Texas Governor Rick Perry on James Robison’s “Life Today,” a Christian evangelical television program, on May 5, 2011, titled “Godly Leadership”:
I think we’re in a time of great revival in this world. And I know there’s a lot of concern, there’s, you know, we got this economic recession that’s going on, you got all of these, the Middle East is in turmoil. I mean, you turn the TV on and you really get concerned about what you’re seeing. I happen to think that our greatest days are ahead of us. I think that in America, from time to time, we have to go through some difficult times and I think that we’re going through those difficult economic times for a purpose, and that to bring us back to those Biblical principles of, you know, you don’t spend all the money. You work hard for those six years and you put up for that seventh year in the warehouse to take you through the hard times. And not spending all of our money. Not asking for Pharaoh to give everything to everybody, to take care of folks, because at the end of the day, it’s slavery. We become slaves to government.
Mostly devoid of real policy content, but what content there is, creeps me out.
Like Andrew Sullivan’s co-writers, who were the ones who tipped me off to this, I’ve only seen a clip taken from Robison’s program excerpted by Right Wing Watch.com. This is not an unbiased source, so I would like to see some more of the context in which these remarks were made. In theory, you can see the original clip at the “Life Today” website, but I cannot get the video to play on my browser so it’s difficult for me to put the remarks in a larger context. What is clear, though, is that at the time he made those remarks, he was at least seriously considering running for President.
Now, there’s a kernel of truth in some of Perry’s remarks. It is entirely possible that America’s greatest days are ahead of us. And advocating fiscal prudence is well within the range of competing policy positions that we should be discussing. I can even sort of overlook the hyperbolic claim that fiscal imprudence will lead to slavery, although it’s more than a little bit contrary to readily-visible evidence: Greeks, Icelanders, Irish, and Portuguese people recently have seen their governments crash their economies as badly as can happen in the modern industrialized West, but while they have to make some very unpleasant choices about how to go forward, that’s a far cry from slavery.
What creeps me out is this “Biblical values” stuff. As if only people who believe in the Bible are capable of fiscal prudence. As if fiscal prudence is a particularly Biblical virtue.
Now, I’m sure the Bible has quotes that offer good and prudent economic advice. But Jesus was not known as a lover of money and wealth. Luke 16:19-25. Luke 6:24. Mark 10:23-25. At his economic best, the Big J promoted industry, hard work, and wise investment of money (Matthew 25:14-30, although it’s a good question as to what the wise master would have done had the first two servants’ (or sons’) investments not worked out so well). But history’s most famous crucifix ornament also advocated that the wealthy should give their money to the poor, so that they would not become slaves to the pursuit of wealth but instead focus on spiritual health and doing good deeds. Matthew 19:21-23.
I don’t know if Governor Perry has followed that advice or not. I do know that the Governor has utterly ignored Matthew 6:5-8.
It’s also really weird to analogize the U.S. government to the Pharaoh from Exodus. The Pharaoh is a villain in that story, and someone who wants to be President really shouldn’t be painting the government as a villain. And things didn’t end so well for Pharaoh and his people, students of biblical history will recall.
It’s also breathtakingly easy for me to see President Perry turn around and drop the one about giving unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s. If it turns out that you are Caesar, that’d be a really handy bit of scripture to cite, n’est-ce pas?
But really the quote is creepy not for the policies or even the vague and clumsy attempt to couple a particular economic policy with Christianity. It’s the degree to which this sort of spongy, non-specific magical thinking has invaded his whole thought process and become alloyed with the economic policies of the Republican party. Whether those policies are good ideas or not, and whether there is a God or not, economic policies are not holy writ, they were not handed down by God, they have nothing to do with God one way or the other.
If the incumbent President is pursuing bad economic policies, tell me why in terms of economics, not in terms of theology. When you say it’s a better idea to cut taxes and cut spending even more, don’t tell me that God told you to do it. All the answers are not found in the Bible. As far as I’m concerned, at least in the arena of public policy, very few of the answers are going to be found in there.
If you look to the Bible for inspiration to help solve problems, bully for you. But when you solicit my support for your proposals, I expect comprehensible, objective, intelligent reasons why your policies are better than the other guy’s, ones that do not require me to buy in to your subjective faith but rather which appeal to logic, evidence, and experience. If you offer those kinds of justifications to me, I promise to give them fair consideration, as objectively as I can, and if your reasons seem on balance to be the best available, I shall support them. On the other hand, if you tell me I should trust you because you believe that a book of ancient fables from late Bronze Age goatherders told you to do a particular thing, don’t be surprised when I say, “That’s not good enough.”
I like the idea of a fiscally prudent government. But Governor Perry, making oblique references to the Old Testament is not not good enough.
Perry is Scerry. How does separation of Church and State work when the chief executive is “Church” through and through?
I’ve been trying to say the same thing, in a much less eloquent and even-handed way. Thanks for this.
Also, just for giggles I’ll point out that Perry is conflating two totally different Old Testament events. Saving up during times of plenty for coming hardships comes from the story of Joseph, who advised that Pharaoh do so and in so doing saved Egypt from famine. (Of course, what Perry elides from the story is that by doling out aid to his people, Pharaoh a) is clearly following divine instructions, and b) saves Jacob and his sons from starvation, thus allowing them to found the nation of Israel. Presumably these are considered good things by Perry et al?) Generations later the descendants of Jacob become slaves in Egypt, but it’s under a different Pharaoh and the Bible certainly doesn’t make it seem to be the result of economic aid.
If Perry’s gonna go in on Biblical economic practices, man had better go ALL in. He’s on his way, what with the mention of 6 years of plenty/labor and a 7th of famine averted — because those are important numbers. I’m sure, after all, that his supporters would be all behind the introduction of a Sabbatical year (every 7th) that involves not just an inefficient form of crop rotation, but also the absolution of all debts. (And, of course, the prohibition of refusing to lend money in the 6th year for fear of never seeing it again.) And, every 70th year, the reversion of all prior land sales. How about the prohibition of interest rates? The entitlement of the destitute to ten percent of every else’s income/production?
If you’re going to cite the Bible when talking about the economy, then you can’t pretend that the Bible gives a damn about economic efficiency. It’s all about the ethics of it. And they are some rather radical ethics.
Hey — a boy can dream, can’t he?
I don’t particularly care for what he’s saying, but I’m not particularly freaked out about it. This line of rhetoric is not at all out of bounds from the usual theism that has permeated political discourse throughout history. (Is he being as deft with metaphor as the guy who said you shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns? Of course not. Very few are, Aaron Sorkin notwithstanding).
I mean, there seems to be more agreement on the nature of God between Jews, Christians, and Muslims, than there is agreement on the nature of Economics between Austrians, Monetarists, and Keynesians. So a fiscal policy that is ‘faith based’ doesn’t strike me as all that apart from anyone else’s.
Anyway I’m not too concerned about someone being wrong about economics because ‘the bible tells them so’. Economics is what(ever) it is – the system will route around stupidity (though it will be less efficient) – demand will be satisfied.
On the other hand, being wrong about social policy (or other non-economic things a government does, like fight crime) because ‘the bible say so’ *is* a problem. Because then you’re talking about pure power, and power is arbitrary and persistent.
Well, I dare say that you aren’t part of the group whose support he’s soliciting.
Maybe this sort of language will get Perry the Republican nomination, but there’s no way he could win a national election without backpedaling into the standard American civic religion. If he does win the nomination, it’ll be interesting to see how he tries to convince the non-“Christian America” types that he’s actually religiously tolerant despite all that stuff he said before.