Friday, September 20, 2013

"If Anyone is Not Willing to Work?" And Just Who Would That be?

I'm pretty well out of patience with this quote, right here:

Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) on Friday responded to a constituent opposed to drastically cutting food stamps for the young, elderly and poor by citing a Biblical quote: "If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat."
A lot of Republicans seem to like this one--I know Michele Bachmann has used it. There's nothing like finding Biblical justification for starving folks so you can be beastly to your fellow human being and still consider yourself godly. But the sentence says "is not willing to work." For crying out loud, are these Gospel-spouting skinflints unaware that many of the people receiving SNAP benefits are working families? That's right--the adults work, and the children...are children! (I don't think the Bible was actually commanding kiddies to get on out to work or face the consequences.)

But that's what I dislike about adding scripture to any justification of policy just generally--it means whatever the person using it wants it to mean. I think it's shitty as politics and as theology.

Update: Aaaand I'll just tuck this one right down here.  Because nothing says "come to Jesus" like keeping millions of people from being able to get affordable private insurance.





1 comment:

Satchel said...

This may be the definitive takedown of that vile misreading:

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2013/06/12/if-work-is-a-responsibility-then-work-is-also-a-right/

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