tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post6954038769937277709..comments2024-03-22T12:57:57.273-05:00Comments on WOUNDED BIRD: THE FAITH OF BARONESS THATCHERJune Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01723016934182800437noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post-67286764354012847092013-04-14T21:23:36.882-05:002013-04-14T21:23:36.882-05:00Russ, the Penney's CEO separation pay is obsce...Russ, the Penney's CEO separation pay is obscene capitalism in play. And the people in situations similar to Lucille's shame us as a country, exposing how little we care for the most vulnerable among us. June Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01723016934182800437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post-74965227603529023112013-04-14T20:59:51.904-05:002013-04-14T20:59:51.904-05:00You may have seen in recent days, and if not you c...You may have seen in recent days, and if not you can easily Google it, that the CEO of J. C. Penney's has been fired after only 18 months on the job. But like Liberace, he is crying all the way to the bank - his employment contract specified that he would receive a separation payment, or whatever the term is, of - and I kid you not - $150 million <i>whether he was fired or left of his own accord.</i><br /><br />I contrast that obscene, outrageous news with the memory of our sweet little Lucille, who was my mother's maid for twenty years, and was a widow living on a pittance of SS and SSI. She was a prodigious worker in spite of having a short leg - the result of a fracture back in the 1950s that was never set right. In her old age I used to visit and it broke my heart that she was reduced to taking her heart and blood pressure medicines only every other day - she could not afford to fill both of them for a whole month at a time. <br /><br />There is a balance urgently to be sought between these two ungodly extremes, and that's what I mean about a via media in society and politics.Russ Manleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05722260145543178087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post-58420987904284532942013-04-14T19:57:15.532-05:002013-04-14T19:57:15.532-05:00Yes, we want balance, but then we end up in the th...Yes, we want balance, but then we end up in the thicket of sorting out the deserving from the undeserving poor. Ah, what can I say? I'm a bleeding heart, except about the bankers and financiers who ran the economy under and received millions in bonuses from our tax money. I don't bleed for them. I want the money back. June Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01723016934182800437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post-8124301865860859672013-04-14T17:39:09.463-05:002013-04-14T17:39:09.463-05:00I believe in a golden mean between extremes - what...I believe in a golden mean between extremes - what individuals can readily do for themselves, they should be free to do in the way that they please. What individuals can scarcely do without assistance, the state should do, or at least should carefully guide and regulate.<br /><br />As in our own Anglican ethos, I think there is a political via media to walk, where a happy balance is found between extremes, sensible exceptions to the rules are made, and doctrinaire philosophies are shunned. Mr. Jindal and Mr. Perry, as you and I well know, have no concept of this, of course - nor do lots of other folks.Russ Manleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05722260145543178087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post-57108338056797043942013-04-14T15:46:18.314-05:002013-04-14T15:46:18.314-05:00Rmj, I wouldn't mind if you went on. Rough tra...Rmj, I wouldn't mind if you went on. Rough translation of "bullsgeschicte" - bullshit? Let's just say that our democratic republic does not operate according the the rules of the Kingdom of God.June Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01723016934182800437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post-53395209493960589482013-04-14T15:41:42.486-05:002013-04-14T15:41:42.486-05:00Has untrammeled socialism been tried on a large sc...Has untrammeled socialism been tried on a large scale? The systems of the Soviet Union and China at their worst, were not exercises in untrammeled socialism. I'd call them something else - perhaps state ownership with policies dictated by a tyrannical oligarchy. <br /><br />And we see where we are with nearly untrammeled capitalism. June Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01723016934182800437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post-12082962430181978752013-04-13T23:48:54.446-05:002013-04-13T23:48:54.446-05:00Work? Work is a requisite for what? Worth?
