With Pope Francis I dedicating much of his reign to compassion to the poor, it's no wonder that much of America's Right have balked. Paul Ryan called Francis' concept of capitalism "naive" and Rush Limbaugh has denigrated the Vatican and its attack on "unfettered capitalism." John Stossel once held a symposium of sorts on the "good" of greed, in which he gave the analogy of a cake with only a small part cut for the lower classes - "why not just make another cake?" But Francis countered:
Now the Koch brothers have entered the fray, with one Washington
Post OpEd piece (John and Carol Saeman) insisting that the Koch brothers love
the poor as much as Francis (!!):
Patricia
Miller, Religion Dispatches:
It's through their association with Freedom Partners that the Saemans have
become aware of the Koch brothers' "deep concern for the least fortunate,"
which they express by supporting organizations that "bear the common mission of
advancing free enterprise and free societies." The Saemans write that
"promoting limited government alongside the Kochs is an important part of
heeding Pope Francis's call to love and serve the poor." This despite Francis'
unequivocal statements almost exactly a year ago in
opposition to the "free enterprise" ideology.
Of course, the Saemans resurrect
the "tough love"/"bootstraps" kind of ideology as the REAL
compassion, while scrapping all safety nets and welfare programs.
How very, very compassionate.
And how very, very wrong. The Saemans, it's worth noting, are
financial contributors to the Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce:
Freedom Partners gave grants worth a total of $236 million to conservative organizations including Tea Party groups like the Tea Party Patriots and organizations which opposed the Affordable Care Act prior to the 2012 election. A majority of Freedom Partners board is made up of long time employees of the Koch brothers. [6][7][8] In 2012, Freedom Partners made a grant of $115 million to the Center to Protect Patient Rights.
Getting Compassion Right
The truest form of compassion was given in the parable of the Good
Samaritan: he did not judge the battered Jew, nor did he tell him that he, and
not big government, was the answer. The Good Samaritan just did what was
necessary for the Jew to live - to survive. Had he been passing by a Jewish
beggar in the road, he would have seen to his food, shelter and clothing. He
would not have told him to go out and get a job.
Francis is scaring people like the Koch brothers simply because he
is getting compassion right and people are beginning to question the Koch
ideology. And along with the Koch ideology comes the "prosperity
gospel" preachers, Christian Right churches assailing "social
justice" and a horde of Paul Ryans, Rush Limbaughs, John Stossels, Sean
Hannitys, Ann Coulters who praise capitalism as the savior of mankind.
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