Pope Francis definitely has a way with words
Addressing the throng in South Korea voluntarily assembled to hear him the Pope laid a prayer on them:
“May they combat the allure of a materialism that stifles authentic spiritual and cultural values and the spirit of unbridled competition which generates selfishness and strife,” he said in Italian that was translated into Korean. “May they also reject inhuman economic models which create new forms of poverty and marginalize workers.”
So there he was in South Korea telling “the folks” they need to reject those economic models that cause all that selfishness and strife. Perhaps he is suggesting that those “materialistic” South Koreans look to their brothers and sisters to the north and see how they are enjoying their freedom from selfishness and strife.
Isn’t it curious that the Pope takes his message of criticism to societies who have at least a semblance of democracy and freedom? Why doesn’t he take his Kia Soul (ironic in so many ways) and motor up north to tell Kim Jung Un what “economic models” he should reject? Or are those the models Pope Francis endorses?
After we read this article reporting on the Pope’s message to South Korea . . . we wondered, has the Pope ever seriously addressed the disparity in despair between North Korea and South Korea, or controlled and free market societies? Instead he obsesses about “unfettered capitalism” which doesn’t exist as a system anywhere in the world. There exists crony capitalism and there are “public-private-partnerships” that favor the politically connected and of course fascism, but those are not “capitalism” nor representative of free markets properly understood. They are just examples of government picking winners and losers, of “government intervention.”
Has the Pope ever gone about emphasizing and complimenting the freedoms (including religious) and the escape from material poverty of the South Korean people or market oriented economies compared to North Korea and controlled economies? How big is the Catholic Church in North Korea by the way?
Frankly if he does not emphasis the benefits of freedom, talk about it more so, then we find him ethically unserious as regards economics and not worldly in spite of his reputation. His address to the South Koreans was the equivalent of castigating the speck of sawdust in South Korea’s eye instead of calling for the removal of the planks in the eyes of North Korean leadership.
If it is all about materialism . . .
And so we are still straining to hear the promulgation by Vatican apparatchiks of Pope Francis’ scathing critiques of Marxism’s dialectic materialism. One where he makes distinctions exhibiting a serious real world understanding of human economic systems which he loves to preach about.
Consider this expose by Betsy McCaughey, former Lt Governor of New York which we think exemplifies the real world outcome of the statist bureaucratic mindset and, dare we say, right to a job mindset that so many socialist oriented religious leaders are associated with. This is about real world human behavior in “advanced ” western big government culture from people who think they are owed a job.
From the Patent Office to the Environmental Protection Agency, the IRS and worst of all, the Department of Health and Human Services, career federal bureaucrats protected by union rules are taking taxpayers to the cleaners.
We the People don’t mind paying “our fair share,” as the president often says, if the money is used to strengthen our nation and help the needy. But it’s not. More than 20% of the fruits of our labor is being sucked up by the federal government. Add in the 17% being used by state and local governments, (more in New York State) , and at least 37% of GDP is being consumed by government programs.
Do you get more than a third of your happiness from government? I didn’t think so.
McCaughey goes on to provide examples of bureaucratic and union protected waste, fraud and misconduct, a “come and get it” mentality. It certainly does not exist among all public employees but is no less endemic than the caricature the Pope paints of capitalist businesses and the system effect on the soul.
Contributor Susan Frazer forwarded the McCaughey article and reminded us of this great quote we think apropos to bureaucracies and the union mindset as: “the sort of people who think that the ship is sailing for benefit of the crew.” Too bad socialists won’t understand the adage.
Different shades of Jesus as dude
We are not going to get into the Christology that may be behind such views of Jesus except to say we think the portrayal of Jesus as a Black dude or as White dude, emphasis on “dude” leaves us wanting something else, more reliable. On the Left we have Black Jesus, a new sit com on the Adult Swim cable network. Juxtaposed is a visage of Jesus used as backdrop to an interview with a liberal clergywoman. White dude, Black dude, whatever.
DLH and R Mall (neither pictured)
