Comments on: The Food and Wine of the Empire http://ecubishop.wordpress.com/2007/11/26/the-food-and-wine-of-the-empire/ reflections on unity Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:55:12 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Celinda Scott http://ecubishop.wordpress.com/2007/11/26/the-food-and-wine-of-the-empire/#comment-5551 Celinda Scott Tue, 27 Nov 2007 04:01:08 +0000 http://ecubishop.wordpress.com/2007/11/26/the-food-and-wine-of-the-empire/#comment-5551 One of our sons rented _Sicko_ for us all to watch Thanksgiving weekend. As we sat around our comfortable fire watching it Saturday night, there was lots to criticize in the way Michael Moore got his points across. But two of his three recommendations at the end of the film--that the US should follow the examples of other democracies in the matters of universal health care, and day care for working parents--did seem like something we as a nation ought to be able to do. Moore's footage of government objections to many health programs starting in the early 1970s-- largely based on fear of national capitulation to communism or socialism, and influenced by pressure by lobbyists with vested interests -- was persuasive in the implication that the objections were crippling, false, and unjust. I don't think religious organizations should take formal political stands on this type of issue--it's not the same as John Woolman's witness to his fellow Quakers on the evils of slavery, which he did as an individual. Eventually, he persuaded enough Quaker groups of the rightness of his position for them to say--as a whole denomination-- that no one who owned a slave could be a Quaker in good standing. However, my personal take on fear of socialism as an argument against what seems to me to be a proper role of democratic government-- universal health care and day care--is a form of the "wine and food of the Empire" that we should refuse. Fear keeps people from thinking and acting when it becomes the "wine and food of the Empire." The last screen of the film has a quotation from Alexis de Tocqueville on America--that one of our strengths was that it could learn from its mistakes. He saw us doing that as a young country in the 1830s, and it's important for us to do that now. One of our sons rented _Sicko_ for us all to watch
Thanksgiving weekend. As we sat around our
comfortable fire watching it Saturday night,
there was lots to criticize in the way Michael
Moore got his points across. But two of his three
recommendations at the end of the film–that
the US should follow the examples of
other democracies in the matters of universal health
care, and day care for working parents–did seem
like something we as a nation ought to be able to
do. Moore’s footage of government objections
to many health programs starting in the early 1970s–
largely based on fear of national capitulation
to communism or socialism, and influenced
by pressure by lobbyists with vested interests –
was persuasive in the implication that the objections were
crippling, false, and unjust.

I don’t think religious organizations should take
formal political stands on this type of issue–it’s
not the same as John Woolman’s witness to his
fellow Quakers on the evils of slavery, which he
did as an individual. Eventually, he persuaded
enough Quaker groups of the rightness of his
position for them to say–as a whole denomination–
that no one who owned a slave could be a Quaker
in good standing.

However, my personal take on fear of socialism
as an argument against what seems to me to
be a proper role of democratic government–
universal health care and day care–is a form
of the “wine and food of the Empire” that we
should refuse. Fear keeps people from thinking
and acting when it becomes the “wine and food of the Empire.”
The last screen of the film has a quotation from
Alexis de Tocqueville on America–that one of our
strengths was that it could learn from
its mistakes. He saw us doing that as a young country
in the 1830s, and it’s important for us to do that now.

]]> By: rwk http://ecubishop.wordpress.com/2007/11/26/the-food-and-wine-of-the-empire/#comment-5549 rwk Tue, 27 Nov 2007 03:07:22 +0000 http://ecubishop.wordpress.com/2007/11/26/the-food-and-wine-of-the-empire/#comment-5549 Reformed theologian BB Warfield used to make it a point of smoking and drinking alcohol when the revivalist preachers came to town. He did not particularly enjoy either. He felt it was necessary to demonstrate that their moralism was not required for salvation. It's a tangential but relevant point. If we are to be counter-cultural, how is that to manifest itself? I'm a little skittish about picking a topic since our current problems make practically every topic a minefield. Balance that with Paul's charge "to be all things to all men" for the sake of the Gospel. I think we should always step back and see whether we are changing the culture or the culture is changing us. Salt and light.. Reformed theologian BB Warfield used to make it a point of smoking and drinking alcohol when the revivalist preachers came to town. He did not particularly enjoy either. He felt it was necessary to demonstrate that their moralism was not required for salvation. It’s a tangential but relevant point.

If we are to be counter-cultural, how is that to manifest itself? I’m a little skittish about picking a topic since our current problems make practically every topic a minefield. Balance that with Paul’s charge “to be all things to all men” for the sake of the Gospel. I think we should always step back and see whether we are changing the culture or the culture is changing us. Salt and light..

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