Get Behind Me Satan!!

Is being conservative anti-God? Our sermon in church last Sunday centered on a Gospel story in which Jesus equated Peter to Satan. Jesus asked the Apostles who he was. His followers stated that He was a prophet. Jesus then corrected them as to his true identity, and asked that they keep it a secret. Peter took Jesus aside, and I assume told him to cool it with the Messiah stuff. Jesus then told Peter : “Get behind me Satan.” And that was the end of that.

The minister equated this with each of us carrying our cross, no matter how uncomfortable it makes us. He said that we must deal with the issues that make us vulnerable. He then turned political when he said insuring 40 million uninsured people makes us uncomfortable, and that showing mercy to 11 million illegal aliens also makes us uncomfortable, and we must take up the cross and deal with these issues. Wow!!!

Since the days of Richard Nixon, liberal media types have continually portrayed conservatives as dark, and cold, and heartless. We have no compassion. We are interested in only money. We don’t care about the poor, or the hungry, or the uninsured, or illegal aliens. Maybe we are Jesus’ modern day Peter. Is Jesus telling us to “get behind me, Satan”?

I view things somewhat differently. Conservatives, first and foremost, believe in the dignity of man and the sanctity of freedom and individualism. We are believers of the old adage give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish; he will eat for a lifetime. We believe you should give a hand up, and not a hand out. Have you had enough of the tacky clichés?

Conservatives aren’t blind to the issues of the uninsured and illegal aliens. But conservatives firmly believe that government isn’t the answer. Conservatives believe government only makes things worse. You only have to spend a day at Family Services at the old South Side Hospital to see how government fails those most in need in our society. A barely sustenance existence is not the answer, and that is what many of these folks have. It is heart breaking.

Shifting government policy toward the collective condemns those involved to a life of meager existence. Should the vast, vast majority of people receiving outstanding health care be brought down to the level of barely adequate in order to solve the problem for a few? Should those living in poverty or political turmoil legally attempting to enter the United States be pushed to the back of the line in order to accommodate those who broke the law? Empathy for one group is always balanced by antipathy for another. Is one group’s suffering worth more than another’s?

The question that must be addressed is whether the answer to society’s problems lies with the government which does a good job of making everybody equally miserable…or in private enterprises which allows those in poverty the chance to climb the ladder to a good life?

I believe that we are better off with a private health care system regulated by the government to accommodate the specific issues of pre-existing conditions, excessive premiums and plan termination. For the hard core uninsured and uninsurable, the government can extend existing Medicare and Medicaid programs. It is as simple as that.

Ultimately, nothing will work unless the government allows for growth in our economy in a meaningful way. If people don’t have jobs, they can’t pay for health insurance, and neither can the government. That is the bigger problem. And the current administration is on the wrong track on this one.

So to my minister, I guess I would say that the “devil” is in the details. The Satan hidden in the collective is much more dangerous than the Satan hidden in free enterprise, freedom, and liberty. I want Satan to get behind me…just the right Satan.