Mike's piece dovetails with my latest post. Mike: "The tradition says that the wealthy have a positive obligation to the poor that is not discharged by charity but is fulfilled only in the reform of the arrangements that produced the disparity."
My post: The Company Commander is the Last Man Through the Chow line: "That is the principle America’s ruling class has forgotten. Leadership does not mean eating first and explaining later why the line ran out of food. It means accepting responsibility for the welfare of those whose labor, loyalty, consumption, and citizenship sustain the enterprise. Whether expressed as a Mexican saying, the inconvenient parts of the Christian gospel, the Preamble’s promise to promote the general welfare, or a Marine captain’s place at the end of the chow line, the lesson is the same: for the good of all, the people at the bottom must come first."
Working from the seams is pure torture -- patriarchal, oligarchic torture. It may be seductive to counter every abuse and excuse, as that is where people's heads may be. But it still misses the point: the truth is simple, and far more useful and meaningful, so a far better refuge than refutation. In the "christian" case, Jesus himself said "My yoke is easy; my burden is light". Why miss the point of his ministry by sophistry in all the garbage manufactured by bad faith Pharisees and their ilk? Love God; and love your neighbor as yourself. We don't need a new religion, or, in fact, any religion, just follow this simple dictum. The rest takes care if itself, except for those who refuse and are so insecure and paranoid as to manufacture dissent.
A similar thing is true in democratic politics. We are created equal in our Creator's actions. Get with the program.
A partial syllabus of Mike Brock's suggested readings, with links for Readers here. The last encyclical cited is a long one; Federalist 69 can be read carefully in a few minutes.
"The Real Character of the Executive" — The Federalist Papers No. 69, Publius* (14 March 1788)
"...The President of the United States would be an officer elected by the people for FOUR years; the king of Great Britain is a perpetual and HEREDITARY prince. The one would be amenable to personal punishment and disgrace; the person of the other is sacred and inviolable. The one would have a QUALIFIED negative upon the acts of the legislative body; the other has an ABSOLUTE negative. The one would have a right to command the military and naval forces of the nation; the other, in addition to this right, possesses that of DECLARING war, and of RAISING and REGULATING fleets and armies by his own authority. The one would have a concurrent power with a branch of the legislature in the formation of treaties; the other is the SOLE POSSESSOR of the power of making treaties. The one would have a like concurrent authority in appointing to offices; the other is the sole author of all appointments. The one can confer no privileges whatever; the other can make denizens of aliens, noblemen of commoners; can erect corporations with all the rights incident to corporate bodies. The one can prescribe no rules concerning the commerce or currency of the nation; the other is in several respects the arbiter of commerce, and in this capacity can establish markets and fairs, can regulate weights and measures, can lay embargoes for a limited time, can coin money, can authorize or prohibit the circulation of foreign coin. The one has no particle of spiritual jurisdiction; the other is the supreme head and governor of the national church! What answer shall we give to those who would persuade us that things so unlike resemble each other? The same that ought to be given to those who tell us that a government, the whole power of which would be in the hands of the elective and periodical servants of the people, is an aristocracy, a monarchy, and a despotism."
"...Moved by your authority, venerable brethren, and quickened by your example, they should never cease to urge upon men of every class, upon the high-placed as well as the lowly, the Gospel doctrines of Christian life; by every means in their power they must strive to secure the good of the people; and above all must earnestly cherish in themselves, and try to arouse in others, charity, the mistress and the queen of virtues. For, the happy results we all long for must be chiefly brought about by the plenteous outpouring of charity; of that true Christian charity which is the fulfilling of the whole Gospel law, which is always ready to sacrifice itself for others' sake, and is man's surest antidote against worldly pride and immoderate love of self; that charity whose office is described and whose Godlike features are outlined by the Apostle St. Paul in these words: "Charity is patient, is kind, . . . seeketh not her own, . . . suffereth all things, . . . endureth all things." (41)
64. On each of you, venerable brethren, and on your clergy and people, as an earnest of God's mercy and a mark of Our affection, we lovingly in the Lord bestow the apostolic benediction.
Given at St. Peter's in Rome, the fifteenth day of May, 1891, the fourteenth year of Our pontificate."
~~~~~~~
"Magnifica Humanitas" — Pope Leo XIV (15 May 2026).
"...245. With the same faith as Mary, let us become “weavers of hope” in our world, sharing who we are and what we have, so that the presence of Jesus may grow among us and his Kingdom take shape. In the humble fidelity of daily life, even the era of AI can become a time in which the Holy Spirit brings about the civilization of love in our lives. Indeed, the Lord continues to make all things new and offers every era the possibility of becoming part of salvation history in the light of the Incarnation. I entrust our desire to the Mother of Christ, to the Woman of the Magnificat, that she may guide our steps through this time of change and preserve in each of us true faith in the Gospel, so that we may bear witness to the grandeur of humanity, IN WHICH GOD HAS MADE HIS DWELLING. **
Given in Rome, at Saint Peter’s, on 15 May, in the year 2026, the second of my Pontificate."
I have no astute comment.. just a heartfelt thank you for some brilliant analysis and clarity and hope in the darkness.
Mike's piece dovetails with my latest post. Mike: "The tradition says that the wealthy have a positive obligation to the poor that is not discharged by charity but is fulfilled only in the reform of the arrangements that produced the disparity."
