Michigan Journal

Issue date: 4/21/09 Section: Perspectives

I loathe learning of yet another family murdered by a father who was facing financial distress. Did these men have to kill their families just because they were no longer well-off? What kind of sick message did we instill into the minds of our citizens that a life without luxury is one not worth living?

In my Roman Catholic faith, we have entire groups of people who take vows of poverty and spend their lives never owning a home or a car. In some ways, poverty is romanticized in our religious teachings, but sadly this is not the case for much of America.

Wikipedia says, "The Protestant work ethic, sometimes called the Puritan work ethic, is a sociological, theoretical concept. It is based upon the notion that the Calvinist emphasis on the necessity for hard work is a proponent of a person's calling, and worldly success is a sign of personal salvation."

While I accept that our nation has a strong Puritan heritage, I find its emphasis on worldly success abstruse.

Wikipedia continues, "The Protestant work ethic is often credited with helping to define the societies of Northern Europe and other countries where Protestantism was strong (for example, the Scandinavian countries, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States of America). In such societies, it is regarded by some observers as one of the cornerstones of national prosperity. Such observers would say that people in countries with Protestant roots tend to be more materialistic, perfectionist, and more focused on work as compared to people in many Catholic countries (for example, Spain, Italy, and France) where the people have a more relaxed attitude towards work and are less materialistic."

I find the American obsession with prosperity to be horrifying, especially when temporary setbacks such as foreclosure, bankruptcy, job loss, or automobile repossession drives brainwashed Americans to the brink of suicide, killing their loved ones along with them.

I have encountered poverty. I know what it is like to lose my job. I know what it's like to fall deeply into debt. I've been poor. I've been wealthy. There's very little difference between the two. The biggest difference is that in being married a wealthy man, I have a membership to the Detroit Yacht Club.

It is incomprehensible why a father would murder his children rather than see them poor. What's wrong with food stamps? What's wrong with welfare? There is no shame in being poor. While Puritans and the other like-minded faithfuls may find prosperity the key to propitiating the gods, how can one exalt materialism in the name of religion, yet discredit the beatitude in Luke 6:20, "Looking at his disciples, he said: Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God."

A rich life is one filled with friends and loved ones, not artifacts of status. Those obstreperous recalcitrants who preach the venom of materialism share in the blame for this recent rash of uxoricides / filicides. In Jacob Bidermann's medieval miracle play, Cenodoxus, pride is the deadliest of all the sins. Centuries later, pride has metamorphosed into an odious conceit, defying any shred of common sense, and it needs an extensive and realistic overhaul post-haste.

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