“Reporters unearthed previous comments from Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano, who angrily claimed that the Bible forbids Christians from criticizing elected officials like himself.
Mastriano is wrong. It is precisely because of our Christian faith that we criticize him for twisting the Gospel, attacking equal rights, and supporting the January 6 insurrection.
But it’s not just fascist to claim that voters aren’t allowed to question our elected officials: It’s also a heresy. Perhaps Greene, Mastriano, and Mohler have forgotten that we’re following the example of Jesus and the Hebrew prophets when we hold unjust rulers and corrupt religious leaders accountable.” 1
“Florida Governor Ron DeSantis joined Texas Governor Greg Abbott in the racist political stunt of cruelly flying migrants and asylum seekers to other states, even lying to trick families onto the planes. Both men talk frequently about their faith.”1
“Three prominent, right-wing, Catholic governors — Ron DeSantis of Florida, Greg Abbott of Texas, and Doug Ducey of Arizona — have been making headlines for brazenly abusing migrants to score political points. And the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) hasn’t said a word about these shockingly cruel attacks on migrant families.
Last week, DeSantis tricked at least 50 asylum seekers into boarding a plane to the island of Martha’s Vineyard, MA — leading them to believe that the flight was actually to Boston and cruelly promising them shelter and assistance that didn’t exist. Abbott and Ducey have likewise bused thousands of migrants to northern cities without any plan in place to greet or care for them once they got there.
These relocation transports by MAGA governors aren’t without tragic — and racist — precedent. During the 1960s, southern segregationists orchestrated “Reverse Freedom Rides,” pushing hundreds of Black citizens to board one-way buses to northern cities and falsely promising them jobs and housing once they got there.
Catholic social teaching couldn’t be clearer on treating migrants with understanding and respect. The USCCB’s own website states that “we cannot excuse inhumane treatment of certain persons by claiming that their lack of legal status deprives them of rights given by the Creator.”” 2
“We need strong conservative Christians to go on the offense…” – Marjorie Taylor Greene
But Jesus Christ commands us otherwise by saying “love for your enemies”. Matthew 5:43-48. Do you think Marjorie Taylor Greene has ever read the Bible?
BuzzFeedNews.com, Julia Reinstein, September 4, 2020 – A QAnon-Supporting Congressional Candidate Posted A Pic Of Herself Holding A Gun Next To The “Squad” – Marjorie Taylor Greene called Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib “hate America leftists [who] want to take this country down” in her post.
Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt – Available from Amazon.com
Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt
To get ahead today, you have to be a jerk, right?
Divisive politicians. Screaming heads on television. Angry campus activists. Twitter trolls. Today in America, there is an “outrage industrial complex” that prospers by setting American against American, creating a “culture of contempt”—the habit of seeing people who disagree with us not as merely incorrect, but as worthless and defective. Maybe, like more than nine out of ten Americans, you dislike it. But hey, either you play along, or you’ll be left behind, right?
Wrong.
In Love Your Enemies, the New York Times bestselling author and social scientist Arthur C. Brooks shows that abuse and outrage are not the right formula for lasting success. Brooks blends cutting-edge behavioral research, ancient wisdom, and a decade of experience leading one of America’s top policy think tanks in a work that offers a better way to lead based on bridging divides and mending relationships.
Brooks’ prescriptions are unconventional. To bring America together, we shouldn’t try to agree more. There is no need for mushy moderation, because disagreement is the secret to excellence. Civility and tolerance shouldn’t be our goals, because they are hopelessly low standards. And our feelings toward our foes are irrelevant; what matters is how we choose to act.
Love Your Enemies offers a clear strategy for victory for a new generation of leaders. It is a rallying cry for people hoping for a new era of American progress. Most of all, it is a roadmap to arrive at the happiness that comes when we choose to love one another, despite our differences.
Ronald Dion DeSantis is an American politician and attorney serving as the 46th governor of Florida since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Florida’s 6th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2013 to 2018.
“Florida Governor Ron DeSantis joined Texas Governor Greg Abbott in the racist political stunt of cruelly flying migrants and asylum seekers to other states, even lying to trick families onto the planes. Both men talk frequently about their faith.” 1
“Three prominent, right-wing, Catholic governors — Ron DeSantis of Florida, Greg Abbott of Texas, and Doug Ducey of Arizona — have been making headlines for brazenly abusing migrants to score political points. And the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) hasn’t said a word about these shockingly cruel attacks on migrant families.
Last week, DeSantis tricked at least 50 asylum seekers into boarding a plane to the island of Martha’s Vineyard, MA — leading them to believe that the flight was actually to Boston and cruelly promising them shelter and assistance that didn’t exist. Abbott and Ducey have likewise bused thousands of migrants to northern cities without any plan in place to greet or care for them once they got there.
These relocation transports by MAGA governors aren’t without tragic — and racist — precedent. During the 1960s, southern segregationists orchestrated “Reverse Freedom Rides,” pushing hundreds of Black citizens to board one-way buses to northern cities and falsely promising them jobs and housing once they got there.
Catholic social teaching couldn’t be clearer on treating migrants with understanding and respect. The USCCB’s own website states that “we cannot excuse inhumane treatment of certain persons by claiming that their lack of legal status deprives them of rights given by the Creator.”” 2
“Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state’s top emergency management official confirmed Thursday that 800,000 to 1 million COVID test kits in the state’s stockpile recently expired without being used. At a Thursday news conference, Kevin Guthrie, the director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management, told reporters when asked about the state’s stockpile: “We had between 800,000 and a million test kits, Abbott rapid test kits, in our warehouse that did expire.”” 3
