65% of Americans say they agree with Pope Francis I’s critique of capitalism. But because we’re not allowed to publicly voice our opposition to capitalism, we resort to a sort of “dog whistle” — a “pope code” — in which we express our approval of the pope as an acceptable way to transmit our closet sympathies for socialism and communism.
The Pope Code
Ted Rall
Ted Rall is a syndicated political cartoonist for Andrews McMeel Syndication, WhoWhatWhy.org and Counterpoint. He is a frequent contributor to The Wall Street Journal, a graphic novelist and author of many books of art and prose, and an occasional war correspondent. He is, recently, the author of the graphic novel "The Stringer."
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I don’t approve of the pope. I approve of what Francis I is saying, especially because he’s saying it through his office, but I don’t approve of the concept of the pope. He’s one man, who has all the power, and who is answerable, pretty much, to no one. When Francis drops dead (or retires or is disappeared) the next one could be a frothing-at-the-mouth crazy, and his word will be law. How long did it take for us to get a Francis? When was the last progressive pope (truly progressive, as Francis appears to be)?
If he has any brains at all, he’ll close down the whole thing. “God told me that we should start paying taxes. And we should stay the hell out of politics. And we should actually sell all the artwork and use the money to help the poor and sick. And we should be engaged in civil disobedience to compel reform of the U.S. prison-industrial complex, and we should be stopping foreclosures by banking predators. We should be marching on Wall Street demanding trials … [pffft of tranquilizer dart].”
Gold may be more pleasing to the eye, but power is more pleasing to the soul. The RCC has always been about power. If the 30 years war didn’t make that obvious, I’m not sure what will. The Pope sees a world drifting towards socialism and he’s only re-branding to try and keep the tithes coming in and to keep and build political influence. As long as the RCC gets it’s special privileges it won’t care whether it gets them from Marx or Smith.
Luke 18:22
Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
[Say what?]
“Jesus, is that gross or net?”
“Verily, I say unto you, 20%, right off the top.”
“Crucify him!!!!!”
Jesus: “You have eyes and do not see. You have ears and do not hear. You dumbass! I said sell EVERYTHING and give the proceeds to the poor! I said NOTHING about 20%. If you don’t give 100%, you ain’t worth SHIT! Got it now?”
Now that Mr Rall’s cartoon on gocomics has more than 25 comments, I thought I’d post my reply here.
Mr Rall wrote: “That’s what communists said about communism in the 1920s – that communism was there to stay, and that capitalism was doomed.”
A very important point. BECAUSE the communist said that, and because the US believed them, we got the New Deal.
After Communism was no longer seen as an imminent threat, but rather as an economic opportunity for the MIC, we got Reaganomics.
After the End of History, we got Clinton, Bush, jr, and Obama.
Where is Uncle Joe when 99% of Americans desperately need him?
Is it possible to calculate the wealth of the RCC? There may be no way to account for the gold, the priceless art works, the real estate, the investments owned by the largest of the world’s Christian organizations. The RCC’s financial matters are secret, and closely guarded.
While Pope Francis’s words are remarkably empathetic and his criticism of capitalism is direct, there is a huge disconnect in that the real world is not made of words but affected by deeds. The images of the pontiff, celebrating Christmas rites in St. Peter’s told the true story. Regardless of the camera angle, there was hardly a shot that did not contain gold, silver, priceless sculpture, etc. Pope Francis may be trapped within the RCC’s earthly accumulations and unable to model the true path of Christ. The radical nature of the change required would lead to a schism and perhaps the elimination of this kindhearted, simple man who seeks to inspire charity and the reawakening of St. Francis’s lively disdain for power, wealth, and glory and to reawaken love for nature and children.
I fear, Ted, that hating capitalism is just one of those «shitty attitudes» on the part of the «left» that our Grand Inquisitor, aka «Whimsical», so rightly castigates on these threads….
Henri