I sometimes like to begin a Talk with a joke: Some flight of fancy; some whimsical bit of humor that someone has fashioned out of whole cloth. A fictional piece of prose that might make you laugh. Today though, the truth is funny enough.
Alanis Morissette sings a song in which she asks, “Isn’t it ironic?” Unfortunately, she uses as examples things that aren’t ironic at all. She sings, “It’s like rain on your wedding day.” “Isn’t it ironic?” No, it’s not. The only time rain on your wedding day would be ironic is if you were a TV meteorologist and you had forecast sunny skies on your wedding day and instead it rained - that would be ironic. If Alanis Morissette is searching for ironic stories to sing about, please allow me to suggest three possibilities.
As you probably know, Rush Limbaugh opposes a government healthcare plan. He said this past week that if Congress passes a government healthcare plan, he’ll move to Costa Rica. Rush Limbaugh has now given Democrats a huge incentive to pass a government healthcare plan. And come to find out, Costa Rica already has a government healthcare plan. Isn’t it ironic?
As you probably know, Glenn Beck opposes a government healthcare plan. He said last week that he opposes a government healthcare plan because he says any government-run program is socialism. Glenn Beck said he knows about socialism because he read about it in a book. He said he got the book from the public library, which is, of course, a government-run program. Isn’t it ironic?
As you probably know, Sarah Palin opposes a government healthcare plan. She said this past week that when she was a kid and her family needed healthcare, they would get free government healthcare. Sarah Palin’s family would get free government healthcare by crossing the border into Canada, which, of course, has a government healthcare plan. Isn’t it ironic?
There you go Alanis. Use any or all of those three stories and you can truly sing, “Isn’t it ironic?”
If you listen to my radio show (called “Faith and Reason,” Friday mornings from 10 till noon on WPRR – a little plug) you might find this hard to believe: I don’t like to talk about politics. Really. In fact, I never do talk about politics. Let me explain.
A parishioner said to me once that she doesn’t like to hear politics mixed with religion. I don’t blame her. Neither do I. And I don’t like to mix politics with religion. (I especially don’t like church politics, but that’s a whole nother story.) I just wish that that parishioner had lived 2,000 years ago. Then she could’ve told Jesus himself that she doesn’t like to hear politics mixed with religion. I wonder what Jesus would’ve said to her.
Maybe you remember that Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” Now to me that sure sounds an awful lot like an anti-war, political statement. And Jesus said it in a sermon! I wonder if that parishioner would’ve said to Jesus 2,000 years ago: I don’t like to hear politics mixed with religion. I wonder what Jesus would have said to her.
Maybe you remember that Jesus said, in what’s called the Sermon on the Plain, “Blessed are you who are poor…but woe to you who are rich.” Now to me that sure sounds an awful lot like an anti-capitalist, maybe even a pro-communist political statement. And Jesus said it in a sermon! I wonder if that parishioner would’ve said to Jesus 2,000 years ago: I don’t like to hear politics mixed with religion. I wonder what Jesus would have said to her.
Maybe you remember that Jesus said, when asked about paying taxes, “Render therefore unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s.” Now to me that sure sounds an awful lot like a pro-tax, pro-government political statement. I wonder if that parishioner would’ve said to Jesus 2,000 years ago: I don’t like to hear politics mixed with religion. I wonder what Jesus would have said to her.
I think Jesus would have said to her: I don’t talk about politics mixed with religion; I talk about justice. (And that’s what I say too on the radio: I never talk about politics mixed with religion; I talk about justice.)
Of course, the difficulty of me trying to talk about justice the way Jesus did is: I’m not Jesus. And I’m not one of the many prophets who’ve spoken about justice over the years, either.
I’m not the Hebrew prophet Amos, who said, “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.” I’m not the Tibetan prophet The Dalai Lama, who said, “I believe in justice and truth, without which there would be no basis for human hope.” I’m not the American prophet Martin Luther King Jr., who said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Believe me, I know I can’t talk about justice the way they can. So what should I do?
Naturally, if I wanted to avoid talking about justice, I could just talk about what happened 2,000 years ago; what the religious leaders and the government rulers did and said back then. Some clergy have made a career of doing that.
