In response to Andrew Jenson’s opinion article “Taking the rough road” in the April 2 publication of The Argonaut:
According to how I was raised, I was once of the same opinion as you. As I was told, conservative was good, liberal was bad. My opinion, therefore, was that federal spending should be cut, cut and cut because everyone around me believed this and it seemed sensible.
These massive deficits, and this massive debt, were both unsustainable and irresponsible. It was not only conservative to cut government spending, but it was the Christian thing to do as well. We needed to be examples to the world of responsible living and force people to get off of government dependency, and get a job and take care of themselves by reducing programs that they were on. This was the world I lived in.
I realized over time that there were so many who truly were in need of these programs such as food stamps. If you read the news thoroughly, you will hear the statistic over and over that one in four children in our country goes hungry, most of them the last week of the month when food stamps are gone and also during the summer when they don’t have school lunches. It is not the fault of these children that they are in the position that they are in. A child cannot choose what family they are born into. A child also cannot support themselves.
There are also many adults out there who are trying to find a job in a tough economy, who are trying to support a family with part-time work because they can’t get full-time work, who are disabled, etc. — these people are in need of food stamps and it would be, in my opinion, morally wrong to cut these programs that give life to these people.
As a Christian, and a person who strives to protect human life above everything else, I ask myself what Jesus would do in every situation. Would Jesus be against abortion? Yes. Would Jesus be for balanced budgets? Yes, but not at the expense of those in need. The conservative would then bring up the need of the church to help instead of the government. I would say though, that if the churches want to help, then why do most churches spend most of their money on fancy buildings with big mortgages and lavish salaries for their “Christian” pastors?
As a Christian, I live a responsible life working over full-time and going to school full-time. I pay federal taxes and give even more to those in need. I help to keep multiple people afloat who otherwise would have basically nothing. I am, as I am commanded to be, the arms and feet of Jesus. I help those in need. Why do we not see poor people in churches? It is because they will usually be frowned at and judged when they come in through the doors. On the other hand, they will be welcomed and smiled at when they go into the government office to get on food stamps. The arrogance of many of the people in churches needs to end.
There will always be those who take advantage of the system, but I will not throw out programs that help so many who are truly in need just to teach those who are taking advantage a lesson. Budgets can be balanced through growth in the economy, and not by cutting programs to those in need. This is both responsible and Christian. If we who have been raised on the conservative side of things were to stand for both the unborn child and the child once again, then I think we would see different people win presidential elections. Instead of a message of “you’re on your own,” which looks to be against the poor, the right approach would be, “we are here to help raise you up.” It’s an inspiring message, and one that I hold to with all my heart in my efforts to protect, nurture and defend human life.
–John-Daniel Wanvig
President of Pro-Life Students