Cameron Conaway believes that if Pope Francis were Mr. Francis the junior high teacher, he’d be lambasted and ridiculed by about 35% of the US population.
Look, I’ve never been good at math. But I’m alright with finding equations in words and here’s what I’ve noticed when it comes to the mindset of about 35 percent of people within these great United States of America:
Anti-Capitalist(1) = Un-American(2).
(1) Anti-Capitalist doesn’t merely mean the headline-making radicals. If you even question any aspect of good ol’ American capitalism you are Un-American.
(2) You don’t have to be an actual American to be branded Un-American. The term basically means “stupid human.” America rules the world, silly.
By default, this makes all sorts of other things Un-American, such as:
Pro-Environment(3) = Anti-Capitalist = Un-American
Pro-Social Justice(4) = Anti-Capitalist = Un-American
(3) Those 35 percent of people may say this as though it’s a curse word.
(4) Supporting this may get you called a Socialist, kicked off the O’Reilly Factor, etc.
When President Obama — a leader far from perfect who has made his fair share of mistakes — or any noteworthy economist, or anyone at all for that matter, merely mentions one of the obvious ways in which our economic system has created an environment in which the United States of America, the “Wealthiest Country on Earth,” is also one of the world’s most economically unequal, they will be considered Un-American by a significant portion of our country’s citizens. The seemingly infinite peer-reviewed studies do not matter. Nor do the stories about the millions of working poor. In this group’s eyes, you’re Un-American for even suggesting that something about American-style capitalism might be harmful.
This group has bought so much stock in the myth of bootstrapping that despite all evidence to the contrary they still believe it’s true. If you’re poor, you are lazy. If you are rich, you made it. And the important variables like luck, race, gender, starting place and environment? Ha! That’s radical propaganda meant to make excuses for the lazy.
“If he were not the Pope, if he were a politician or a plumber, a trucker or a teacher, he’d be interrupted on certain television channels, he’d be spit at and bullied in certain communities. People would think of him as Un-American.”
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But there’s another idea that many of us Americans have bought into even harder: Religion. I don’t mean spiritual people who strive to lead good lives by adhering to the tenets of forgiveness and compassion that are found throughout The Bible. And I don’t mean those Americans who believe in God or fit somewhere under the umbrella term of Christianity. I mean those groups of people who have organized their beliefs not into a positive life practice but into a kind of patriarchal/political power structure that is perhaps the world’s worst form of groupthink. And wouldn’t you know it? Most of the aforementioned 35 percent who bought into the bootstrapping myth have also bought into the myth that being “Religious” in this sense is a good thing. That being told what to believe by a figure cloaked in traditional garb who knows little to nothing about politics or sex or science or economics or health or history or society in general is a really Good thing.
So when Pope Francis, the representative of the Catholic Church, mentions that terrible phrase “social justice” and says things like. . .
“The church sometimes has locked itself up in small things, in small-minded rules. The most important thing is the first proclamation: Jesus Christ has saved you.”
. . .many Americans bite their tongue. And when those comments spark articles like Pope Francis is a Flaming Liberal they bite down until there’s blood. You see, they are torn almost completely in half. If he were not the Pope, if he were a politician or a plumber, a trucker or a teacher, he’d be interrupted on certain television channels, he’d be spit at and bullied in certain communities. People would think of him as Un-American.
And when Pope Francis takes it all a step further, when he enters the equation and speaks about capitalism in this way. . .
“Just as the commandment ‘Thou shalt not kill’ sets a clear limit in order to safeguard the value of human life, today we also have to say ‘thou shalt not’ to an economy of exclusion and inequality. Such an economy kills.”
. . .he drips with so much Un-Americanness that he almost leaves no other room for all the other Un-Americans. Like President Obama. And Tammy Duckworth. And Bernie Sanders. And me. And like someone from some other country that ain’t America.
But the media that leads these 35 percent can’t say it. Nope. To attack the Pope in equal measure as they would ANYBODY else who said anything even remotely similar will entirely disrupt their viewership and their allegiance to the power dynamic.
The very values that make Pope Francis undeniably Un-American are the very reasons he is great for Americans. Here are three reasons of many:
“Though we value and sing about the idea of ‘freedom,’ many of us — in part thanks to our radically dogmatic Church leaders and our willingness to blindly follow them — have become highly-opinionated slaves to basic falsities that other freethinking countries are beyond.”
