Black Panthers, Gay Rights, and Women’s Liberation

Here’s a statement by Huey Newton from 1970 in support of the Black Panthers working in coordination with gay and women’s liberation movements. It does a lot to counter the racist narrative that black people are all homophobic, a narrative that’s seen renewed popularity in the wake of Obama’s support of gay marriage. It also counters the racist narrative that has long been used to help discredit the Black Panther party as movement of sexist, homophobic men. This is not to dismiss the homophobia and sexism that did exist among Black Panthers or that exists today in communities of color, just to dismiss the right-wing propaganda that all African Americans are homophobic.

Without further ado, I’ll let Huey speak for himself:

During the past few years strong movements have developed among women and among homosexuals seeking their liberation. There has been some
uncertainty about how to relate to these movements.

Whatever your personal opinions and your insecurities about
homosexuality and the various liberation movements among homosexuals
and women (and I speak of the homosexuals and women as oppressed
groups), we should try to unite with them in a revolutionary fashion.
I say ” whatever your insecurities are” because as we very well know,
sometimes our first instinct is to want to hit a homosexual in the
mouth, and want a woman to be quiet. We want to hit a homosexual in
the mouth because we are afraid that we might be homosexual; and we
want to hit the women or shut her up because we are afraid that she
might castrate us, or take the nuts that we might not have to start
with.

We must gain security in ourselves and therefore have respect and
feelings for all oppressed people. We must not use the racist attitude
that the White racists use against our people because they are Black
and poor. Many times the poorest White person is the most racist
because he is afraid that he might lose something, or discover
something that he does not have. So you’re some kind of a threat to
him. This kind of psychology is in operation when we view oppressed
people and we are angry with them because of their particular kind of
behavior, or their particular kind of deviation from the established
norm.

Remember, we have not established a revolutionary value system; we are
only in the process of establishing it. I do not remember our ever
constituting any value that said that a revolutionary must say
offensive things towards homosexuals, or that a revolutionary should
make sure that women do not speak out about their own particular kind
of oppression. As a matter of fact, it is just the opposite: we say
that we recognize the women’s right to be free. We have not said much
about the homosexual at all, but we must relate to the homosexual
movement because it is a real thing. And I know through reading, and
through my life experience and observations that homosexuals are not
given freedom and liberty by anyone in the society. They might be the
most oppresed people in the society.

And what made them homosexual? Perhaps it’s a phenomenon that I don’t
understand entirely. Some people say that it is the decadence of
capitalism. I don’t know if that is the case; I rather doubt it. But
whatever the case is, we know that homosexuality is a fact that
exists, and we must understand it in its purest form: that is, a
person should have the freedom to use his body in whatever way he
wants.

That is not endorsing things in homosexuality that we wouldn’t view as
revolutionary. But there is nothing to say that a homosexual cannot
also be a revolutionary. And maybe I’m now injecting some of my
prejudice by saying that “even a homosexual can be a revolutionary.”
Quite the contrary, maybe a homosexual could be the most
revolutionary.

When we have revolutionary conferences, rallies, and demonstrations,
there should be full participation of the gay liberation movement and
the women’s liberation movement. Some groups might be more
revolutionary than others. We should not use the actions of a few to
say that they are all reactionary or counterrevolutionary, because
they are not.

We should deal with the factions just as we deal with any other group
or party that claims to be revolutionary. We should try to judge,
somehow, whether they are operating in a sincere revolutionary fashion
and from a really oppressed situation. (And we will grant that if they
are women they are probably oppressed.) If they do things that are
unrevolutionary or counterrevolutionary, then criticize that action.
If we feel that the group in spirit means to be revolutionary in
practice, but they make mistakes in interpretation of the
revolutionary philosophy, or they do not understand the dialectics of
the social forces in operation, we should criticize that and not
criticize them because they are women trying to be free. And the same
is true for homosexuals. We should never say a whole movement is
dishonest when in fact they are trying to be honest. They are just
making honest mistakes. Friends are allowed to make mistakes. The
enemy is not allowed to make mistakes because his whole existence is a
mistake, and we suffer from it. But the women’s liberation front and
gay liberation front are our friends, they are our potential allies,
and we need as many allies as possible.

