Town Hall Goat Convention

I was on my way to the library the other day and I happened to glance at the TV screen on my way out the door. The news was on and to my surprise, I saw the face of a lady I recognized who comes in all the time to Denny's for a bite to eat. She and her family often come in before or after church on Wednesday night and I have often noted to myself that they were well-mannered, well-dressed,and well spoken; a pleasant break from the burping hordes of typical Smyrnans that fill up many a booth.
With this being said, I was arrested by the clip on the screen, because the woman here was nothing like the elegant, graceful one whom I have spoken with time and again. Here she was enraged and flailing in front of the reporter's microphone, the apparent spokesperson for the angry mob behind her at the town hall meeting opposing the nationwide health care reform that has been causing such a stir these days.
At the moment I was passing she was saying, or rather screaming, "For them to get health care when they haven't been paying in, well, it's, it's just plain wrong!"
I left the house and drove down to the library. It's just plain wrong. Wrong. Wrong, wrong. For them to get healthcare, wrong. Wrong.
I kept thinking about her words and how forceful and angry she was. The attractive forty-something looked hideous in that clip. They say that television blows you up or adds pounds to you unflatteringly, but this woman had looked frailer than usual, the bones in her face seemed hard and pronounced, her bony jaw clipping off every word.
I thought to myself, how could you say someone getting health care is wrong at all? How could those words come out of your mouth without you stopping them on their way? You are essentially saying that money is more important, more real to you than the health and well being of another, who would be, no doubt, less fortunate than yourself. How terribly embarrassing it would be to reveal a darkness like that on television.
This same family has invited me to their church in the past,and I remember thinking that they were an exception to the rule; a nice deviation from the intrusive, often offensive church crowd that I am exposed to as a waiter, the crowd that tends to leave evangelical tracts on the table where the tip should be.
Wrong! And it's starting to look like this stance of not granting healthcare to every American who needs it is the "proper" stance for the American Christian to take.
Now I'm really trying to wrap my fallen, logic corrupted mind around this strange twist of fate. These people who call themselves "Christ-ians" apparently have no idea what Jesus was talking about when he said "Love thy neighbor as thyself." I mean, I was kind of under the impression that Christians were to follow in the footsteps of Christ, a man who sacrificed himself and his personal well being for the good of the whole in an opened arm symbol of all embracing compassion.
I guess I shouldn't be confused or surprised by any of this though. Exclusionism is more of a virtue of Christianity than even charity. Most Christians define themselves by what and who they are not rather than what they are. There is a whole history of bloodshed and persecution to back that statement up. Another case in point that Jesus was not a Christian.
In the end, there is a person's religion and than there is the person's economical(and thus, political) position in the real world. The words of Christ, the whole religion, in fact, is only useful in as much as it profits the person using it. So many Christians quick to quote Romans 1 or the ten commandments or any other law and righteousness passage do so because it gives them a position from which to condescend... and this feels good for them. Meanwhile, the words in red, the words of Christ who is the very cornerstone of their religion, go largely ignored. Words like those don't sit well in the mind. They itch and agitate.
But then again, Jesus did do some excluding, picking and choosing after all. This unnerving parable shows the nature of what he valued...

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

Matthew 25:31-46