God or Mammon?

Jesus told the man, "You lack one thing to be good. Sell all you have and distribute it to the poor and follow my path." When the man heard this, he went away sorrowful, for he was very rich.

Luke 18:22

My grandfather taught me that if you compromise on the little things, that it's foregone that you'll cave when it's something big. I've not always believed this, but the damage I did to my own conscience and character with the compromises I've made has taught me he was right on. Character doesn't strengthen with compromise, it atrophies.

And, so it is now in what we often call liberal, progressive Johnson County. I don't know when the organized leadership of progressive Johnson County and the Johnson County Democratic Party climbed on this slippery slope. I do know it's there now.

1. Self-identified progressives are rationalizing and promoting passage of a regressive tax this coming February, even though they know this tax puts an unfair burden on the poor. They are doing this with a trifecta state legislature that could pass a fair tax increase because they'd rather hurt the poor than hurt their electability.

2. "Progressive" leaders ignored and/or helped cover-up the malpractice of an elected county official because of liability to the party image and getting out votes for the party (aka themselves). County officials voted to support that official not because they believed he was right, but because they feared the retaliation that was theirs to stop.

3. And, now, a Democratic congressman who was elected to end the war has publicly stated—on his first day in office—that he will vote to escalate it.

This shouldn't be a huge surprise since not one County elected official has attended one of the organized peace rallies or demonstrations for the past year. A few candidates showed up at Peace Fest last fall, including our newly elected congressman. It seems clear now what the motive for some of those candidates' appearances were.

It doesn't take much investigation to see that as the status and prosperity of local progressives increased their individual and collective willingness to take real risk diminished.

There is a reigning fallacy that persists that we can retain our individual wealth and status and win justice at the same time. This is not now nor has it ever been true. Liberty and justice are not won that way. It's been won by people who put everything on the line to do the right thing. Neither Gandhi, King, Frederick Douglass, Mother Jones nor Harriet Tubman was concerned with professional resumes or electability.


The Almighty Job and the social status it confers are the 21st century's incarnation of fascist capitulation. We have come to believe that agreeing with or doing whatever the boss (aka job security) says is right and not doing what the boss says is wrong. We hold this as proper even when we know the boss is hurting people. We abdicate personal responsibility for this because we are merely "following orders."

We may cringe at the Nazi Germany analogy as too extreme, after all we're not sending people to concentration camps in America. However, we are. Guantanamo is exactly that. And until we see the direct geometric connection between our everyday wrongful capitulations to authority and status and cultivate our ability to confront them, we participate in these atrocities regardless of our intentions.

When we own our own souls, we don't aspire to affluence; we are revolted by it. We have the clarity to see the evil it fosters, and we want to spare its damage. Generosity isn't giving away what one doesn't need. That is simple sharing. Generosity is giving away or risking what one does need to help others. Often people try to make a meaningless distinction between money and "love" of money as being evil. When character is shaved—even slightly--for money, affection for money more than character is a given.

Hiding behind "I want to get along with people" or "I see both sides" can be equally destructive. This response is a hedge when one of the "sides" has economic or social power over us.

I'm sympathetic with the disappointment that we can't serve good and mammon, but the exact truth is that we cannot. If we sit inside this truth for a time, however, we find its reality is a good one. In this reality, wealth and status are appropriately irrelevant because self-worth is not a reason to strive. It is a given.

I believe defunding the war will happen, but not because of Democratic leadership. It is being won by the people. Moreover, it is being won by the people who risked their future and livelihoods in their call. These people convinced others we needed leadership to end this immoral war. Ironically, it's Republicans they most convinced, but it was the people who led the way.

When the people practice selflessness, courage and confronting injustice more, we heal more suffering. When we do not, all suffering is worse.