Christian right wing Republicans are such hypocrites. I was reading some posts on the evils of socialism, probably in response to the popularity of Bernie Sanders, and noticed how most of the points expressed were based on weak stereotypes. Of course, having the paranoid gene helps in this process.
The gist of their fear comes from the fact that socialism enables those who don't work, or choose not to work, to benefit from those who do. If I have two cows, the government will demand that I give you one. So the thinking goes. Over simplistic, to be sure, but most of these right wingers really believe this. No matter that there are numerous references to the accumulation of wealth and the importance of sharing with those less fortunate in the Bible. Probably in any version of any Bible you choose.
So where does this inaccurate thinking come from? It seems to me to be a base anxiety about getting taken advantage of rather than coming from a brother's keeper attitude. I've expressed many times before this that my suspicion is that the brain is wired differently to allow this kind of contradictory thinking to prevail. So this misguided thinking in my mind appears to be the stuff of righteous justice to the conservative mind. It's a kind of logic that defies deep thinking much the same way that this rigidity locks them into positions that leave much to be desired when it comes to gender equality and understanding the science behind everything from climate change to the reality faced by transsexuals.
Of course the supreme irony here is that much like Bernie Sanders, the revered one, Jesus Christ himself, was a Jewish socialist. I'm sure they'd be outraged that I put those two together in the same sentence but they've got nothing more to see my point than to read the Bible. They do that, don't they? Still, the conservative right is adamant that jesus was hardly a "Socialist hippie." That's their term and further steeps all this misinterpretation in more stereotypes. While they concede that it's a Christ-like thing to help the poor and ailing, they further believe that Jesus's version of free health care is his own love for people. Heaven forbid somebody get something of substance for nothing. In the end we're left with a stubborn knot pinning liberal versus conservative values against one another. Just another reflection of the current state of affairs whether in Congress or the Presidential election, where what is tied up isn't really holding anything together.
The gist of their fear comes from the fact that socialism enables those who don't work, or choose not to work, to benefit from those who do. If I have two cows, the government will demand that I give you one. So the thinking goes. Over simplistic, to be sure, but most of these right wingers really believe this. No matter that there are numerous references to the accumulation of wealth and the importance of sharing with those less fortunate in the Bible. Probably in any version of any Bible you choose.
So where does this inaccurate thinking come from? It seems to me to be a base anxiety about getting taken advantage of rather than coming from a brother's keeper attitude. I've expressed many times before this that my suspicion is that the brain is wired differently to allow this kind of contradictory thinking to prevail. So this misguided thinking in my mind appears to be the stuff of righteous justice to the conservative mind. It's a kind of logic that defies deep thinking much the same way that this rigidity locks them into positions that leave much to be desired when it comes to gender equality and understanding the science behind everything from climate change to the reality faced by transsexuals.
Of course the supreme irony here is that much like Bernie Sanders, the revered one, Jesus Christ himself, was a Jewish socialist. I'm sure they'd be outraged that I put those two together in the same sentence but they've got nothing more to see my point than to read the Bible. They do that, don't they? Still, the conservative right is adamant that jesus was hardly a "Socialist hippie." That's their term and further steeps all this misinterpretation in more stereotypes. While they concede that it's a Christ-like thing to help the poor and ailing, they further believe that Jesus's version of free health care is his own love for people. Heaven forbid somebody get something of substance for nothing. In the end we're left with a stubborn knot pinning liberal versus conservative values against one another. Just another reflection of the current state of affairs whether in Congress or the Presidential election, where what is tied up isn't really holding anything together.
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