Social Justice vs Military Spending

[JMJDevotion]

So a priest at a local church gave a homily Sunday 7/3/11. In it he requested that the members of the parish sign a petition to cut military spending in favor of raising more funds for those on welfare, illegal immigrants, etc. Now, I know we, as Catholics/Christians, have an obligation to care for the spiritual and corporal needs of our fellow man. I tithe, I volunteer, I donate to food banks to the best of my ability. I also have 3 children, yes 3 who are proudly serving the US Military (Army, Navy & Air Force). My family is making a sacrifice for this country. It makes me angry that a priest, who is supposed to care about life, is so willing to cut funds that will go to pay for things like protective gear, weapons, salaries, food, healthcare, etc. for those that serve and protect his rights as an American citizen.

So my question is this, is one group more important than another? Doesn’t the fact that my children are protecting those people on welfare, the illegal immigrants and all of us count at all? Don’t they deserve the best protective gear, weapons, food, housing, healthcare? I am sad, angry and baffled!

 

[Ridgerunner]

So a priest at a local church gave a homily Sunday 7/3/11. In it he requested that the members of the parish sign a petition to cut military spending in favor of raising more funds for those on welfare, illegal immigrants, etc. Now, I know we, as Catholics/Christians, have an obligation to care for the spiritual and corporal needs of our fellow man. I tithe, I volunteer, I donate to food banks to the best of my ability. I also have 3 children, yes 3 who are proudly serving the US Military (Army, Navy & Air Force). My family is making a sacrifice for this country. It makes me angry that a priest, who is supposed to care about life, is so willing to cut funds that will go to pay for things like protective gear, weapons, salaries, food, healthcare, etc. for those that serve and protect his rights as an American citizen.

So my question is this, is one group more important than another? Doesn’t the fact that my children are protecting those people on welfare, the illegal immigrants and all of us count at all? Don’t they deserve the best protective gear, weapons, food, housing, healthcare? I am sad, angry and baffled!

I think maybe the priest is letting his political inclinations influence his moral directives. There is no particular reason to think the military is the most appropriate source of funds for charitable works, and there is very good reason to believe the military is necessary to peace.

When a government subsidizes tobacco, abortion, big corporations, and promotes middle class welfare, etc, it is hard to think the military is the only source of funds that could be used to help those truly in need. When the government blithely accepts double and triple dipping into government coffers by some pensioners, it’s hard for me to accept the notion that military people who don’t make all that much, should be deprived of resources.

When this whole subject of the military is raised by people, including churchmen, who deride the military, I am put to mind of how Jesus dealt with military people. Never did he tell any of them to stop being soldiers. He did tell them to deal honestly and to be content with their pay (no looting, in other words). As to the Centurion, he remarked that He had not found greater faith than his in all of Israel. Nor did he ever tell a soldier to sell his sword and give the money to the poor. Seems to me Jesus understood what it is to be a soldier a lot more than some of our modern churchmen do.

 

[Corki]

So a priest at a local church gave a homily Sunday 7/3/11. In it he requested that the members of the parish sign a petition to cut military spending in favor of raising more funds for those on welfare, illegal immigrants, etc. Now, I know we, as Catholics/Christians, have an obligation to care for the spiritual and corporal needs of our fellow man. I tithe, I volunteer, I donate to food banks to the best of my ability. I also have 3 children, yes 3 who are proudly serving the US Military (Army, Navy & Air Force). My family is making a sacrifice for this country. It makes me angry that a priest, who is supposed to care about life, is so willing to cut funds that will go to pay for things like protective gear, weapons, salaries, food, healthcare, etc. for those that serve and protect his rights as an American citizen.

So my question is this, is one group more important than another? Doesn’t the fact that my children are protecting those people on welfare, the illegal immigrants and all of us count at all? Don’t they deserve the best protective gear, weapons, food, housing, healthcare? I am sad, angry and baffled!

First of all, bless you. It sounds like you raised some mighty fine kids.

The budget is always about give and take. This priest would like the pie cut a little differently. That’s his opinon and he’s entitled to it. But it’s just his opinion.

Don’t be sad.

 

[Georgia]

First of all, bless you. It sounds like you raised some mighty fine kids.

The budget is always about give and take. This priest would like the pie cut a little differently. That’s his opinon and he’s entitled to it. But it’s just his opinion.

Don’t be sad.

Well said!

People often think of the military budget as being the biggest part of national spending, but the reality is a little different. We spend more on social programs, significantly more, than we do on defense. You are free to decide whether that is good or bad, but that is the way the budget is now handled.

 

[mcteague]

Sometimes well meaning people look at things to simply. It seems easy. You want more money for education for example; take some away from the military. It just a bit more complicated than that. Although I believe that those who oppose the war would be outraged if soldiers were send into combat without the right equipment to protect themselves. That is actually what might happen. And people also forget the important economic role that the military plays in many communities.
I used to see things the way this Priest seems to. Right and wrong was easy to see. And everything was clear in black and white when I was fifteen. As years have gone by I have come to better understand the truth of Macarthur’s quote “no one hates war more than a soldier”. And to truly respect and honor the service they do despite that.