We should be willing to discuss the insecurities that many people have
about homosexuality. When I say “insecurities,” I mean the fear that
they are some kind of threat to our manhood. I can understand this
fear. Because of the long conditioning process which builds insecurity
in the American male, homosexuality might produce certain hang-ups in
us. I have hang-ups myself about male homosexuality. But on the other
hand, I have no hang-up about female homosexuality. And that is a
phenomenon in itself. I think it is probably because male
homosexuality is a threat to me and female homosexuality is not.

We should be careful about using those terms that might turn our
friends off. The terms “faggot” and “punk” should be deleted from our
vocabulary, and especially we should not attach names normally
designed for homosexuals to men who are enemies of the people, such as
Nixon or Mitchell. Homosexuals are not enemies of the people.

We should try to form a working coalition with the gay liberation and
women’s liberation groups. We must always handle social forces in the
most appropriate manner.

Tumble your way to freedom

I really haven’t had time to post anything in the last few months and still don’t. However there are a few good tumblrs out there (mostly crowd-sourced) that don’t have my problem. Check them out. Obviously, there’s We Are the 99 Percent. Then, there’s We Are the 1 Percent:  We Stand With the 99 Percent and the quirky We Are the 99 Purrcent. For those of you who like your feminism with a touch of the funsies, there’s Feminist Ryan Gosling. Enjoy.

Another American Betrayal

A new deal has been reached in Congress to raise the nation’s debt ceiling, and as with every congressional deal of late, this deal is designed to screw-over America’s poor and working-class families. Once again, the out of touch fat cats in Congress have allied themselves with the obscenely wealthy and corporate interests against the interests of the vast majority of Americans. This deal is not a patriotic victory as Republicans might claim, nor is it a reasonable compromise as Democrats might claim. The debt ceiling deal is another betrayal of the American people. Once again, we the people have been thrown to the dogs of monied interests.

The current deal if passed, will deepen the economic depression our country has suffered since Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, and their ilk crashed the economy in 2008. The current deal is favored by the profits-over-people U. S. Chamber of Commerce even as it drastically cuts aid to graduate and professional students, authorizes a cabal of 12 to fast-track legislation through Congress that could dramatically cut funding to a wide range of vital programs, and authorizes deep cuts in spending over the next ten years. Should this cabal fail to agree to what to cut, $ 1.2 trillion would be cut automatically. While the bill leaves open what programs may get cut, it is clear from Congress’ record that those cuts will come from programs that help average Americans and that no cuts will come from corporate subsidies and the like.

It is time the American people stand up to the psychotic bullying of Republican and Caspar-Milquetoast-cowardice of Democrats and declare that we will not stand for any deficit deal that cuts the social safety net and sinks America’s working men and women into further hardships by gutting our already feeble economy. It is time to rebuild America’s economy and infrastructure. It is time to provide aid and employment to the millions of Americans that have been thrown out on the streets since our country’s economic collapse. It is time to take to the streets and demand economic justice, to declare that we the people own America and we will not stand by and suffer in silence any longer!

A Deficit of the Soul

There has been much hullabaloo in the news and in Congress about America’s growing deficit. The only solution politicians on the right and in the center see is to cut spending on vital public services like Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, even Pell Grants. Republicans want to cut as much as they can, essentially casting America’s poor, working, and middle classes out on their own. Democrats, on the other hand, want to cut slightly less, leaving a bare thread for the vast majority of Americans to cling to. This betrayal of the American people is being carried out in the name of deficit reduction. Because of Congress’ funneling over 1 trillion dollars and 6,026 American lives into needless wars, good hardworking Americans must now suffer. Because Congress, under Bush, cut taxes on the rich without reducing spending, the poor and elderly risk losing the benefits they need to live. And while they do, the banks that helped cause our economy’s collapse have not been dismantled, as they should be, but have been paid nearly 300 billion dollars for what they have done.

