After President Obama signed health care reform into law, I noted the reaction of the “compassionate conservatives” on line, in person, and in talk media.  In short, their reaction is; “I do not want my money going to lazy people.” The presumption is that these reforms are the redistribution of wealth; taken from hard honest, hard working, self reliant people and handed out to immoral, dishonest, human parasites.  Indeed! 

So who are these lazy people?  A reading of the bill shows that the initial beneficiaries will be sick children, sick adults, and the elderly who are in need of medicine; all of whom are unable to achieve medical security because of inadequate support systems in the private sector.

American conservatives say that the individual is responsible for themselves and if help is needed, it should come first from the local community, then the state, and finally, the federal government, in that order.  They say that aid should be voluntary, and given the high moral fiber of God fearing Americans, those in need will receive adequate care. It is their belief that involvement from the federal government should only come when all else fails.  Ladies and gentlemen, the existence in America of the infirm, children and the elderly in need of medical care, is proof that all else has failed.

Call it socialism or communism. I don’t care.  If using my tax dollars to aid and comfort sick children, sick adults, and the elderly in need is un-American, then dust off the hammer & sickle and put away the stars & stripes - as Old Glory is just a symbol for greed, self indulgence, and decadence in the face of poverty.   

We are one of the richest nations on earth and yet, our citizens are not even close to being the best cared for when they are in need of help from their fellow man.  That is, unless one takes the position that the child born with spina bifida, the father stricken with multiple sclerosis, and the grandmother with Parkinson’s are all lazy or irresponsible for being sick without the means to take care of it themselves and therefore undeserving of human compassion.

President George W. Bush told us, “"It is compassionate to actively help our citizens in need. It is conservative to insist on accountability and results." If we were to judge the results of the government's help given to the wealthy in the form of tax cuts, bank laws, union busting, trade deals, and immigration policy, from Ronald Reagan to today, we would see that the rich have not been accountable with taking care of their fellow man after receiving so much help from the federal government.  We would also see the result; a dwindling middle class, growing poverty, and an ever widening equity gap between the very rich and the rest of us.  Maybe when President Reagan said “Government is not the solution to our problems. Government is the problem", he was only speaking to his wealthy friends.  Who knows?

Lastly, I noticed that a majority of "compassionate conservatives" profess to be Christian.  I would remind them that in the Book of Matthew, 25:45, it is written "I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these; you did not do for me.

While I do not profess to be a Christian or a Biblical Scholar, I can tell you that I do not see any asterisks on that passage with references to not helping someone because the giver does not feel the person in need is truly deserving.

Perhaps the conservatives in America should edit the Bible and have their own version.  Here is my suggestion:

 Matthew, 25:45, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me - but remember there are a lot of lazy people out there who are not worthy of your compassion or my love, and they should go straight to hell, not you, F 'em.