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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsYou'll Love Naomi Klein's Take on the Pope's Popularity...
Published on
Thursday, September 24, 2015
byCommon Dreams
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/09/24/youll-love-naomi-kleins-take-popes-popularity
?itok=Meu4-lLZ
daleanime
(17,796 posts)MrMickeysMom
(20,453 posts)
Just look at what Sanders has said in his latest missive. It rings the same bell
"If politics must truly be at the service of the human person, it follows that it cannot be a slave to the economy and finance. Politics is, instead, an expression of our compelling need to live as one, in order to build as one the greatest common good: that of a community which sacrifices particular interests in order to share, in justice and peace, its goods, its interests, its social life. I do not underestimate the difficulty that this involves, but I encourage you in this effort." - Pope Francis addressing Congress today
Brothers and Sisters: I am not a theologian, an expert on the Bible, or a Catholic. I am just a U.S. senator from the small state of Vermont.
But I am emailing you today to discuss Pope Francis in the hope that we can examine the very profound lessons that he is teaching people all over this world and some of the issues for which he is advocating.
Now, there are issues on which the pope and I disagree like choice and marriage equality but from the moment he was elected, Pope Francis immediately let it be known that he would be a different kind of pope, a different kind of religious leader. He forces us to address some of the major issues facing humanity: war, income and wealth inequality, poverty, unemployment, greed, the death penalty and other issues that too many prefer to ignore.
He is reaching out not just to the Catholic Church. He's reaching out to people all over the world with an incredibly strong message of social justice talking about the grotesque levels of wealth and income inequality.
Pope Francis is looking in the eyes of the wealthiest people around the world who make billions of dollars, and he is saying we cannot continue to ignore the needs of the poor, the needs of the sick, the dispossessed, the elderly people who are living alone, the young people who can't find jobs. He is saying that the accumulation of money, that the worship of money, is not what life should be about. We cannot turn our backs on our fellow human beings.
He is asking us to create a new society where the economy works for all, and not just the wealthy and the powerful. He is asking us to be the kind of people whose happiness and well-being comes from serving others and being part of a human community, not spending our lives accumulating more and more wealth and power while oppressing others. He is saying that as a planet and as a people we have got to do better.
That's why I was so pleased that in his address to Congress today, Pope Francis spoke of Dorothy Day, who was a tireless advocate for the impoverished and working people in America. I think it was extraordinary that he cited her as one of the most important people in recent American history.
As the founder of the Catholic Worker newspaper, Dorothy Day organized workers to stand up against the wealthy and powerful. Pope Francis said of her today in Congress:
In these times when social concerns are so important, I cannot fail to mention the Servant of God Dorothy Day, who founded the Catholic Worker Movement. Her social activism, her passion for justice and for the cause of the oppressed, were inspired by the Gospel, her faith, and the example of the saints.
How much progress has been made in this area in so many parts of the world! How much has been done in these first years of the third millennium to raise people out of extreme poverty! I know that you share my conviction that much more still needs to be done, and that in times of crisis and economic hardship a spirit of global solidarity must not be lost. At the same time I would encourage you to keep in mind all those people around us who are trapped in a cycle of poverty. They too need to be given hope. The fight against poverty and hunger must be fought constantly and on many fronts, especially in its causes. I know that many Americans today, as in the past, are working to deal with this problem.
The fact that the pope singled out Dorothy Day a fierce advocate in the fight for economic justice as one of the leaders he admires most is quite remarkable. We are living in a nation which worships the acquisition of money and great wealth, but turns its back on those in need. We are admiring people with billions of dollars, while we ignore people who sleep out on the streets. That must end.
Dorothy Day fought this fight, and as Pope Francis says, we must continue it. We need to move toward an economy which works for all, and not just the few.
We have so much poverty in a land of plenty. Together, we can work to make our country more fair for everybody.
I am glad that you are with me in this fight.
In solidarity,
Bernie Sanders
Gidney N Cloyd
(19,817 posts)leftofcool
(19,460 posts)Let's see, the Pope is anti-gay, anti-women's right to choose, anti-gay adoption. Sorry Naomi, Bernie is nothing like the Pope nor is the Pope anything like Bernie. The Pope is no different than any past Pope, he just has a better marketing team.
babylonsister
(171,029 posts)I am not religious, but he is a breath of fresh air, as is Bernie. Maybe that's the bigger pleasure/picture.