Nearly one in ten Americans is unemployed. The Bureau of Labor statistics has June’s unemployment rate as 9.2% or 14,100,000 people. Gallup places the nation’s underemployment rate at 18.4%. These may seem like mere figures, but, in truth, these numbers are people. Out of every ten people you see, there’s a good chance one is unemployed and two are unable to make ends meet. These are our neighbors, our friends, our coworkers, and ourselves.

As corporate profits continue to rise, the employment rate continues to drop, and the mythical “job creators” aren’t hiring. They continue to ship American jobs and money overseas to even poorer and more desperate workers.While America’s wealthy corporations rake in their ill-gotten gains, the average American continues to suffer in the depths of the recession. This is especially true for Latino and African Americans whose net worth, on average, is 18-20 percent less than that of their European-American counterparts.

While we Americans suffer, Congress continues to play political games at our expense. The deficit, it seems, has gained control of the minds of America’s politicians, in the process it has convinced them to let go of their hearts. Cutting the deficit has become and idol for many, a matter of faith that blinds them to basic morality and decency.

In the midst of an ongoing recession, the last thing working people need is to be thrown out in the cold. We continue to suffer from unemployment, underemployment, and wage reduction and Congress wants to cut funding to the benefits it often takes for average Americans to make ends meet. Instead of working on behalf of their constituents, Republicans see the deficit as an excuse to ensure that the poor stay poor by removing their safety net and by cutting aid to average working people struggling to make ends meet.

If America’s politicians truly want to cut the deficit, they can easily do so without harming the poor. They can cut corporate subsidies and tax loopholes, especially since many American corporations have shown now interest in helping the American economy. Further, Congress can raise taxes on the wealthy business men (yes, they’re mostly men) who refuse to contribute otherwise to America’s well being. The top 1 percent of Americans have more than enough money to provide themselves with their necessities and many creature comforts. They can afford to share. The tax rate under Eisenhower was 91 percent for America’s wealthiest. Under Nixon, it ranged from 70 to 77 percent. Yet under neither of these presidents was America accused of being an oppressive socialist regime. Now it’s a mere 35 percent, for those who can’t pay their personal accountants to find a few convenient  loopholes to avoid paying the taxes they rightfully owe. If the rich could afford a 91 percent tax rate under Eisenhower, they can afford it now.

The true crisis in America is not the rising budget deficit, but a rising deficit of the soul. Republicans, who so often tout their Christian credentials, now openly refuse to head God’s call to take all they have and give to the poor and to open their hands wide to the poor and the needy in our land. Instead, they are doing everything in their power to hurt American families. They are denying the American people and they are denying the God they pay lip service to. Democrats, despite claiming to be the party of change and of the common people, continue to bow to corporate and Republican pressures instead of fighting for their constituents. The American people do not need a balanced budget, we need food, we need homes, and we need jobs. We need a society without an entrenched oligarchy, a society where there is equality, where their is liberty and justice for all, not just for those who can afford it. We need a society where people matter more than profits, where basic morality isn’t cast aside by those who sold their souls for political power.

A Few Musical Interludes

On my trip up to Madison a while back I heard a couple awesome songs on WORT that I haven’t been able to get out of my head. I thought I’d share them here for your listening pleasure. The first is Duane Stephenson’s “Soon As We Rise” featuring Ras Shiloh. The second is Peter Tosh’s “Equal Rights.”

And for good measure I’ve thrown in an old feminist anthem from 2Pac:

Happy listenings and keep ya heads up!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Happy Mother’s Day to moms and expectant mothers the world over. You truly make the world go round.

As we celebrate Mother’s Day and the wonderful women who have made all our lives possible, it is important not to forget that Mother’s Day began not simply as a celebration of mothers, but as a day of action to improve the lives of mothers.

The first American call for Mother’s Day was made by Julia Ward Howe as a call for international peace and disarmament. Howe wrote this impassioned “Mother’s Day Proclamation” in 1870:

Arise, then, women of this day! Arise, all women who have hearts, whether your baptism be that of water or tears!