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(1) Economics. There are lazy Americans, no doubt. But they are not the reason we have one of the world’s largest gaps between the rich and the poor. Our country’s greatest minds continually roll out new studies and books stating precisely what the problem is. It’s a capitalism allowed to run absolutely rampant, with little regard for the general welfare of society. Many Americans know this, they’re living in the trenches of it, but a certain group refuses to get on board because their talking heads or party isn’t on board. So might articles with titles such as Pope Francis rips capitalism and trickle-down economics to shreds get a few to finally step out of their box? Maybe not, but maybe a few will cut a hole in the box and let in the air of reason.
(2) Social Issues. Conservative, religious America (I know many bright people who identify as such, so this doesn’t include everybody) is holding back our country from positively moving forward in this area. Some countries that “we the wealthy” refer to as “third-world” have healthcare systems that make ours look like a complete joke. Some have not just a tolerance but also an acceptance of and for other cultures, religions, races and sexualities far beyond where we stand. People from these countries are often in disbelief when they see the way we murder each other. My friends in Thailand just can’t understand it. “I always thought Americans were happy and free,” one told me, “. . .until I looked up your murder rates and did some research.” Truth is, though we value and sing about the idea of “freedom,” many of us — in part thanks to our radically dogmatic Church leaders and our willingness to blindly follow them — have become highly-opinionated slaves to basic falsities that other freethinking countries are beyond.
(3) Non-Separation of Church and State. The impact of “Church” in the United States, as it relates to politics, is too often one of separatism and of clinging on to antiquated values that many people outside of the Church have long accepted. The Dalai Lama advised that we need to get beyond religion and into secular ethics, but many Americans have already embraced this idea. We’ve got some of the world’s most progressive minds. But then I remember the time when I was told that I couldn’t attend the church down the road because I had a particular political candidate’s sign in my yard. And I realize how despicably common such moments are across our country. Well, if we aren’t going to separate Church from State (and we aren’t), then we might as well have a world leader of a Church who stands on a side closer to the right side of history.
Allen Ginsberg’s poem America opens with:
“America I’ve given you all and now I’m nothing.”
And it ends with:
“America I’m putting my queer shoulder to the wheel.”
May we remember that it’s not enough to give all until we’re nothing. What makes America great is that with our giving comes change. In Ginsberg’s sense it was putting his “queer shoulder to the wheel” and working to usher in an era of gay acceptance.
The road that Ginsberg drove on is the same road that Pope Francis spoke of when he said:
“This is important: to get to know people, listen, expand the circle of ideas. The world is crisscrossed by roads that come closer together and move apart, but the important thing is that they lead towards the Good.”
Enough of trying to thwart the expansion of Good ideas, America. Enough of thinking that questioning parts of something means wanting the entirety of it to collapse. Let’s drive brilliantly forward, America, even if that means putting our Un-American shoulders to the wheel.
–Originally published on The Huffington Post
–Photo: AP
J, you appear to be educated and are obviously articulate. But if you don’t mind my being blunt, your disdain for the far right is obvious and I can understand why you may feel that way you do, but have you looked at the way you voice your views of the left as being just as arrogant as the far right? I’m not saying you need to sugar coat your views but you come off more angry then concerned. Just my opinion.
J, what do you want? Other then killing off all the old people, what do you want to see society to look like? I haven’t seen any constructive solutions on your part, so let’s stop flapping our gums and tell me what you think should happen? I don’t care to hear your version/opinion of political history in that I lived what you read in books. We are in the now, so what’s your suggestions?
BTW, most evening we eat in.
Yes j, You’re right, I’m not really old (late 50’s) but am from a generation where I was raised by parents who had “baby boomer” children. I am the youngest of 7. Baby boomers having values influenced by a much older generation. Accordingly my views are highly influenced by a much older generation. You may be surprised that I agree with you on some things, in particular how my generation initially viewed the generation before. But even with the narcissism of the hippie years, our disdain toward the older generation was not disdain for them as human beings. Remember that… Read more »
Kerouac became increasingly bitter and conservative as he got older, partly I feel in reaction to the fact that all of his friends had become debauched drug addled creeps. Just speaking personally.. I would never join any movement that considered Ginsberg, Burroughs or Cassidy as role model material.