My post: The Company Commander is the Last Man Through the Chow line: "That is the principle America’s ruling class has forgotten. Leadership does not mean eating first and explaining later why the line ran out of food. It means accepting responsibility for the welfare of those whose labor, loyalty, consumption, and citizenship sustain the enterprise. Whether expressed as a Mexican saying, the inconvenient parts of the Christian gospel, the Preamble’s promise to promote the general welfare, or a Marine captain’s place at the end of the chow line, the lesson is the same: for the good of all, the people at the bottom must come first."
https://davidlsmith.substack.com/p/the-company-commander-is-the-last
Working from the seams is pure torture -- patriarchal, oligarchic torture. It may be seductive to counter every abuse and excuse, as that is where people's heads may be. But it still misses the point: the truth is simple, and far more useful and meaningful, so a far better refuge than refutation. In the "christian" case, Jesus himself said "My yoke is easy; my burden is light". Why miss the point of his ministry by sophistry in all the garbage manufactured by bad faith Pharisees and their ilk? Love God; and love your neighbor as yourself. We don't need a new religion, or, in fact, any religion, just follow this simple dictum. The rest takes care if itself, except for those who refuse and are so insecure and paranoid as to manufacture dissent.
A similar thing is true in democratic politics. We are created equal in our Creator's actions. Get with the program.
A partial syllabus of Mike Brock's suggested readings, with links for Readers here. The last encyclical cited is a long one; Federalist 69 can be read carefully in a few minutes.
"The Real Character of the Executive" — The Federalist Papers No. 69, Publius* (14 March 1788)
"...The President of the United States would be an officer elected by the people for FOUR years; the king of Great Britain is a perpetual and HEREDITARY prince. The one would be amenable to personal punishment and disgrace; the person of the other is sacred and inviolable. The one would have a QUALIFIED negative upon the acts of the legislative body; the other has an ABSOLUTE negative. The one would have a right to command the military and naval forces of the nation; the other, in addition to this right, possesses that of DECLARING war, and of RAISING and REGULATING fleets and armies by his own authority. The one would have a concurrent power with a branch of the legislature in the formation of treaties; the other is the SOLE POSSESSOR of the power of making treaties. The one would have a like concurrent authority in appointing to offices; the other is the sole author of all appointments. The one can confer no privileges whatever; the other can make denizens of aliens, noblemen of commoners; can erect corporations with all the rights incident to corporate bodies. The one can prescribe no rules concerning the commerce or currency of the nation; the other is in several respects the arbiter of commerce, and in this capacity can establish markets and fairs, can regulate weights and measures, can lay embargoes for a limited time, can coin money, can authorize or prohibit the circulation of foreign coin. The one has no particle of spiritual jurisdiction; the other is the supreme head and governor of the national church! What answer shall we give to those who would persuade us that things so unlike resemble each other? The same that ought to be given to those who tell us that a government, the whole power of which would be in the hands of the elective and periodical servants of the people, is an aristocracy, a monarchy, and a despotism."
https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed69.asp
*Here, Alexander Hamilton (Reader and a principal Friend of the Republic)
~~~~~
"Rerum Novarum" — Pope Leo XIII (15 May 1891)
https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_15051891_rerum-novarum.html
"...Moved by your authority, venerable brethren, and quickened by your example, they should never cease to urge upon men of every class, upon the high-placed as well as the lowly, the Gospel doctrines of Christian life; by every means in their power they must strive to secure the good of the people; and above all must earnestly cherish in themselves, and try to arouse in others, charity, the mistress and the queen of virtues. For, the happy results we all long for must be chiefly brought about by the plenteous outpouring of charity; of that true Christian charity which is the fulfilling of the whole Gospel law, which is always ready to sacrifice itself for others' sake, and is man's surest antidote against worldly pride and immoderate love of self; that charity whose office is described and whose Godlike features are outlined by the Apostle St. Paul in these words: "Charity is patient, is kind, . . . seeketh not her own, . . . suffereth all things, . . . endureth all things." (41)
64. On each of you, venerable brethren, and on your clergy and people, as an earnest of God's mercy and a mark of Our affection, we lovingly in the Lord bestow the apostolic benediction.
Given at St. Peter's in Rome, the fifteenth day of May, 1891, the fourteenth year of Our pontificate."
~~~~~~~
"Magnifica Humanitas" — Pope Leo XIV (15 May 2026).
https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/encyclicals/documents/20260515-magnifica-humanitas.html
"...245. With the same faith as Mary, let us become “weavers of hope” in our world, sharing who we are and what we have, so that the presence of Jesus may grow among us and his Kingdom take shape. In the humble fidelity of daily life, even the era of AI can become a time in which the Holy Spirit brings about the civilization of love in our lives. Indeed, the Lord continues to make all things new and offers every era the possibility of becoming part of salvation history in the light of the Incarnation. I entrust our desire to the Mother of Christ, to the Woman of the Magnificat, that she may guide our steps through this time of change and preserve in each of us true faith in the Gospel, so that we may bear witness to the grandeur of humanity, IN WHICH GOD HAS MADE HIS DWELLING. **
Given in Rome, at Saint Peter’s, on 15 May, in the year 2026, the second of my Pontificate."
**[emphasis added]
Wow, leaving me breathless! Magnificant strands in the tapestry of change around us.