Say firmly: “We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies. Our husbands shall not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have taught them of charity, mercy and patience. We women of one country will be too tender of those of another to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.”

From the bosom of the devastated earth, a voice goes up with our own. It says, “Disarm, Disarm!”

The sword of murder is not the balance of justice. Blood not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession. As men have often forsaken the plow and the anvil at the summons of war, let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel. Let them meet first, as women, to bewail & commemorate the dead. Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means whereby the great human family can live in peace, each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesars but of God.

In the name of womanhood and of humanity, I earnestly ask that a general congress of women without limit of nationality may be appointed and held at some place deemed most convenient and at the earliest period consistent with its objects, to promote the alliance of the different nationalities, the amicable settlement of international questions, the great and general interests of peace.

Not long afterward, Ann Jarvis began founding Mother’s Day Work Clubs to work for better sanitary and safety conditions for workers and others. Her idea of Mother’s Day too included the goals of peace and social activism.

Jarvis’ daughter Anna successfully pushed for the official establishment of Mother’s Day after her mother’s death, but later protested the holiday’s subsequent commercialization.

As we honor our mothers, let us also honor these women’s memories. Let us act in the true spirit of Mother’s Day and work for peace and justice within our communities and the world. Mothers should not have to suffer because their husbands, their sons and daughters, their friends and brothers are killed or injured in war. Mothers should not have to suffer because corporations destroy the environment that they and their families live in. Mothers should not have to suffer because they cannot earn a living wage to feed and shelter their children. It is our duty as children to honor our mothers by making sure they have a just, equitable, and peaceful world to live in.

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On bin Laden’s Death

Osama bin Laden’s dead. I can’t say I’ll miss him, but I’m far from celebrating. His horrible crime on 9/11 has been used to justify too many unjustifiable deaths and to perpetuate a world of hate and war.  His crime has been used as a white wash for the crimes of America since 9/11 and the continuation of America’s Middle Eastern imperialism.

Now that we’ve killed off our number one boogey-man, perhaps its time we show true support for our troops by bringing them home, by allowing them to live in safety with their loved ones. They have served their country. A safe trip home is the least they deserve.

Sign the petition to bring our troops home today.

For a more reflective post on Osama’s death, read this post.

I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy.—Jessica Dovey

Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.
—Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Real Wisconsin

In my last post, I caused some offense by posting a video by a right-wing nutjob that I found on YouTube. Fortunately, a commenter was kind enough to point out a much better video (the one above) that shows the real situation in Wisconsin and the real Americans whose lives and livelihoods will be dramatically affected by Scott Walker’s rabid anti-worker mentality. I encourage anyone confused about bureaucrats, bad customer service, overpaid workers, and other right-wing myths to watch the video above.

As Americans, union and non-union, it is important that we stand with those fighting to protect workers rights in Wisconsin and in states across our nation. The people of Wisconsin: workers in unions and out of them, workers from the public and private sectors, students and teachers, police and nurses, firefighters and small business owners, religious leaders and atheists, farmers and factory workers, all of them have come together to protect our right to organize and to have a say in how we are treated at our places of employment. It is important that we support them and join them in their struggle to defend democracy.

It is vital that we not only stop national Republican aggression against working Americans, but that we turn the tide. We as Americans must take the offensive. If we only defend our rights when they are under attack then it is inevitable that we will eventually lose them. We must look to the example of the civil rights movement, of the women’s movement, of the labor movement in the 19th and early 20th century, and to the example of our Founding Fathers. We must be proactive and push not only to defend the freedoms our brothers and sisters in past decades have died for, but to forge ahead for greater freedom, for truer democracy, for a world where Scott Walker and his kind are no more because everyone can understand the true source and meaning of freedom.

Let us never forget there is power in a union. Too long labor’s strength has dwindled and declined. But the vast majority of Americans are workers. We labor for our food, for our homes, for our families. Let us stand united. Let us expand our unions so that all workers may have the right to collective bargaining. Let us remember the terrible price so many Americans have paid for the freedoms we so recently took for granted. Let us honor them by struggling as they did for justice, dignity, equality, and freedom!

