I’ve always preferred privacy to publicity.
That’s just the way I was made. An introvert. Avoid the so-called limelight. Stay in the shadows. Or under the radar.
Work-wise, my careers have both involved serving what we call the “private sector” of our economy. Never worked in any position of public service where funds have been provided by tax revenue. Always part of some sectarian enterprise, non-profit for the most part.
I have no reason to condemn private services.
But I strongly question those who would condemn public services. Be it public safety, public education, public health, public transportation, public housing, public communication or public commodities (like food and electricity), government provided and tax supported public services cover some ground where no private service can or will enter.
Private funding is by its own nature is very limited in scope. It raises funds for charity quite nobly. It raises funds as investment for profit quite notably. But by its very nature, private enterprise is exclusive. There are exclusions coming into play that leave some people out…….indeed, some needy and desperate people out! The least and the lost are, too often, the ones left out.
The reason I raise this issue now is that my homeland of America is currently embroiled in a social crisis some may call a “cold war” of sorts having to do with these competing visions of our nation: public vs. private, inclusive vs. exclusive. Forces on both sides of the argument have become fiercely resentful of the other; our political parties largely dividing around the question of public liberal inclusion vs. private conservative exclusion.
What is called Project 2025 or Agenda 47 articulates the private vision for a more exclusive America. It would reduce the government’s provision of social or public services arguably for the purpose of eliminating taxes on wealthy citizens. Private services, mostly of the for-profit nature, would replace government efforts to include all …..not just some….. who are in need. The great irony, of course, is that such a Project or Agenda is supported by the largest segment of Americans now identifying as “Christian” ……..in precise opposition to everything Jesus, God’s incarnate “Christ” or “Son,” had to say about this very matter.
We are now embarking upon an election season where our citizens (no one else has ever been allowed to vote here in America, and originally most citizens were not allowed that privilege either) will be asked to vote for one vision or the other. Do we want a public service-oriented government that includes the needs of what the Hebrew Bible calls “ger” and “nokhri,” meaning transient foreigners? Or do we want a private service-oriented government that excludes these and many of our own citizens if they are unemployed?
As one who was raised in a Christian family to believe that, where the Bible itself was concerned, there were black letters referencing other people speaking for God and then red letters reference God speaking for himself as Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God. I was raised to believe that Jesus, not the Bible, was my Savior and Lord. Which explains why I support the public, inclusive side of the argument.
The core value of Jesus Christ, according to the Bible’s own red letters, involved doing unto others as we would have others do unto us. This is the Law he came to fulfill because those claiming to support the Law in his own time were themselves in the process of abolishing it. He went toe to toe with religious irony in his own time and place. He, in speaking for God, commanded we love everyone, inclusively, friend and enemy alike, as a service to the public (world at large) God so loves. And I believe in him.
Abraham Lincoln implicitly referenced Christ’s core value when saying, “As I would not be a slave, neither would I be a master.” And so the American election this fall may come down to this question: would we want to be excluded by a private service that had no way of making a profit or breaking even from meeting our needs for safety, healthcare, education, transportation, and such? If not, then why would we value doing unto others what we would NOT want them doing unto us?
It's time to clarify our own values. As Americans. And ESPECIALLY as Christians. Private services, even those where a profit motive is apparent, are fine for those who are not excluded. But inclusive Public services are even better than fine. They matter……….because EVERYONE matters in this world God so loves!
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