Was it a dream or NPR?
A woman's voice pronouncing an earnest, assured reminder
"Family is more important than anything."
We "know" what she means. She means blood is thicker than water.
She means You better put family first.
She means
if you don't agree you're a freak
you're to be pitied
you're un-Christian
you're in the minority
you can't be trusted.
She's in a club. A huge, pushy American conglomerate.
They believe in God and they all want to be rich.
The banner over their clubhouse door says
Family God Money
They don't unpack these terms.
They make assumptions.
Their book of rules says Family = heterosexual, two parents.
Provisional membership is extended,
albeit begrudugingly at times,
to unorthodox units and individuals:
unmarried people raising children together
single parents
units that include a variety of
races and ethnicities
Some members believe Family is threatened
by TV violence, same-sex unions, rap music and
the availability of legalized abortion.
God is understood as an elderly
omninpotent
invisible
paternal entity
Who must be obeyed without question or doubt
Despite abundant evidence of His capricious, temperamental, at times violent nature
Their confidence in God's existence is shaken when something horrible happens
Luckily, there's a reminder of their allegiance
written on every piece of money
Even non-members use this money
So God is a sure thing.
Money is too.
Money is like air or water--without it you won't live long.
I'm not in the club.
The members of this secret but pervasive society
share the world with us non-members.
Mostly, things go smoothly --
everybody believes most people belong to the club
and believe as they believe
God is on the money
We touch the Bible to prove we speak the truth
Those of us who aren't in the club
prefer that the question of membership doesn't come up
It's really better for all concerned
if the question of membership doesn't come up.
To avoid questions and conflict and hurt feelings
it's essential that the question of membership
doesn't come up.
A woman's voice pronouncing an earnest, assured reminder
"Family is more important than anything."
We "know" what she means. She means blood is thicker than water.
She means You better put family first.
She means
if you don't agree you're a freak
you're to be pitied
you're un-Christian
you're in the minority
you can't be trusted.
She's in a club. A huge, pushy American conglomerate.
They believe in God and they all want to be rich.
The banner over their clubhouse door says
Family God Money
They don't unpack these terms.
They make assumptions.
Their book of rules says Family = heterosexual, two parents.
Provisional membership is extended,
albeit begrudugingly at times,
to unorthodox units and individuals:
unmarried people raising children together
single parents
units that include a variety of
races and ethnicities
Some members believe Family is threatened
by TV violence, same-sex unions, rap music and
the availability of legalized abortion.
God is understood as an elderly
omninpotent
invisible
paternal entity
Who must be obeyed without question or doubt
Despite abundant evidence of His capricious, temperamental, at times violent nature
Their confidence in God's existence is shaken when something horrible happens
Luckily, there's a reminder of their allegiance
written on every piece of money
Even non-members use this money
So God is a sure thing.
Money is too.
Money is like air or water--without it you won't live long.
I'm not in the club.
The members of this secret but pervasive society
share the world with us non-members.
Mostly, things go smoothly --
everybody believes most people belong to the club
and believe as they believe
God is on the money
We touch the Bible to prove we speak the truth
Those of us who aren't in the club
prefer that the question of membership doesn't come up
It's really better for all concerned
if the question of membership doesn't come up.
To avoid questions and conflict and hurt feelings
it's essential that the question of membership
doesn't come up.
Yes! The rhetoric of family values is the greatest example of how capitalism and fundamentalist religion have united in enforcing a culture of greed in which narrow concern for your own private interests is considered enlightened.
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ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, Jace. If you know a "people" who should read this post, please point them in this direction.
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