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The Truth About Wisconsin

After all the brouhaha in Wisconsin over the past few weeks, I decided to go up to Madison this Saturday and see what all the fuss was about. What I expected was scraggly trust-fund hippies and union thugs ready to pound any scabs they saw into a pulp. What I found was America.

After driving around Madison for over half-an-hour to find parking, I began the long walk toward the rally at the capitol. As I walked I noticed that many of the houses I passed had signs in their windows supporting unions and decrying Scott Walker. These weren’t the mansions I’d been led to expect from all the outcry about overpaid public workers. These were working class apartments and modest, middle-class homes with just enough room for a family of four.

When I got to the rally There were swarms of people marching around the capitol square between business that had posted signs in support of Wisconsin’s public unions. And the square wasn’t full of hippies but average working Americans, some in public-sector unions, some in private-sector ones, some, like me, not in unions at all.

There were only a few police on hand to maintain order as this crowd marched around the capitol. These police were outnumbered by their brothers and sisters who were participating as protesters in the march. These police were joined by firefighters, teamsters, school teachers, students, and numerous working families. There were even a few protesters there who needed canes, walkers, and crutches to get around.

The speakers at the rally urged recalling Scott Walker and his cronies in the state senate and urged all the working people to stand strong in the face of anti-union persecution. A few offered prayers, all offered words of encouragement.

As I left the rally, I noticed a few small business on the way back to my car. Like those on the public square, most of these had signs in their windows showing support for unions and antagonism for Scott Walker.

What I found in Madison, wasn’t the rabid, greedy, anti-American rabble Republicans would like everyone to believe was there. What I found in Madison was the mythical real America that haunts Sarah Palin’s fever-dreams. I found a state were workers from all walks of life came together with small business owners to defend democracy and human rights from the Republican party’s corporate onslaught. I saw working families, retired workers, and college students marching and chanting together to defend the American dream.

While there were calls for a general strike among protesters, the main calls for action from the event’s speakers were for recall and legal challenges to the rights-stripping bill that Walker just signed. Recalling the politicians responsible for this affront and challenging the legality of their new anti-worker law is important and should be done, but the real strength of America’s working people is in themselves. While recall campaigns against Walker and his cronies should go on the most important thing Wisconsin’s working people can do is organize. Unions are the strongest line of defense individual Americans can have against corruptible politicians and monied interests. We must unite in the AFL-CIO, in the IWW, in Change to Win, in independent unions, in Working America, in Wisconsin and across America, because when we stand together, we can show Scott Walker and his kind that we the people of the United States of America will never be defeated!

[EDIT 3/14/2011: The crazy Nazi video above is brought to you by YouTube user mulhollanddose at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t27fiOMqW_A. I posted it here to give an example of how far from reality the Republican/Fox News/Tea Party understanding of unions and the issues in Wisconsin are. I in no way endorse or agree with the views expressed by this video. My intention was to demonstrate by my post how wrong all the ideas expressed by this video and other right-wing propaganda is. Sorry for the confusion this has caused. If you are offended, please feel free to let the video's poster know over at YouTube.]

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On the Christian Condemnation of Capitalism

“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”—1 Timothy 6:10

Alan Greenspan wrote in The Assault on Integrity that “Capitalism is based on self-interest and self-esteem.” Ayn Rand, a strident advocate of laissez-faire capitalism, wrote in The Virtue of Selfishness that her “Objectivist” ethics “proudly advocates and upholds rational selfishness.” If we look to present day America, we see many Americans out of work while those at major corporations still receive large bonuses and government aid. We see the wages of the vast majority of Americans stagnate while the earnings of America’s richest 1% continue to increase dramatically. By looking at the writings of capitalists, who advocate self-interest and the accumulation of wealth, and the practices of American capitalists, it becomes apparent that capitalism and greed are synonymous. As Christ spoke of false prophets in Matthew 7:16 we will know them by their fruits.

