Do Liberals Really "Care More" about the Poor than Conservatives? What Would Jesus Do?
When Mitt Romney so badly worded his recent speech stating he wasn’t concerned about the poor, liberals had a new reason to repeat their war cry, “conservatives only care about the rich.”
But is this liberal mantra true? In her Feb. 10 column for Townhall.com, Mona Charen cites evidence that it’s a false claim. She points to statistics in a book, “Who Really Cares – The Surprising Truth about Compassionate Conservativism,” by Albert C. Brooks.
I looked up Brooks’ book. It blows the liberal claim to smithereens. In a very large sampling at Amazon.com, Brooks scrutinizes surveys about the charitable practices of both religious and secular conservatives and liberals.
Brooks wrote the book in 2006, during the Bush administration when liberals began slamming conservatives for “not caring about the poor.” His evidence is very much to the contrary. For example:
-In one survey, secular liberals were 19 percent less likely to give to charity than religious conservatives, and religious liberals were 10 percent less likely than the conservatives (p. 50).
-In another, religious people (usually considered “conservatives” by secularists) were 25 percent more likely to give money, and 23 percent more likely to volunteer time (p. 34).
-Here’s a shocker - of the 25 states that had higher than average charitable giving, 24 were “red states” where the majority voted for George W. Bush in 2004! Only one was a “blue state” won by John Kerry (p. 23).
-People living in red states were also 51 percent more likely to do volunteer work than those in blue states (p. 24).
-Brooks states that religious conservatives were more charitable than liberals in every measurable way (p. 38).
-Brooks says government spending isn’t the same as charity (p. 20) - i.e., it doesn’t matter if more liberals than conservatives in Congress vote to give government money to the needy, or if more liberal citizens approve of government subsidies. It’s no skin off their personal backs; it’s no sacrificial money out of their personal bank accounts.
Caring and giving are about what we do as individuals. The stereotype that "conservatives only favor the rich" is an outrageous, unfounded generalization.
What Would Jesus Do?
In the last few months, the phrase "What Would Jesus Do" gained new life for being used in the Occupy Wall Street movement. It seems liberals assumed that Jesus wanted the government and the wealthy to take care of everybody.
But, when asked if people should pay taxes, Jesus said "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's" (Matthew 22:21). When he saw people caring too much about earthly things, he said “Seek first the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33).
Jesus never suggested that the government or the wealthy should be required to provide for everyone. He instructed people to love their neighbors and care for others on an individual volunteer basis, from the heart. And He told people to put God first. The new believers shared their goods voluntarily; it wasn't government-mandated. There's a big difference.
Liberals love quoting Jesus on one thing, but not the other. The last thing many liberals want is for our country to put God and Bible first.