Remi...Work? Work is a requisite for what? Worth?<br /><br />Remind me again of the beggars Jesus told: "Get a job!"<br /><br />Nothing against work, mind; but work is as common and ordinary as breath. It isn't a source of virtue, it's simply a necessity of existence. Besides, "the laborer is worthy of his hire" Jesus says in Luke, and the Didache echoes. But the essence of a system of employment is that it all but demands exploitation, and certainly rewards some far above others, for reasons apparent only to the system and those in charge of it.<br /><br />Which kinda runs in the face of "the first shall the last of all, and servant of all." Jesus rather explicitly and repeatedly preached the <i>basiliea tou theou</i> was a race to the bottom, not a constant struggle towards the top (gained by stepping over someone, or on them, if need be).<br /><br />Thatcher was, theologically and exegetically, full of what we used to call in seminary "bullsgeschicte." A very proper German term, you understand; since all the best exegetes are German.<br /><br />I would go on, but then this would turn into a blog post, and that would be rude of me.....Rmjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06811456254443706479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post-10986091274585184352013-04-13T21:34:08.049-05:002013-04-13T21:34:08.049-05:00It would seem that Mrs. T. overlooked "Lay no...It would seem that Mrs. T. overlooked "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal."<br /><br />And what about "Ye cannot serve God and Mammon"?<br /><br />That said, I think it is true that in the long run, people are better off if helped to be self-sustaining rather than merely dependent on others. But there's a balance to be struck there, as in all other areas of life: unbridled socialism is as abhorrent and destructive as unbridled capitalism.Russ Manleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05722260145543178087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post-85684696983386314052013-04-13T11:30:28.609-05:002013-04-13T11:30:28.609-05:00There will always be tedious work that must be don...There will always be tedious work that must be done, but there's no excuse for the powers to exploit workers. I think of Brother Lawrence's prayer as he went about his work in the kitchen of the monastery, which has a permanent place on my sidebar:<br /><br />"O my God, since Thou art with me, and I must now, in obedience to Thy commands, apply my mind to these outward things, I beseech Thee to grant me the grace to continue in Thy presence; and to this end do Thou prosper me with Thy assistance, receive all my works, and possess all my affections."<br /><br />All honest labor is worthy of honor, and all workers are due respect.<br /><br />Lord, have mercy on us all.June Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01723016934182800437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post-81470740647365461592013-04-13T00:22:46.132-05:002013-04-13T00:22:46.132-05:00The very definition of "people of able body a...<i>The very definition of "people of able body and mind" is that they work...that they want to work...that they will work even if they don't get a paycheck for it, in fact. What's wrong with people that they don't get this?</i><br /><br />Or, conversely, what's wrong w/ you, that you DO get (believe) that, Sharon?<br /><br />I'm all for "Ora et Labora", in a Benedictine sense. But Benedictine <i>labora</i> presumes that work has MEANING. So much "employment" under Capitalism is AT BEST wage-slavery. At worst, it's EXPLOITIVE of others (or even one's self).<br /><br />Thatcher was all about the latter: life defined by employment (defined by paycheck). An empty philosophy that has blighted BILLIONS of people (and is in active danger of exterminating all life on the planet). God have mercy on her---she'll need it! [Won't we all]<br /><br />JCFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14516376500318551838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post-75242870832442442132013-04-12T11:14:57.759-05:002013-04-12T11:14:57.759-05:00Yes it is, JCF. We have our share of Christians h...Yes it is, JCF. We have our share of Christians here who think the same way.June Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01723016934182800437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post-33324050162258119882013-04-12T11:11:42.907-05:002013-04-12T11:11:42.907-05:00Who would want to live on $1000 per month if there...Who would want to live on $1000 per month if there was an alternative? And that makes me think the minimum wage must be raised.June Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01723016934182800437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post-24782872824168251862013-04-12T07:09:57.368-05:002013-04-12T07:09:57.368-05:00The very definition of "people of able body a...The very definition of "people of able body and mind" is that they work...that they want to work...that they will work even if they don't get a paycheck for it, in fact. What's wrong with people that they don't get this?Sharonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11082907912697636167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post-21695093218785093652013-04-11T21:21:49.803-05:002013-04-11T21:21:49.803-05:00You're quite right, RFSJ. Some good Presbyter...You're quite right, RFSJ. Some good Presbyterian should have called Thatcher out. I believe people of able body and mind should work, too. I always have, and I still do, even as I keep in mind that there would have to be jobs available, and even as I realize that there are people who are virtually unemployable, because they lack basic skills. June Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01723016934182800437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post-43688969824951292092013-04-11T21:10:12.716-05:002013-04-11T21:10:12.716-05:00And of course, the verse from II Thess 3.10 is in ...And of course, the verse from II Thess 3.10 is in the context of the very immanent return of the Lord in glory, and so some of the Thesalonians, as far as we can tell, had stopped working because they thought Jesus was coming, like, tomorrow. (And so did Paul, so don't blame them too much). And so we need to be careful with that verse and how it applies. I personally do think that an able-bodied person should somehow always contribute to society in return for support, but that may be by going to school or any number of things. I don't know if anyone called out Thatcher for bad exegesis after her speech, but someone should have. RFSJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15164772153139719659noreply@blogger.com