now Jesus, emboldened with frustration asks for a roman coin of currency, and then asks the Pharisees whose face is on the coin. Being that Ceasar's face was on the denarius. They replied, "Ceasar's." I will finalize this with the text:

"Then He said to them, 'Give to Ceasar what is Ceasar's, and to God what is God's.'"
Matthew 22:21

Now this, this is the ripping of the fabric. To look at this critically, A. Jesus tells these people, who are being severely abused, and in this instance financially, to continue to give, and give wholeheartedly. 2. He implies that the picture of God's face is inscribed somewhere and on something. And for whatever that is, He implied to us all that is what is important to God.

I want to take this critique and apply it to my previous thoughts/frustration. First off, why is health care being asked to be made public? It's an ethical question dealing with that of freedom and equality; and freedom and equality for all American people. Meaning, that the believers of such belief, believe that as Americans, we have a right to both freedom and equality. And health care, meaning any sort of medical treatment is rendered a part of both freedom and equality; not that of a separation of purchasing class. Now for the antagonizing side of the ill-mentioned Right Wing; they have deemed this a push towards socialism, or outrightly labelled this communism while forgetting the fact that this issue is specific to the redemption of a person.

Now I want to pull out a second resource, an ironically enough, a Christian text at that, but I want to reference Dr. Timothy Keller's The Reasons for God. I'd like to give this a fun significance, due to the fact that I am typing this all at my college, Hunter College, where Dr. Keller and his church meets every weekend. Now not to be analytical of the book or it's writer, but I would like to preface this with saying that after reading this book in its entirety, I'm not a fan. However, the information I gathered and choose to use here fits and is true apropos. Keller references in the chapter titled, "The Church is Responsible For So Much Injustice"; as an anathema to the Chapter title itself, Keller uses different poignant parts of our world's history where the church or people motivated by Christ bring justice to an unjust world. He speaks of directly that for the time of both British and American slave trade, now considered heinous and despicable (still to some "not' or just "slightly," similar to the holocaust), where people of those times, the abolitionists motivated by this idea of grace, freedom, and equality where the seed of thought in them was Christ, demanded change. However, both liberal and conservative of those times, saw that this would cause a huge economic disaster since so much of the efforts of production were created by and through slavery. Some writers considered it an "economic disaster." But what Keller brings to light is that certain Christians not only pleaded for an abolition of slavery, they gave their word that they, they themselves, would penny up the costs for that was supposed to be lost in gains. And yes, there may have been a slight economic rift, and yes there was change that may have been felt, but something intensely more brilliant happened and is still happening.

That, is an expression of the agape found in the gospel. That is the good news.

But yet, I hear, we hear as irrefutable evidence, that those for modern health care reform are pundits for the downfall of society. I hear, "there will be those who manipulate this system because the people are fallen. I don't want to pay for those thieves who will manipulate us." And I agree. However, for every non-profit be it religious or secular that never has to pay one dime of property-tax, who bloats their employee's salaries way beyond that of sheer necessity, and manipulates through teaching it's followers the supposed "truth," they are just as savage and manipulating than any individual that will supposedly take your tax dollars for health care. Does no one else see the blatant hypocrisy? The arrogant asses of Right Wing politics are more than comfortable to give there money whole-heartedly to establishments that manipulate people, steal tax payers dollars, while its own bureaucracy pads its pockets, and then has the audacity to scrutinize others with an hypothetical statement dramatizing the poor thief. Are you kidding?

But what's more ridiculous, is the fact that people make such a strident claim of faith, faith in something so majestic, something so irrational, something where deduction lays no claim, and yet choose to as individuals apply rationale, deduction and systematic thinking into not helping others no matter what the cost. You're going to tell me you believe in something that whenever I or anyone else tries to contend, you can say a multitude of dumbfounding things such as, "Well, God only knows," "God created me before I was ever known," or the best of all, "In the beginning..." and yet you are going to apply an analysis on our culture with the lens of rationale when your whole existence is based on the most irrational thing possible. You're going to use history found in history books to analyze our current time, but then disregard that history when it contends with your religiosity.

Earlier I spoke of a gospel reference and I want to go back there. What then did Jesus mean when he said "Give to God what is God's." Because when I read and reread the gospels Jesus performed many a life-changing miracles of restoration for people not because of there belief. Now he may have precursed it as a praise of their faith, but their faith in what? Furthermore, what's more jaw dropping is that He, meaning Jesus, forgave and healed people who didn't ask for repentance. That, according to this Good News, is the most outstanding thing possible. The miracle of forgiveness by a man who was used, scoffed against, and taken advantage of continued to forgive and redeem whether it was deserved or not. That is the mystical tear in the fabric that is supposedly to be lacing the hearts of every Christian. Am I wrong? What is God's is his people, no longer Jew or Gentile, but all people.

But to you hypocrites of the law that lay claim to what you consider to be big t Truth, and yet fail terribly to employ that universally for all, you claim it so aggressively yet fail to love universally, you, you hear me, you are the faggots that will burn in the pits of hell. And you will desperately cry out to God and ask Him, "Father why have you forsaken me," and He will say, "I never knew you," and spit you out of His mouth. And you know why that will be His response? Because you spent all your fucking time and energy believing in Him, rather than really trying to know Him.


Live Relentlessly,
Peace
Remoy