Socialists who try to co-opt Jesus Christ's message have it all wrong. Jesus Christ wasn't coming to "force" the government to treat men and women fairly. He came to break the chains of the devil, to free mankind from the bondage of sin so that all may have a relationship with God. Only with Jesus Christ is there true freedom, which is why the enemy has controlled evil dictators from day one and steered them toward one ultimate goal: the total and complete destruction of the Christian faith.
Socialists, Marxists, Communists, Progressives, Liberals - the whole lot of them, are so ignorant of history that it is almost embarrassing. Actually, it's shameful. But then again, those who subscribe to such political ideology aren't exactly friends of Christianity, either.
I propose a change in perspective, a realization, and perhaps a heavy acceptance, of what exactly we're dealing with as we watch the world crumble around us. This is an ancient battle and one that has not touched the United States of America until now. It's easy to focus on the political ramifications of the healthcare "reform" bill because it's obvious. It's close to the surface and an easy mark. Americans know it is wrong for the government to dictate whether they have health insurance or not. Americans did not want this bill but it was forced upon them. All of the protests, the rallies, the letters, the phone calls, the heated "town hall" debates - all of it didn't matter to the politicians who claim that this is a solution. Even though 59% of Americans made it very clear they did not want this healthcare reform bill, the politicians not only turned a deaf ear to them, they patted themselves on the back as they made backroom deals to ensure it went through.
Again, liberals don't know history.
All we need to do is take a good look at Cuba. Michael Moore, the permanently-deluded darling of the leftists, created a film, "Sicko" that glorified the socialist Cuban healthcare system. What many people do not realize is that there are three different tiers of healthcare in Cuba. One for foreigners (who pay cold, hard cash for the privilege), the Cuban elite, and then the average Cuban. From the National Review, The Myth of Cuban Healthcare:
To be sure, there is excellent health care on Cuba — just not for ordinary Cubans. Dr. Jaime Suchlicki of the University of Miami’s Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies explains that there is not just one system, or even two: There are three. The first is for foreigners who come to Cuba specifically for medical care. This is known as “medical tourism.” The tourists pay in hard currency, which provides oxygen to the regime. And the facilities in which they are treated are First World: clean, well supplied, state-of-the-art.
The foreigners-only facilities do a big business in what you might call vanity treatments: Botox, liposuction, and breast implants. Remember, too, that there are many separate, or segregated, facilities on Cuba. People speak of “tourism apartheid.” For example, there are separate hotels, separate beaches, separate restaurants — separate everything. As you can well imagine, this causes widespread resentment in the general population.
The second health-care system is for Cuban elites — the Party, the military, official artists and writers, and so on. In the Soviet Union, these people were called the “nomenklatura.” And their system, like the one for medical tourists, is top-notch.
Then there is the real Cuban system, the one that ordinary people must use — and it is wretched. Testimony and documentation on the subject are vast. Hospitals and clinics are crumbling. Conditions are so unsanitary, patients may be better off at home, whatever home is. If they do have to go to the hospital, they must bring their own bedsheets, soap, towels, food, light bulbs — even toilet paper. And basic medications are scarce. In Sicko, even sophisticated medications are plentiful and cheap. In the real Cuba, finding an aspirin can be a chore. And an antibiotic will fetch a fortune on the black market.
A nurse spoke to Isabel Vincent of Canada’s National Post. “We have nothing,” said the nurse. “I haven’t seen aspirin in a Cuban store here for more than a year. If you have any pills in your purse, I’ll take them. Even if they have passed their expiry date.”
The equipment that doctors have to work with is either antiquated or nonexistent. Doctors have been known to reuse latex gloves — there is no choice. When they travel to the island, on errands of mercy, American doctors make sure to take as much equipment and as many supplies as they can carry. One told the Associated Press, “The [Cuban] doctors are pretty well trained, but they have nothing to work with. It’s like operating with knives and spoons.”
And doctors are not necessarily privileged citizens in Cuba. A doctor in exile told the Miami Herald that, in 2003, he earned what most doctors did: 575 pesos a month, or about 25 dollars. He had to sell pork out of his home to get by. And the chief of medical services for the whole of the Cuban military had to rent out his car as a taxi on weekends. “Everyone tries to survive,” he explained. (Of course, you can call a Cuban with a car privileged, whatever he does with it.)
So deplorable is the state of health care in Cuba that old-fashioned diseases are back with a vengeance. These include tuberculosis, leprosy, and typhoid fever. And dengue, another fever, is a particular menace. Indeed, an exiled doctor named Dessy Mendoza Rivero — a former political prisoner and a spectacularly brave man — wrote a book called ¡Dengue! La Epidemia Secreta de Fidel Castro.
Che Guevera's daughter praised the socialist U.K. healthcare system, but from what I've read, the conditions are deplorable. Recently a young 22-year old man died from thirst in a U.K. hospital because he couldn't get water from the 'lazy nurses.' It is beyond appalling. It is horrifying to think that a developed country would descend to this point of inhumanity. It's not the first case I've read of socialism's failure to provide healthcare to those in need. There are other stories and it's heartbreaking to read them. And I loved the last line of that story about the 22-year old man: This week a task force called on nurses to sign a public pledge that they will treat everyone with compassion and dignity. Are you kidding me? It takes a public pledge signing to remind nurses of what their responsibilities were from day one of nursing? Truly unbelievable.
Such a pledge hasn't been necessary for U.S. healthcare - but may be on our horizon.
Back to freedom and truth. Last night, Ann Coulter was prevented from giving a talk at a university in Ottawa, Canada by a group of ignorant students, wielding sticks and stones. (They elevated the childish chant to reality and yes, they could have broken bones.) What is so amazing is how those who think of themselves as defenders of whatever is good and right - are so deluded as to think that stifling free speech is a good thing. Such people can't even see the irony in their position. They are blind. How is it that a student can claim that one person's freedom to their own opinion is "wrong" if it doesn't line up with what they believe - is a good thing for intellectual discourse? Why not try to prove the other person wrong with spirited debate? Instead, leftists would rather muzzle those they disagree with instead of debating the merits of the issue. Could it be that they are incapable of the job?
Freedom is the only clothing Truth can wear. And Freedom cannot exist without Truth. The two are inextricably joined and cannot flourish without the other. Only when truth has the freedom to exist will societies receive truth's reward. Which is enlightenment, advancement, prosperity, development, innovation, and creativity just to name a few. In other words: light. Look at history. Whenever truth has been oppressed, there has been darkness - society in bondage. No growth. No real creativity. No prosperity. It has always, always led to enslavement and ultimately death.
Those who hate truth, hate freedom. Those who hate freedom, will... (wait for it) hate Christianity. Because of Jesus Christ's words: The truth will set you free. And Who is Truth?
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)
It is amusing to me that liberals in the Catholic Church say, "But that is your truth," when faced with such bothersome issues as sin and Christianity's "narrow" views. They are quick to point out that "truth" in their estimation, is subjective. However - when someone expresses an opinion that collides with their worldview (in essence, that person's truth), it's abominable to them, outrageous - and must be silenced at all costs. It is hilarious, actually, when you try to point that out to them. Sadly, a sense of humor is one of the first casualties when transforming into a liberal robot.
I recently volunteered for a local politician's campaign. Although I sense darker times for our country, I cannot help but fight it. I will continue to freely express my opinion on this blog as long as I can and thank God that for today, I do live in a free country. But in order to continue to live freely, I must fight for truth. As Orwell said, "During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act."
And that is why Jesus Christ was the ultimate revolutionary. He dared to tell the truth to His disciples, to Pontias Pilate, and to the world.
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