Last night Joy and I joined some friends who invited us to attend a fund raiser in the small town of Lanesboro, Minnesota. The guest for the evening was Garrison Keillor. We gave a donation of $20 a piece to hear one of the great story tellers of all time up close and personal. He did not disappoint us as he spun one tale after another into an amazing tapestry of American life.
One of the themes he developed, perhaps the main one, was his having grown up in a Minnesota that took helping one another for granted. He said there was no such thing as leaving anyone behind. If you could do anything to help your neighbor, especially one who hit a hard patch and was really down, you did it without thinking about it. Then he lamented the fact that we seem to have lost this sense of community and one for all and all for one way of life. In today’s America those who are poor, unemployed, or needing extra help to eat or go to school are being blamed for a bad economy, being accused of not wanting to help themselves, and are being told that their troubles are no one’s fault but their own. He talked about his father building the house where both of his parents lived most of their married life and where both died. He said that house was built because of the help his father got from so many other people, and how his parents instilled in him an awareness that nobody gets where they are solely on their own.
I think we have in fact lost the sense of community that once held us together as Americans. I don’t believe there are many people who want a handout, they just want a chance to stand up on their own. I don’t believe most people resent the success of others, they just want a chance to succeed themselves. They don’t mind someone getting rich, they just want the playing field to be level. They believe in equal opportunity, not in getting something for nothing.
But the playing field is not level. Important studies have shown that where you come from does affect how far you get in life in the America of today. Educational levels do matter. Having resources to draw on when you are starting out makes an enormous difference. Having friends in high places helps you. Studies also show that a lot of things people believe about the poor are just not true. Most are white, not black, women, not men, most work one and two jobs instead of doing nothing, most want to have a better job but cannot take time off to look for one or don’t have the qualifications to move up. Those of them who don’t have health insurance don’t because of pre-existing conditions or because they cannot afford the premium payments. In short, facts show that “the welfare queen” a former politician successfully ran against was a myth then and still is. America’s poor have jobs they work every day. They still sacrifice everything to help their children get ahead. And they are proud to be Americans.
I suppose there will always be people who will rail against government help for those who actually need it. I know one who was a colleague of mine years ago and once a good friend. Facts don’t matter to him anymore. As someone who lives a very good life, he seems consumed by the fear that somewhere someone is getting something for nothing. While I am saddened by his attitudes, what troubles me more is the fact that he represents so many Christians who think the same way. Most of what the four gospels say about Jesus has him living among and being an advocate for the poor of his day. There is no way around it. He even said that in the end all of us will be judged not on the basis of what we believe, but on how we treat ”the least of these.”
How can it be that some people who claim to follow Jesus support an economic Darwinism that says it’s all about the survival of the fittest. The social safety net we still have in this country is not about a hand out, but a hand up. It’s about community, about what it means to be one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. It seems to me it ought to be something every person of faith would want to strengthen, not limit or eliminate altogether.
On the way home last night I thought about the fact that though I may not be my brother’s keeper (or sister’s). I am and always will be my brother’s brother. In the midst of the mess our nation is in, I hope I never, ever forget that.
linnposts.com 
Thank you, Jan, for your important reminder and challenge. While reading it, I was reminded of the African concept of “Ubuntu,” which you have probably heard of. Ubuntu in the Xhosa culture of South Africa, means: “I am because we are”.
And that got me thinking about the Golden Rule that we all learn as children and which is found in one form or another in all the major religions. There must be a reason that this is such a universal teaching – it is important and should guide how we live. Our world needs compassion. We live in such a polarized world, full of hatred, suspicion and violence. We should pay more attention to our religious teachings. We should learn to live the “golden rule” and “ubuntu,” individually and as nations. We should learn to treat everyone – all people, all nations – as we wish to be treated.
Bill Moore
Bedford, VA
Having grown up in a Christian family, always gone to Sunday School, church camp, Bible School, etc. and memorizing legions of Bible verses I came to believe the world would be a better place by following the teachings of Jesus. I have since come to believe way too many people pay LIP SERVICE to the teachings of Jesus but don’t live by those teachings. I haven’t heard any ministers preaching in years from the Bible text about the comparison of a rich person going to Heaven as likely as a camel going through the eye of a needle, have you??? I wonder why?
The help pyramid that worked for centuries was –
family, then church, then community, then state, then federal gov’t.
The problem is that the pyramid has been inverted and WE have lost that personal ownership to assist the needy.
Let’s return to the basics and care for our own!
Jesus commanded for us to love ( care for) our neighbor as ourself.
Amen, brother! What a different world it could be if Christians actually followed the teachings of Jesus. The focus on “belief” over how we treat each other is truly a shame.
Thank you, Jan. While I agree with everything you said(and with the comments afterwards), I do believe there are many, many Americans who have become dependent on the government, have lost motivation and have an entitlement mentality. I witnessed that first hand in my teaching career as I tried so hard to give of myself and my meager resources. I have no solutions, but I am hopeful that others might.
Kay. I agree that there are people who have become dependent on government help, but there have always been such people. But they are not and never have been the cause of government budget woes as some people want to believe. Corporations also depend on government subsidies in the form of tax breaks, business write offs, etc. My concern is that too many conservatives, including Christians, show more concern for the few who are dependent than for the many who need help, and virtually no concern about the huge wastes in government spending on the military (aircraft carries, planes, and tanks we don’t need), corporate subsidies such as those for oil companies, and pet projects in Congressional districts. The need is for balance rather than extremism.
Thanks, Kay. I agree that there are people who have become dependent on government assistance. There have always been such people. But they are not and never have been the reason for runaway government deficits. Today that is caused by two unfunded wars, an unfunded Medicare Part D, with simultaneous tax cuts benefiting the wealthy more than anyone else. I am simply advocating for people. especially conservatives, and especially conservaitve Christians, to have a more balanced and compassionate attitude.
I too was at this event and I have to say I enjoyed his stories and was amazed by how he connected some of his personal tales into todays issues.
Singing the national anthem facing the flag I felt conflicted because in 1994 I became a citizen to vote for my children and the promise of a better life offered by America which the current realities in the nation no longer provide. I am not anti-American just totally against the current corruption of the American system.
What do I tell my kids and grandskids today when the anthem and pledge of allegiance feels more like trained response rather than heartfelt patriotism.
I read some time ago from a source commenting on Jesus that His teachings have never been truly attempted on this planet. The source spoke that the reason is, in part, because His way has yet to be fully understood. His own disciples didn’t quite get the impact of His spiritual messages and organized religion, then and now, based too heavily on a business organzation model rather than one of brotherhood, have yet to grasp and teach spirit. Your example of those who fear “others”‘ are getting something for nothing, for any reason, but most often from fundamental differences in nature and nurture beyond ones control are the very reason the church should be elevating a Jesus teaching such as: “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded”, Lk. 12:48. Such teachings emphasize the normal inequality of natural gifts while also implying they are to be reconciled by men among themselves out of love that acknowleges all are created equal in spirit by God.
Until the most gifted among us acknowledge the source of their gifts to be the “grace of God” first most of us are all in peril of having to constantly fight for our dignity. History tells that often includes violence. That is the saddest of all legacies we continue to leave the world and the most compelling reason for current day disciples to love and speak on His behalf. This is the mustard seed!