Of course, the question is what does Christ say about self-interest? If he doesn’t contradict Greenspan, than I am wrong to conflate greed and capitalism. In Luke 12:22–32, Christ admonishes his followers not to have any concern for their own well-being, that is not to exercise self-interest, but to simply have faith that God will provide them with everything they need. In Luke 12:33–34 he tells them to sell all they have and give to the poor. By giving to the poor, they have given themselves wealth in God, but if they keep what wealth they have, they reject God, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” This last statement is a repetition of the point Christ makes in Luke 12:15–21. Here he gives the example of a rich man who profits from his farm and instead of sharing his excess wealth he reinvests it in his farm, building new store houses, and when he dies God calls the man a fool because he who lays up treasures for himself is not rich toward God.

In Matthew 19:21–22 Christ tells a rich young man that if he wishes to be perfect then he should sell what he has and give it to the poor for he will have treasure in heaven. He immediately follows this advice up by telling his apostles, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” and “many who are first will be last, and the last first” (Matthew 19:23–24, 30).

The implication in Christ’s words as drawn from Matthew and Luke is that if those who accumulate wealth cannot enter Heaven, then they will be condemned to Hell. But I may be reading too much into His sayings. Perhaps Christ meant to imply no such thing. Maybe when He said it was hard for the rich to enter Heaven He did not mean they would go to Hell, but some other place. Maybe I am wrong. Surely Christ never said “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation” nor would He have said “You cannot serve God an mammon,” that is riches (Luke 6:24, Matthew 6:24). Surely Christ never commanded His followers not to accumulate wealth (Matthew 6:19–21). If He had said such a thing surely such a statement would condemn those who do accumulate wealth, like American capitalists, as sinners against God. Surely, if God did not condemn the rich then Mary never would have exalted Him saying “He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty” (Luke 1:53). Nor would the prophet Amos say that his God “rains ruin upon the strong” (Amos 5:9) since many of the powerful today are also wealthy capitalists.

Of course these condemnations seem to be primarily against the rich, but what of struggling capitalists who do not possess great wealth? John the Baptist and prophet of God, told his followers that even those of modest means must share and not work to accumulate wealth, saying, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise” (Luke 3:11) just as Christ told his own followers, rich and poor alike, to sell all they had and give to the poor.

But these are all mere sayings. What of Christ’s actions? While capitalism did not exist in the time of Christ, there were merchants. Some of these merchants changed money and sold sacrificial cattle and doves at the Temple for the benefit of those who wanted to enter without unclean money or to make a sacrifice to God. This seems the closest correspondence to capitalists the Bible offers, so surely Christ will have treated them kindly. Yet in Mark 11:15–17 he drives these poor merchants from the temple, overturning their tables and seats, saying they have made the Temple “a den of thieves.” In John 2:14–16, Christ makes a whip of cords to chase out these merchants commanding them, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!”

But perhaps Christ was only angered because they were selling goods in the Temple. Maybe the pursuit of profit was not against his teachings. If this is the case surely we must see it carried out in the example of his followers. Let us turn to Acts and see what sort of economy his followers practiced among themselves. Luke wrote in Acts 2:44–45, “Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need” and again in Acts 4:32–37, “Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need. And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.” Far from pursuing wealth, the earliest Christians sold all they had and shared with one another. The churches in Macedonia behaved likewise, Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 8:1–6, giving gladly beyond their ability to give even though they experienced deep poverty. In verses in 8:13–15 of this same letter, Paul tells the Corinthian church to give to those who are in need so “that there may be equality” and that all the churches of Christ may not pursue wealth, but be like the ancient Israelites of Exodus 16:18 who shared all they had gathered so that none had more than they needed and none had less than they needed. This seems a far cry from modern American capitalism where the most successful 1% of capitalists earn far more than 99% of Americans and where the richest 20% of Americans have accumulated far more wealth than the bottom 80% combined.

Christ commanded His followers to love their neighbors as themselves (Mark 12:31). He commanded them to sell all they had and give to those in need. He commanded them not to follow self-interest but to trust in God that their needs were met. He told them plainly and repeatedly that the accumulation of wealth was a sin against God. His followers understood this and shunned wealth. His true followers still do.

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