Naturally, if I wanted to avoid talking about justice, I could just talk about how God wants you to be rich: drive a bigger car, steer a bigger boat, own a bigger house. Some clergy have made a career of doing that.
Naturally, if I wanted to avoid talking about justice, I could talk about nothing at all; speak soothing sounds of sanctimonious swill to people who like to check their brains at the door, along with their coats. Some clergy have made a career of doing that.
But: I don’t think you came here today to hear me give you an irrelevant history lesson, I don’t think you came here today to hear me tell you how to fatten your wallet, I don’t think you came here today to hear me say some sweet-sounding sentences signifying nothing. I hope you came here today to hear about justice.
Some of the words I’m about to say may be difficult for some people to hear. I’m thinking of people who believe America is the greatest country on earth. I’m thinking of people who believe America can do no wrong. I’m thinking of people who believe America has the best healthcare system in the world.
A study conducted by Harvard Medical School and the Cambridge Health Alliance and published late last year by the American Journal of Public Health found that nearly 45,000 people die annually in America for lack of health insurance. You’ve probably heard about this. 45,000 Americans die each year because they don’t have health insurance and they can’t afford to go to the doctor or they can’t afford the medications that will keep them alive or both. 45,000. Americans. Dead.
Where’s the outrage? Where’s the outrage from Right To Life? Where’s the outrage from Michigan Congressman Bart Stupak? Where’s the outrage from the tea-baggers? We’re not talking about some abstract numbers in a budget. We’re talking about 45,000 Americans who die each year because they don’t have health insurance.
America does have the best healthcare system in the world, but it’s the best healthcare system - money can buy. And if Americans can’t afford to buy into it, the attitude of many lobbyist-loving lawmakers in Washington is: too bad. Too bad.
Thank God that apparently most House and Senate members support the healthcare bill making it’s way through Congress. Hopefully it will be signed into law by President Obama in a few weeks. It’s not perfect. Congressman Dennis Kucinich of Ohio opposes it because it’s not a single-payer, Medicare for all bill. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont also wishes it were a single-payer, Medicare for all bill, but supports it because it will mean 30 million Americans who don’t have health insurance now will have it under this bill.
I hope people like Dennis Kucinich – whom I admire – won’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. We saw that in 2000, when Ralph Nader said there was no difference between Al Gore and George W. Bush. Really? Do you think he still believes that, one war of choice and tens of thousands of deaths later? I hope people like Dennis Kucinich learn from Ralph Nader; for the sake of those 30 million people without health insurance. And I hope people like Dennis Kucinich remember those 45,000 Americans who die every year for lack of health insurance.
I sometimes like to conclude my Talks with a moving piece of poetry or the touching lyrics of a song. Today, I’m going to end with a television commercial. (Please forgive me.)
I saw an interesting ad the other day. The sad thing is, the ad has been running for about four years - and I just now saw it? Oy! Anyway, the ad shows one person helping someone and somebody else notices that and then later that person helps someone and somebody else notices that and then later that person helps someone and so on and so on and so on. Maybe you’ve seen the ad. The tag line is: “When it’s people who do the right thing, they call it being responsible. When it’s an insurance company, they call it Liberty Mutual. Responsibility. What’s your policy?” It’s a delightful ad. Liberty Mutual received many emails supporting it. Their business increased dramatically. The company has started The Responsibility Project, continuing to encourage people to be responsible. I think it raises some interesting questions about responsibility regarding healthcare and justice.
If we ourselves already have health insurance, do we have a responsibility to make sure other people have health insurance too? If so, how do we go about doing that? If House and Senate members themselves already have health insurance (and they do have really good health insurance), do they have a responsibility to make sure other people have health insurance too? If our House and Senate members vote against making sure other people have health insurance, do we have a responsibility to vote against them and for their opponent in the next election?
I find it fascinating that countries where they say Christian churches are relatively empty on Sunday, like England and France, respond to people’s healthcare needs in the most Christ-like way, by caring for the sick, as Jesus said to; while America, which some people claim is a Christian nation, responds in the least Christ-like way, by telling the sick and the poor they’re on their own – something Jesus never said to sick and poor people. (Oh, and by the way, Liberty Mutual is an insurance company, but it’s not a health insurance company: too bad. Too bad.)
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