MrMickeysMom
(20,453 posts)Uncle Joe
(58,272 posts)Hortensis
(58,785 posts)people are longing for. Francis has truly exceptional charisma and charm, though, which I'm guessing comes from a very special inner being. IMO, he is in a class by himself. Of course, being the Pope helps with that.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)I kind of feel sorry for people with such absolute views. They truly don't understand the human condition. Nor, I think, do they understand themselves if all they see in the mirror is perfection.
MrMickeysMom
(20,453 posts)Thanks.
By the way, when reading the article, the message that is given by each of these is what NK thinks connects with people. I don't think you get that from PR people, try as some of us seem to do.
The world won't wait for PR people.
NonMetro
(631 posts)He also used the word "fraternity" several times. I'm sure women listening felt very included!
cui bono
(19,926 posts)You shouldn't let Bernie's popularity get you so upset. I'm sure there's someone... somewhere... who thinks the Pope is like Hillary in a white dress.
And you are the only one who seems to think the Pope is no different than any other Pope. He's like a breath of fresh air, just like Bernie.
rpannier
(24,328 posts)had problems with Obama about Obama's opposition to gay marriage and stated it numerous times publicly. Before Obama came out in favor of it
I'd hate to think that person just reflexively hates the pontiff and it wouldn't matter what he said or did the poster would still find a way to hate
uhnope
(6,419 posts)or Job 13:5
MattSh
(3,714 posts)If you're waiting for a Pope OR a President that you agree with 100% of the time; or even 80% of the time, you'll be long gone before that happens. And if Bernie has no problem with most of his message, maybe you should reconsider? Unless you like politics as usual.
mhatrw
(10,786 posts)matter most to Hillary's would be employers.
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)Old Crow
(2,212 posts)... is that they're both preaching The Golden Rule to a society that seems to have forgotten it.
It's that simple. And I have to say, you either see it or you don't. I think most people on DU can see it.
SidDithers
(44,228 posts)Sid
mhatrw
(10,786 posts)All the 'economics are the only real issue' robber barons, banksters and top 0.1% water carriers hate the Pope.
SidDithers
(44,228 posts)who don't care about equality, women and LGBT issues like the Pope.
There, I fixed that for you.
Sid
mhatrw
(10,786 posts)That's why we should all support NSA spying champions like Hillary Clinton!
CLINTON: Of course. And, you know, again, let's - we are living at a time when this extraordinary change is occurring and I'm proud of our country. I'm proud of the people who had been on the frontlines of advocacy, but in 1993, that was not the case and there was a very concerted effort in the Congress to, you know, make it even more difficult and greater discrimination. And what DOMA did is at least allow the states to act. It wasn't going yet to be recognized by the federal government, but at the state level there was the opportunity. And my husband, you know, was the first to say that, you know, the political circumstances, the threats that were trying to be alleviated by the passage of DOMA thankfully were no longer so preeminent and we could keep moving forward, and that's what we're doing.
GROSS: So just to clarify - just one more question on this - would you say your view evolved since the '90s or that the American public evolved allowing you to state your real view?
CLINTON: I think I'm an American. (Laughing) And I think we have all evolved and it's been one of the fastest most sweeping transformations.
GROSS: No, I understand, but a lot of people already believed in it back the '90s. A lot of people already supported gay marriage.
CLINTON: But not - to be fair, Terry, not that many. Yes, were there activists who were ahead of their time? Well, that was true in every human rights and civil rights movement, but the vast majority of Americans were just waking up to this issue and beginning to, you know, think about it and grasp it for the first time. And, you know, think about their neighbor down the street who deserved to have the same rights as they did or their son or their daughter. It has been an extraordinarily fast - by historic terms - social, political and legal transformation. And we ought to celebrate that instead of plowing old ground, where in fact a lot of people, the vast majority of people, have been moving forward - maybe slowly, maybe tentatively, maybe not as quickly and extensively as many would have hoped, but nevertheless we are at a point now where equality, including marriage equality, in our country, is solidly established. Although there will be places.
I grant you that Hillary does not say point-blank, "No, I did not support same-sex marriage back in 1993'. But I don't see how you can interpret the passage as meaning anything other than, "I was not even privately in the vanguard of public opinion on this issue.' But Terry is not satisfied.
Just to be clear
GROSS: I - I...
