A Voice in the Wilderness In Defense of "Mere Conservatism"

Father Sirico Handles His (Fox) Business

What would Jesus blog?  Probably something about this ridiculous (but highly important) YouTube video...

Some snake-oil salesman named "Reverend Billy" made a documentary called "What Would Jesus Buy?" that encouraged Christians to stop buying stuff around Christmas time.  Why?  Good question.

With a lot of heart, and very little head, Reverend Billy made his way to the Fox Business Channel to make his thoroughly naive and under-informed case to the world.

Unfortunately for Billy, and fortunately for us, Father Robert Sirico, founder of the free-market think-tank The Acton Institute, was on-hand to bring Rev. B's fantasy land a healthy dose of reality.

Now, of course Billy is right to say that American consumers spend way too much on far too many pointless, wasteful, indulgent items each year...but that's where his being right and the truth part company.  As Father Sirico astutely points out, the stores Billy Boy is protesting against employ millions of Americans.  Lives move from government dependency to personal liberty, freedom and dignity when someone can find a job on their own, even if it is at Starbucks or Wal-Mart or any other mega-chain that religious liberals decide to rail against.

The Mall of America being filled with workers and consumers isn't the problem in this country; its churches and parishes being increasingly empty of thoughtful, well-informed, passionate proponents of the truth Scripture teaches about everything from private property to the priority of culture is the problem.