Maybe we could split the pie a little differently, so a bit more goes to education or other things of value. But I don’t think anyone would want that to come at the expense of the safety of our men and woman who serve their country. As I said he may be looking at it to simply. Forgive him. He probably means well.

 

[VonDerTann]

Personally, I think the priest was WAY out of line. He had no business saying what he did. Heck, I think a fine argument can be made that absent the US military, we’d have no ability to perform any sort of social justice, because someone would have conquered us. We live in a cold world where others would do our nation harm. What prevents that? The US military.

Corki writes, “The budget is always about give and take. This priest would like the pie cut a little differently. That’s his opinon and he’s entitled to it. But it’s just his opinion.”

–I think it’s a bit more complex than that. Yes, he’s entitled to his opinion…but when he speaks from the pulpit, he does so with the imprimatur of the Church behind him. That’s one reason why in my opinion the Church - whether through the pastor, the bishop, etc. – acts so swifty when individual priests say something from the pulpit at odds with Church teaching. So, when a priest gives a homily, if it contains his personal opinion, then he ought to say “this is my opinion and not the churches.” Heck, I always thought a homily was more an explanation of the ties between the readings than anything else, but I admit I’m splitting hairs on that.

 

[tuscany]

**Thank your three children for me for their service to our country. It is our military on guard that allows me to sleep in peace at night.

It is very easy to use the military as the “big bad wolf,” but in reality, the priest knows that to really help a person, you need to teach a man to fish, not to just keep handing the fish out. I think the priest was out of line to have said what he did.

The only “social justice” a person needs is the opportunity to work. How hard you then work is up to you. Government needs to get out of the way and let people work. They will stay where they are if satisfied, or keep moving up to more education and better jobs if so motivated. Yes there are people who are challenged and who need help, no one begrudges that. But to keep handing out money to people able to work is a sin in my eyes, you keep these people as children. ( And no, I am not a Republican).

In the end, if you don’t have a strong military, all the rest of it won’t really matter because whoever invades us won’t be caring about “social justice”.

Rest easy, the majority of thinking people support a STRONG military.**

 

[JMJDevotion]

Thank you all for your responses. It is hard being a mom, watching your kids go off into the world, prepared to defend this nation. I am very proud of them. They are good kids, growing into good adults. My daughter is leaving for Guam in the morning. She has a 2-3 year stint ahead of her. She will be going out to hot spots. It is a worry.

Thank you tuscany, for your post. I agree with you. Everyone who is able to work should. It is a shame there are people who abuse the system and take from those who truly need assistance. I am a Republican, but I will tell you, I am pretty fed up with the whole of DC, not just the Democrats. All of them need to quit taking money for their own states (aka pockets) and look out for the whole of America. I know if they truly investigated the welfare/social security and other entitlement programs, they would find a good deal of wasted money…money given to people who don’t want to work.

I personally don’t think our soldiers, just like our teachers are compensated fairly. All the money going to waste could be put to better use in the educational and military budgets.

 

[Monte_RCMS]

Someone came door-to-door complaining about military spending.

I totally agreed with him and said we should totally abolish the military because it is not our role to be the world’s policeman.

He then said that we would need SOME military.

I asked him why.

I said it was unlikely we would use our military to defend against Canada and Mexico.

He said that the U.S. has enemies.

So I demanded that he provide a threat assessment. I told him there was absolutely no way he could come up with a set of credible threats to the United States.

After a few minutes, he had us right to about where we are right now.

 

[Krakatoa]

Yes, supporting our military is just as worthwhile as these others. More so, if these others are freeloading. A lot of liberal priests don’t have a clue about how our military benefits so many throughout the world. As far as illegal immigrants, the only public money we should be spending on them is whatever is necessary to deport them. Did this priest not ask to divert money spent on abortions? Nothing wrong with being a Republican.

 

[Edward_H]

I might privately ask the priest whether he thinks giving a zillion dollars through a million government programs is really an act of charity.

Sounds like there’s an unproven assumption that “social justice” (as commonly practiced) is actually a superior act to national self-protection.

If there is no free gift, no deliberate, willful act of giving oneself…there’s no charity.

Having the government coerce money out of pockets to give to other pockets is not an act of charity. The Holy Spirit is not present in this action.

In love, mercy and gratitude are exchanged. With government ‘giving’ there is typically resentment and entitlement exchanged.

 

[tuscany]

**Nope, nothing at all wrong with being a Republican. But usually when I give an opinion like I did, I get hit with that comment, like that explains what’s “wrong” with me.

I just said it to show that you don’t have to be a Republican to have that view.**