Man of the Poor and Vulnerable vs a Man of the Rich and Powerful

 

Man of the Poor and Vulnerable vs a Man of the Rich and Powerful

“Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 

 As Jesus said to his disciples, NT Matthew 19: 23-24

Bias admission: I was raised in the Episcopal/Anglican faith – I was even an altar boy – and my take on reading the New Testament was it was an amazing moral statement driven by a simple message: tolerance, humility, charity, not sitting in judgment of others, loving their fellow man, and giving kindness without preconditions are the fundamental values of anyone calling themselves a Christian. As Pope Francis, RIP, entreated his faithful to cherish God’s gift of the planet and everything in it by fighting climate change and pollution, too many evangelical pastors denied that climate change even existed (assuming their church wasn’t consumed in a hurricane or smashed by a tornado) and pushed their flock to take and use all of our environment, as God’s unlimited gift to man. “Drill, baby, drill,” and “God wants you to get rich.” Sorry pastors who believe that; the Bible is not a menu!

Our immigration policy is cruel and unforgiving, with many undocumented aliens shipped off to a hellish Salvadoran prison, simply by labeling them as violent gang members without a shred of proof. JD Vance, who calls himself a devout and practicing Roman Catholic, is anything but. To justify mistreating poor and vulnerable people, Vance had the temerity to challenge the Pope on what love meant… and that a moral Catholic could apply “love” to a defined class of people, without extending that love and Catholic principles to anyone else. “Vance … invoked the Catholic concept of ‘ordo amoris’—the order of love—to defend the White House’s mass deportation policies, claiming in January that the well-being of Americans trumped any concern for that of immigrants.

“Francis, the first and so far only Latin American pope, responded with a letter saying, ‘Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups… The true ordo amoris that must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating constantly on the parable of the ‘Good Samaritan,’ that is, by meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception,’ the February letter stated, pointedly criticizing mass deportation.” Hafiz Rashid, New Republic, April 21, 2025

It's the ability to discredit any attempt at dialog or political expression, without giving a response, by demonizing the speakers. How could a “bad” person have anything good to say? The master of marginalization by demonization is Donald Trump, and many of his senior MAGA allies have legitimized this vilification of anyone with an opposing political perspective. Writing for the April 23rd Huffington Post, Jillian Wilson, writes: “Most people grow out of name-calling by about the ninth grade — maybe 12th grade if you’re particularly immature. By that time, you’re likely aware that calling someone names is mean, aggressive and not actually a good way to create a positive change in a relationship… This can’t be said, though, for Donald Trump , who purposely name-calls (like when he labels his critics and opponents ‘haters ,’ ‘fake ,’ ‘bad people’ or ‘crazy’).

“Experts say this is a pointed strategy. ‘It’s demagoguery is what he’s doing,’ said Patricia Roberts-Miller, a professor emerita of rhetoric and writing who taught at the University of Texas at Austin… There’s lots that goes into demagoguery (more on that below), but to put it simply, it’s political rhetoric that uses emotions and prejudices to push forward an agenda.

“It’s proven to be an effective strategy for Trump, but is a clear red flag in what it reveals about the way he leads and views others. Here’s what to know: … Trump utilizes what’s known as an ‘ad hominem’ attack, said Jennifer Mercieca , a professor in the department of communication and journalism at Texas A&M University and author of ‘Demagogue for President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump,’

“That’s a Latin word, and we have been studying ad hominem attacks since way back in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. The word ad means ‘to’ and homonym means ‘the person’ or ‘the man,’ and so it is a distraction strategy in debate, meaning that you, instead of addressing whatever is the central issue of the debate, you reroute the audience’s attention to the person, and it is used ... to discredit the opposition,” said Mercieca.”

There is a clear set of benefits to the autocrat who relies on this tactic, such that it is a very typical approach for just about all dictators and dictator wannabes. Not only does it render what that evil person stands for, but if for any reason you might agree, that too makes you a fellow evil person. Wilson continues: “Ad hominem attacks may disqualify you from high school and collegiate debates, but Trump has successfully used them since 2015, according to Mercieca.

“In 2015, he used the term ‘low-energy’ to describe his political opponent Jeb Bush, and since then, you can likely think of countless derogatory terms he’s used to describe his opponents or critics — ‘sleepy Joe Biden,’ ‘crazy Nancy’ Pelosi and the ‘radical left,’ to name a few… ‘The fundamental reason why he does it is ... to discredit them, but also to reinforce the us versus them mentality and polarization,’ noted Mercieca.

“The ‘us versus them’ mentality, or ‘good guys’ versus ‘bad guys,’ is a huge part of Trump’s strategy and has become popular among many of his supporters, too, Mercieca added… ‘It allows people to deride the opposition. They’re illegitimate. We shouldn’t consider what they have to say. We’ll just mock them,’ she said… Trump also uses ‘whataboutism’ to deflect, Roberts-Miller said. He does this by bringing up the alleged past mistakes of the ‘bad guys.’.. ‘It’s called the bad math of demagoguery,’ she explained. ‘If I can find anything that a member of your group did that’s bad, it erases anything bad on the part of my group.’” Even if that “bad thing” is an “ends justify the means” total fabrication.

Meanwhile, a humble Pope, willing to kiss the feet of the poorest people he sees, eschewing the papal residence for more modest accommodations, embraces a vision of morality that appears to be the diametric opposite of everything Trump. I suspect he is the least likely prelate anywhere to be believe that God “anointed” Donald Trump to lead America.

I’m Peter Dekom, and I am not sure how purported Gpd-fearing people can so embrace a code of immorality that contradicts the very faith they claim they are following… by the millions!