CLINTON: Texas, just to name one, where that is still going to be an ongoing struggle.
GROSS: I'm pretty sure you didn't answer my question about whether you evolved or it was the American public that changed (Laughing).
CLINTON: I said I'm an American, so of we all evolved. And I think that that's a fair, you know, that's a fair conclusion.
GROSS: So you're saying your opinion on gay marriage changed as opposed to you - you just felt it was comfortable...
CLINTON: You know, somebody is always first, Terry. Somebody's always out front and thank goodness they are. But that doesn't mean that those who joined later in being publicly supportive or even privately accepting that there needs to be change are any less committed. You could not be having the sweep of marriage equality across our country if nobody changed their mind. And thank goodness so many of us have.
LittleBlue
(10,362 posts)I don't see it mentioned in the article.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/28/pope-climate-change-naomi-klein
rpannier
(24,328 posts)But people will find a way to spin the analogy into something awful
Let 'em
Ron Green
(9,822 posts)I hope I'm not that way when I'm their age.
roody
(10,849 posts)Ron Green
(9,822 posts)I was making kind of a bleak joke.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)millions of people haven't experienced how it was to know that, no matter what happened, one could always go out and get another job, almost any job, that would pay enough to support himself.
In high school I was a naturally good speller, so I took a typing class. I was going to college, but I knew with that combination I could always start with a job up a clerical level or two that would allow me to live in a modest but nice way. At that time it was my worst-case scenario for the future, even though I grew up poor, and the security I felt was based on reality.
While it lasted, of course. Besides the little living wage issue, someone'll be reading this and wondering, "Spelling?? What's THAT about?"
LiberalElite
(14,691 posts)apnu
(8,749 posts)I'm an atheist, so I think all religion is bunk.
But I respect Pope Francis for living and working towards what we are told are Christian ideals. For as long as I can remember, Christianity is a "do what I say, not what I do" religion. No matter what sect of Christians I'd run into to, I found them to be greedy, selfish, judgmental and unhelpful people who talked endlessly about humility, and love, compassion and assistance. But they never performed any of these acts. I've watched churches raise enormous sums of money for soup kitchens, only to spend 10% of that on the kitchen and the food, the rest goes into a black hole. I've watched Christians say to homeless addicts: "We will help you, but only if you bend your knee to God, if you don't piss off."
Pope Francis puts great effort to live the way his book tells him to. I think other people are keying off this too and are excited that there is now a Christian leader who is actually acting like a Christian, for a change. I'm not the only one who's noticed this.
Like I said, I think religion is bunk, but for some people, they need an instruction manual to help them be human beings and not selfish animals. If religion gets them there, fine, it serves a purpose. Pope Francis is working his ass off to get people to be compassionate human beings, that's a good thing.
Of course, all the fake Christians are up in arms about him, because he exposes their hypocrisy.
hifiguy
(33,688 posts)llmart
(15,532 posts)I didn't watch any of his speeches but have heard tidbits of what he's saying and it makes me excited to see that a Pope and I could have anything in common. He has even stated that you don't have to be religious to be a good person. However, his comments on global climate change and American capitalism/conspicuous consumption are totally in line with how I was brought up and how I live my life.
However, having said all that, I'm not optimistic that the Catholics that I know personally will take his messages and change their ways. I don't want to paint all Catholics with a broad stroke, but the ones I've known worship at the altar of mall shopping and accumulating material goods.
When Sept. 11th happened we heard all sorts of talk about how Americans were now going to change and become less self-involved and more community oriented and caring and blah, blah, blah, but did that happen? Yes, for maybe about a month and then back to the status quo. I've lost all hope that Americans are ever going to "get it".
treestar
(82,383 posts)one of the most clueless attempts to make Bernie great ever seen.
MrMickeysMom
(20,453 posts)I won't worry about what it is right now.
I happen to not think it's dumb for the same reasons many people have expressed who have taken he time to know either one of these public figures of our time.
LostOne4Ever
(9,286 posts)Last edited Fri Sep 25, 2015, 05:00 PM - Edit history (1)
roody
(10,849 posts)You should know this to become a teacher in California. Thanks for the humorous mistake.
LostOne4Ever
(9,286 posts)Rex
(65,616 posts)Both older white men in positions of authority. They both worry about the greed for money and what it does to the world.
That is about it imo.