We live in a democracy and many Christians are pleased that we elected Donald Trump. He pledged to make us “Great”. The danger of democracy is, that we all share the blame and the consequences of our Governments rule in our name. Literally ‘democracy’ comes from the Greek ‘demokratia,’ and may be translated as the rule of the common people (‘demos’ means ‘common people’ and ‘Kratos’ means rule or strength).
As the richest and most powerful nation on the planet, we have a responsibility to mankind. This United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all….is on track to collide with the values and the concerns of the Creator of all men.
In ancient Jewish literature, there are many references to Sodom. The phrase “middat Sdom” was used. It may be translated as “the way the people of Sodom thought”. It meant a lack of charity and hospitality towards others; ignoring the needs of the poor, etc. In the Middle East, a person’s survival could depend upon the charity of strangers. To help strangers was a solemn religious duty of paramount importance.
Isaiah 1; The entire first chapter is an utter condemnation of Judah. They are repeatedly compared with Sodom and Gomorrah in their evildoing and depravity. Throughout the chapter, the Prophet lists many sins of the people: … being unjust and oppressive to others, being insensitive to the needs of widows and orphans, committing murder, accepting bribes, etc.
Ezekiel 16:49-50:”Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.” God states clearly that he destroyed Sodom’s sins because of their pride, their excess of food while the poor and needy suffered; sexual activity is not even mentioned.
Our new budget calls for a 10% increase in defense spending ($54 Billion) at the expense of UN food aid. The largest humanitarian crisis since World War 2 is looming in Africa. The lack of humanitarian access in Somalia and conflict in Sudan, South Sudan, and Eritrea has resulted in an influx of refugees into Ethiopia. The refugee camp at Dadaab, located close to the Kenyan border with Somalia, was originally designed in the early 1990s to accommodate 90,000 people but the UN estimates over 4 times as many reside there. The ongoing civil war in Somalia and the worst drought to affect the Horn of Africa in six decades has resulted in an estimated 12 million people whose lives are threatened. The total number of refugees and asylum seekers has made Ethiopia the largest refugee-hosting country in Africa…and they can barely feed themselves. The millions that face starvation is larger than the Ukrainian famine, the Cambodian famine, and the Irish famine combined.
This punitive gutting of food aid makes up only a microscopic part of the US budget. It costs less than a new jet – and only buys sacks of corn meal….the kind that obese and intoxicated Americans feed their animals and would never stoop to eat.
In 2011 40% of the U.S. corn crop was diverted to make fuel for cars. Ethanol uses 4.9 billion bushels of corn in the U.S. That was enough grain to feed 350 million people. Seems biofuel and ethanol paid more as Govt incentives redirected corn/wheat into ethanol production. So we filled the tanks of our cars with subsidized ethanol at the expense of the very hungry poor.
American farmers cashed their checks and Egyptians, Libyans, Algerians, and Mexicans rioted over the price of their bread/tacos/tortillas. Raising their basic food prices along with our efforts to destabilize the Middle East was our “gift” with political motives. The Arab Spring was the chance for the “rule of the common people” and left six countries in ruin and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the Islamic State of Libya in charge…before chaos. Food is a weapon more powerful than oil.
It is Passover next week and another crowd once chanted “Crucify Him” His blood be on us and our children. They understood the responsibility of democracy.
This Passover we will gather for our Seders and our Easter festivities…collectively having sentenced millions of people to death. They are black and brown and we will never get close enough to smell that smell or hear the rasp of a starving baby.
- We too will ask for a bowl and a towel.
- It won’t be to wash their feet…..
- It will be our hands we wash as we proclaim ourselves innocent of their blood.
