It’s always puzzled me and reading a thread on reddit just how has reignited that puzzlement. Someone on reddit asked people opposed to universal healthcare to explain why and the conservatives in the thread have given reasons like they don’t want to wait their turn for treatment, and that people don’t have an intrinsic right to live, along with the usual “WHY shOUld i PAy fOR YouR HealTHcarE?”
Christians seem to lead the charge with objections such as these. And in my experience of asking for help accessing food, Christians were the cruellest and the least likely to help.
I just don’t understand how someone claims to follow Jesus but holds beliefs like this. When Jesus handed out the loaves and fishes, did he check everyone’s employment and tax status first, and only feed those who were working and paying tax? When he healed the sick and disabled, did he make sure they had health insurance first and refuse to treat those who couldn’t pay?
What makes these people such incredible hypocrites?
One thing I don’t think anybody has mentioned is the normalization of American Christianity’s worst impulses plus its tight bond with the GOP and white supremacy. It’s been happening for many decades. Fox News to televangelists have normalized greed (and the prosperity gospel), intolerance, hatred, racism, etc. When I read a news article or watch tv and somebody says “As a Christian…” or “I’m a republican so I think…” - I get mad because I know they’re going to say something awful and the news anchor or whoever is going to both sides it.
The public is supposed to accept the nonsense idea that they have license to be terrible people because they are a Christian or a republican. It makes me insane. If somebody is a horrible person I don’t want to hear a crap excuse that is supposed to justify it. It makes as much sense to me as somebody saying “I don’t like vanilla ice cream so I am 100% against gay marriage.”
The reality is that they hate anybody that’s not them. And they want others to suffer and be forced to conform to their terrible reality. Before Trump - they couldn’t be direct. They tended to never say what they truly feel. One reason Christians and/or republicans love Trump is that they can - in their mind - finally be openly horrible people.
I think that for many of them - being a Christian or being a republican is mostly a life style branding thing. Their horrible beliefs are the key thing in their life. The labels are just a convenient excuse. That’s why Trump can do pretty much anything. They are so seething in their hatred and intolerance they can’t seem to understand s simple fact. If Trump destroys the economy and massively defunds the social programs (from the largest to the smallest) - the others will suffer but many of them and people just like them will suffer too.