Since you quoted Ginsberg ,and are obviously an admirer of the Beat poets, I attached this link to a video of Jack Kerouac’s appearance on William Buckley’s Firing Line.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaBnIzY3R00
Looks like Kerouac was a 35 percenter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaBnIzY3R00
Considering you’re on this site, I’d hazard a guess you aren’t part of the problem anyway. But you have to admit, when you look at news footage of Tea Party rallies, and look at the sort of people who propose regressive policies in Washington they do tend to skew Old, White, and Male. With a few exceptions to account for people like Bachman and Palin. Most of the young people who hold to those types of politics are just ignorant college students who are in love with Ron Paul and Ayn Rand.. ergo.. essentially harmless.. since young people are still… Read more »
It’s sad that “older people” are considered dangerous. Other cultures, and there are many of them, view older people revered and see wisdom rather then fear and/or danger. My original comment was tongue in cheek but in truth, I’m okay with death. Like many men around my age, we’ve come to the realization that the society we now live in is not worth living in. I don’t believe there was ever a time in our American history where elders were more disrespected and accordingly discarded as a class of people. Article after article about the rise in male suicide in… Read more »
Dear Tom, You brought up so many good points here. I’d love to see you write on some of them. The comparison between the prison system and the nursing home, for example. And the way other cultures treat elderly. Have you ever been to villages in Bangladesh? My goodness is it amazing to see how good the elderly are treated there. Whereas in the States we tend to get upset at “older people” who wield their wealth or political power in ways we disagree with, in village life there is so little wealth and often so little stopping the younger… Read more »
And why precisely shouldn’t I get upset when older people vote for people like George Dubya and then younger people like me get stuck having to pay off the ludicrous debts racked up during their terms in office? yes the national debt is high, but I seem to remember us running a budget Surplus when Clinton left office in 2000. A surplus that Bush spent as fast as he could by giving all his old white buddies tax breaks.. and not even mentioning hooking them all up with free meds with medicare part D.. yet someone tries to pass a… Read more »
“…younger people like me get stuck having to pay off the ludicrous debts racked up during their terms in office…yet someone tries to pass a law that would let me get a free 45 minute doctors visit once a year and you all freak the hell out.” The whole concept of the Affordable Care Act was to force younger healthier people to buy health insurance so that the additional premiums would offset the costs of health care for older and less healthy people. The 45 minute doctor visit you are getting is not free. About your comment on the conservatism… Read more »
It that’s just it isn’t it? Why should I be forced to pay for their healthcare when they didn’t vote and fight to keep the prosperity in America for me to do so? Simply put I don’t care how many 70+ year olds kick off provided I don’t have to pay for it. They had all the prosperous years, should have planned better. The elderly are parasites on the young, and are so jealous of the young they consistently vote in ways to screw the young over out of spite, while constantly bitching and moaning about how we should respect… Read more »
RG, people need to become educated on the ACA. Having a background in the insurance industry and I’m not talking about consumer sales, there are aspects to the program that people need to be educated on. And you hit upon one of them and an important one at that. The NEED to have young healthy so as to balance the unhealthy. Simply put, it’s called a risk pool which many large employers have the benefit of. Without the young healthy, there is not enough revenue generated to offset the losses. In a response I had to e thread not too… Read more »
I agree people need to be educated about the ACA. It’s unfortunate that the debate prior to the passing of the bill was more emotional than rational. Anyone who dared question the bill was considered a heartless conservative with no compassion for the poor. Now that the reality of the ACA is hitting home, people will be learning the hard way.
I too am glad to see some things that are coming out of the Vatican and rather surprised at some of the main stream media. I treat lightly with respect to Catholicism in venues like GMP but will say that the Pope is a very charitable man. But as a devoted Catholic, I am discerning as to how much I will discuss in these types of forums and thank you all for being respectful.
The new pope is interesting ! He is brave.
I look forward to read some of his books, if he writes some.
It’s still weird as hell seeing a member of the Catholic church in the news for something that not only doesn’t involve molesting someone, but is actually saying and doing things I agree with. Not to say I have any renewed love for the RCC or its hierarchy, but it’s a step in the right direction.
Yeah and thats another reason why I hate the news agencies, loads of bs one after another.
As someone who grew up in a Catholic enviroment, either from those devout ones to those rebelling against, the new pope has actually brought hope to an institution that was in verge of a moral collapse from all their economic and social scandals. He has brought back a revolutionary concept to Christianity, a concept that most religious groups, specially the Concervatives here in the US, and that is that Christianity is about using as a guiding light the way Christ behaved. You know, that long haired jewish arab, socialist revolutionary, anti-monetary gain hippie who dedicated his life to the service… Read more »