Pundits like Cal Thomas, and others such as George Will and Charles Krauthammer, puzzle me. These old white men are often treated like wizened men of yore, what spake truth with every utterance. They go on panel shows and fart and belch nonsense, then go home and shit out umpteen columns about their chosen bugaboos. I don’t understand the deference from literally EVERYONE in the media. Can we just grab any old doddering fool and have them blubber in to a hot microphone for twenty minutes and be utterly wrong? It surely would be much cheaper.
Cal Thomas predominantly writes about religion and the culture wars therein. Like a black sportswriter, his chosen topic is unfortunately evergreen. Mr. Thomas is constantly couching the topic du jour through his bullshit lens of “truth” and since he’s a seemingly tenured syndicated columnist, never answers for anything. Every topic he’s covered, and the very words he farts, are always thoroughly debunked with common sense before he gets around to his point. Like clockwork, you’ll see him provide some argument that has clearly been done away with. His current topic “redistribution of wealth”…more importantly, his wealth, and the wealth of the catholic church.
It’s clear that those of the more evangelical right-wing catholic mindset don’t care much for Pope Francis. For some odd reason, their prayers for Benedict to keep Pope-ing around, disenfranchising catholics the world over with his hyper-dated worldview and pedophile cover ups, fell on deaf ears. To the rest of the world, Pope Francis has been a unbelievable breath of fresh air.
As a non-catholic I’m a big fan of a populist pope. I mean, we don’t have too many types of world leaders with the peaceful reign longevity or worldwide reach of a pope. Ideally, the pope sets the religious standards for the entire world. Saying things like “be excellent to yourselves and each other” and “give your money and time to those in need”. All that bullshit that bums out those evangelical right-wingers who use their faith as a cudgel to silence and get rid of things that make them feel icky inside.
Mr. Thomas uses that tired notion of “redistribution means they take ALL the money EVER and just GIVE it FREELY to all the OTHERS! (who have done nothing for society but TAKE!)”. Then couples that with the other tired notion of “redistribution didn’t work under the New Deal or War on Poverty it just went down 16%” Where did that figure come from? Who knows?!
His solution: The Pope should put his money where his mouth is and just start redistributing ALL the Vatican’s money if it‘s such a great idea! So…a silly non answer? Sounds about right from a right-wing pundit.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find Cal Thomas’ net worth on the internets. I’m assuming from the humble brag in his second paragraph he considers himself wealthy, and taxed enough already. He prattles on about how he gives to charity, and if the government started just outright taking his money, where would all the good his money does for his tiny tribe go? You see, he’s taken care of his money responsibly, unlike other people…you know…the others?
It’s this kind of insipid article writing that trickles down (hey a trickle down idea that actually works!) to the stooges of the GOP/right-wing. That wealthy people paying taxes is a punishment. That those tax monies aren’t being poured in to things THEY want, so they are being wasted on things like the OTHERS. Ironically, the right-wing stooges don’t give nearly enough to charity as say a Cal Thomas would, but assuming they tithe and give to charity, they do it under the guise of philanthropy from the tops of their noses. Which they both share in great amounts. Mr. Thomas acts as if he gives so much of his money to charity, that if he didn’t, the charity would fold up and blow away. Which is absurd. And so what if they did? It isn’t like those in need and those who provide charity are just going to end one day.
It’s in the hypothetical that Cal Thomas unveils the type of modern christian that everyone has grown to loathe. In their passive-aggressive actions, they have completely lost what their faith was founded on. Hell, even Mr. Thomas in a recent column about public prayer, extols the quiet reflection that is demanded of his very faith. So prayer, we should probably be hush hush, but when giving your time and money to those in need you can just blast it over the bullhorn? “LOOK AT ALL THE GOOD WORKS I AM DOING! THANK GOD FOR ME AND MY MONEY THAT I FREELY GIVE TO THESE OTHERS!” Give me a break!
The simplicity with which Mr. Thomas breaks down what causes poverty is laughable. Has this man ever known need, probably not, and his breakdown shows that in spades. Let‘s break them down:
1) a dictatorial governmental system that thwarts individual initiative and liberty. What the hell is he talking about? You have to wonder if this means some sort of third world situation or is a reference to the tyrannical ruler Obama. I’m more inclined to lean to the latter merely because it’s a staid talking point, and Cal Thomas has never met a tired talking point he didn’t like. Because of Obama’s tyrannical dictatorship both initiative and liberty have struggled. Which explains why the DOW is hitting record highs, and corporate profits are at an all time high! Somehow the liberty of the working class is getting squashed by all the liberty these overpaid CEO’s are getting, but who’s to parse the thwarting of liberty!?
2) a religious system that oppresses people, especially women, in the name of an angry deity who is ready to pounce on anyone having pleasurable experiences. Again, he may be flying too close to the sun on this one. I’m supposing he’s talking about the OTHER religions that oppress women in the name of an angry deity that’s NOT Christianity? Cal Thomas may be on to something if there is an ongoing problem about impoverished gays. I’m thinking this is a dig at the Vatican, which is the thesis of his article, but the vagueness is puzzling. Is he talking a theocracy, because Mr. Thomas’ articles tend to lead one to believe that ’s the only government system he’d really get behind?
3) the wrong economic system, which stifles growth and discourages risk-taking. This seems eerily similar to the first cause of poverty. Also, an example of what a wrong economic system is would be beneficial to the reader. Once more, I assume this is a dog whistle “Obama is an evil tyrant” sort of thing and nothing more. I guess I’d say just put what I wrote under poverty cause number one under this one too. I mean, if he’s not even trying at this point…why should I?
4) Wrong lifestyle choices when it comes to education, sex, marriage and crime. Mr. Thomas must have a word count, because I really feel like these are more like poverty causes 4-7 or 8ish. More to the point, it’s also the veiled racist portion of Mr. Thomas’ article. As he’s done with the bulk of his column, he’s somehow married disparate concepts that exist in a simplistic wrongheaded worldview. You can’t "wrong lifestyle choices" education if you’re living in the slums and ghettos. You can’t "wrong lifestyle choices" who your parents are and how much money and stability they come with. It’s so easy to make smart decisions when you’re born into stability and means, like I assume Cal Thomas has.
In all these causes, Mr. Thomas offers no real solutions, which is all well and good and probably the most christian thing to do in this case. He just supplies this notion that attempting to fix social injustice has been a failure, so why even bother? Surely the benevolent charitable givers alone should be able to lift those unwashed masses out of their poverty! He talks about moving poor children to better educational opportunities, but who’s going to pay for that? The GOP/right-wing balk at this notion and only attempt to offer solutions that will only enrich their moneyed interests and still provide no better an education. In the grand false equivalency, he writes “[…] liberal politicians won't let them escape for fear of losing political contributions from teachers' unions.” What a crock of shit.
