Taking their word for it

While following the controversy about the income increase for a few politicians and a slightly smaller one for the people, I decided to remind myself about the definition of Christian democracy, which looks like a very positive expression.

Within the various definitions, I often came across the words “a philosophy of social and economic justice”. I said to myself that nobody could ever disagree with such a thing, as what better basis for a just society can you find no matter how much you search?

I supposed that social justice would include a fair sharing of wealth in a country, although this started to look dangerously like socialism. But I did not give in to misunderstanding as it often happens that different political ideologies have common elements. This is why I have sometimes written about progressive conservatism or communist capitalism, which I had thought I could see in some contradictory people. The new “liberal radical Christian democracy” sounds quite naughty.

A few Christian democratic politicians attracted my attention more than others as they were saying that no way would they approve a huge pay rise for a few people who were already very comfortable and a tiny one for many people who were largely uncomfortable. I considered that they were right as this would go against a philosophy of social and economic justice. So I followed with admiration their frequent scolding of the selfishness of some rich people, obsessed with getting richer and the insensitivity of these people to messy distribution of wealth statistics pitying those who find it difficult to cope.

I had no doubt that my heroes would provide concrete and practical proof of their adherence to social and Christian democracy when the test arrived. I did not, however, say to myself that they would put their money where their mouth was as they were in principle and practice against possession of money by one and all, especially the obsession to increase it – let alone multiply it.

However, when the test arrived, I thought I saw in my heroes a definite change of attitude, making me suspicious that this was also a change of principle and philosophy. I almost lost faith in my heroes but I decided to use the defence mechanism strategy that when you think someone is in contradiction with himself, it is only because you have either misunderstood him before or after.

Above all, not enough time had passed for me to confirm this misunderstanding. I was also waiting to see money on the ground. You may be saying that you do not see the relation. But relation there is. For Christ had said that if you wanted to follow Him, you first had to throw away everything you possessed. Now, seeing that some people had nothing, they wanted to grab a lot so that they could tell the Lord: “For You I have not only thrown away a little but a lot.” And this would confirm the perception that they are real followers of Christ.

Apart from this, it would also clear away any misunderstanding that I and others might have had about the genuinity of my heroes. So, religiously in future, when my heroes holler about social and economic justice, I shall again take their word for it.

Democracy and conscience

I have heard statements beginning with: “Whenever I hear the word democracy, I reach for…” Another version was: “Whenever I hear the word culture, I reach for my gun, dictionary, computer, gum etc.” (The last statement was expressed by an American fundamentalist dentist.) One of the best statements I came across was: “Whenever I hear the word culture, I reach for my strudel”. I did not see the relation and somebody familiar with the Teutonic language explained to me that strudel could also be a vulgar word. Which is probably not true and the expert of Teutonic linguistics was probably taking the Hans.

I heard a German politician say: “Whenever I hear the word e-coli, I reach for the Spaniard’s throat.” This was simply a paranoid hostility to Spaniards trying to make them look like scapebulls – for the e-coli originated from German sprouts and not from Spanish cucumbers – which, like strudel, is not a vulgar word.

In any case I was struck these past weeks by statements such as: “Whenever I hear the word democracy, I reach for my conscience.” I thought at first that the ladies and gentlemen had some cheek to consider their conscience superior to democracy but, considering that they had wished to become old-fashioned monsignors and ended up becoming tiresome, retired politicians, I could not mistrust their declarations.

As, otherwise, I would have had to invent another defence mechanism – as I did in the case of my Christian democratic heroes above.

Dr Licari is a researcher in multiculturalism.