The Idolatry of Money
This short video has woken me up to who Bernie Sanders is. I haven’t really paid him much attention till now. The Bernie Sanders Wikipedia page gives a good brief outline of who he is and what he’s done. Here, Bernie talks about the comments of the Pope on The Idolatry of Money.
This video is amazing. We have a politician talking truth and advocating changes in our society that would have us all turning around and facing the right direction. It’s really refreshing to see someone like Bernie speaking out on these issues. Greed is our enemy and maybe it’s our most significant one.
You can watch the video here or read the full transcript below.
Transcript
“What the Pope is talking about, and what I’m talking about is to say that we have got to do our best and live our lives in a way that alleviates human suffering, that does not accelerate the disparities of income and wealth. When he talks about wealth being used to serve people, not as an end in itself, I agree with that. In this country, and obviously the Pope is a worldwide figure, the Church is worldwide, we are the wealthiest country in the history of the world, and if you go out on the street and you ask people, “Did you know that we’re the wealthiest country in the world?” they’d say, “No, I’m working two or three jobs, I’m making $8 an hour, I don’t know that we’re the wealthiest. I can’t afford child care for my children.” So what the Pope is saying is that human life, our existence, should be more than just the accumulation of more and more wealth. And everybody knows that right now we have the wealth, we have the technology to provide at least a decent standard of living for all our people. We are living in a world where greed has become, for the wealthiest people, their own religion and they make no apologies for it. And, I see in this country, people who are worth billions and billions of dollars pushing for policies that will make the rich richer and everybody else poorer. And I think what the Pope has done in a very bold way is not only talk about what he calls the dispossessed – that is, the children who are pushed aside, the elderly who are lonely and pushed aside, people who just don’t have enough income to survive – and that is of extraordinary importance unto itself, but what he has also done is raise the issue of the worship of money, the idolatry of money, and to say maybe that’s not what human life should be about.”
I received this comment from Maryse. First is my attempt at an English translation then, below that, her original French.
ENGLISH
I’ve followed the campaign for the USA primaries a little, and, just like you, I thought that Bernie Sanders was the best candidate. Firstly because he defended real human values and not, like the others, that the sole objective in life is to have always more money and to accumulate things that aren’t really necessary, just for superficial, short-lived pleasure. I also completely agree with him when he underlines that the real richness of a country is not measured by the sum of money owned by the ultra rich. We judge that by the possibilities the country gives its own people to look after themselves, educate themselves, house themselves decently and, of course, feed themselves. That’s not the case in the USA. An important American man, unfortunately I’ve forgotten who, said a long time ago: “we judge the value of a country by the fashion in which it treats its poor”. I think that’s true. I also agree with you Peter on the fact that the biggest problem now is the world where the sole God is money and that the real values are disappearing little by little.
I also like the idea that Bernie refused to be financed by large organisations, to protect his independence. That’s rare!
FRENCH
J’ai un peu suivi la campagne des primaires aux USA, et, tout comme toi, je pensais que Bernie Sanders était le meilleur candidat. D’abord parce qu’il défend des valeurs vraiment humaines et non, comme les autres, que le seul objectif dans la vie est d’avoir toujours plus d’argent et d’accumuler des choses dont on a pas vraiment besoin,juste pour un plaisir superficiel et passager. Je suis aussi complètement d’accord avec lui lorsqu’il souligne que la vraie richesse d’un pays ne s’évalue pas au montant d’argent que possède les archi -millionnaires. On la juge à la possibilité qu’elle donne à son peuple de se soigner, s’eduquer, se loger décemment et, bien sûr, se nourrir. Cela n’est pas le cas aux USA. Un grand homme Américain, malheureusement j’ai oublié qui, a dit il y a longtemps :”on juge la valeur d’un pays, à la façon dont il traite ses pauvres “. Je pense que c’est exact. Je suis aussi d’accord avec toi Peter sur le fait que le plus grand problème actuel est ce monde dont le seul Dieu est l’argent et que les vraies valeurs disparaissent peu à peu.
J’aime aussi l’idée que Bernie ait refusé d’être financé par les grosses entreprises, afin de garder son indépendance. C’est rare !
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Maryse. I like the concept you’ve introduced here that the real measure of a countries worth is based on the opportunities it provides to ALL of its people. That’s really good, and nobody can be left out of ALL.