Illogical logic, socialism, and the Christian oligarchy

Since COVID-19, the 40-hour workweek debate has been raging hotter than ever. Not a day goes by I don’t see this argument occurring on social media. The formula is pretty much always the same. Someone expresses disbelief about how normal it is to work 40 or more hours a week and people in the comments call that person a degenerate term and flex how many hours a week they work and that 40 is “part-time job” hours. It’s pretty absurd.

A reference legend for this post:

• “God” with a capital G is in reference to the Christian god
• Lowercase god/gods are in reference to a god as a concept, a collection of gods, or “other”
• “Christians” – primarily in reference to the majority of Christian beliefs per the Bible/common teachings that don’t often rely on denomination
• “Christian conservatives/conservative Christians” – in reference to politically conservative Christians (as opposed to unreferenced liberal Christians, which I am aware exist I just don’t have beef with them in this post as I find liberal Christians more faithful and true to the teachings they supposedly believe in)

40-plus-hour workweeks are anti-family

I love a good constructive debate and I even love playing devil’s advocate and arguing for a side I don’t agree with. This helps me understand different points of view. But this is a case that makes no logical sense to me and I find myself tripped up when I try to see the other side of it. Obviously, the more hours you work, the more money you have (hypothetically, anyway). But if you were offered the ability to make the same amount of money and work fewer hours, would you not take it?

It seems like the people who are pro-40-plus hour workweeks tend to skew conservative. Those people also tend to preach outdated family values and how important it is to raise children. And that is what baffles me. If you’re the kind of person who thinks this, why would you be pro-something that keeps you away from the family you “wanted” longer than necessary? You’d think the conservative people who preach these values would want to be in a position in life that allowed them to enjoy as much time with their family they claim is so important as possible. It’s like getting a dog and leaving it alone most of the day. What is the point?

I absolutely love my job and what I do for work. If I won the Powerball lottery I would probably still keep my job and keep my same hours. I’ve also always enjoyed working and I know I’m not alone in that sentiment. I don’t know many people who don’t enjoy serving a purpose of some sort. I know the stereotype is Millennials are lazy and entitled, and I’m sure we have some in our generation (there are lazy and entitled people from every generation). But I feel like an overwhelming amount of people want to contribute in some way. I realize that loving my job makes me one of the lucky few. I also know that loving what I do makes me work hard because I’m working for more than the money. Could you imagine the progress and joy in this world if more people were able to do that without fear of losing their livelihood?

Socialism is a Christian value

I resist full-on calling myself a socialist (maybe my mind will change before I finish writing this post), though I definitely lean more toward that than capitalism. In a modern world, it just makes more sense. And logically, you’d think more Christian conservatives would be socialists (though I suppose they wouldn’t be conservatives, then). After all, capitalism is only beneficial for the greater few, while socialism benefits the greater good. And isn’t that [supposed to be] the whole thing about Christians? There are more clear statements in the Bible supporting socialism than there are vague, up-for-interpretation statements condemning homosexuality or implications that women should be subservient. Though if you know anything about the Bible and history, you already know that conservative subjugation of women comes from the Greeks NOT the Bible itself (which is much more pro-women than conservative Christians claim). All examples of Christian conservatives preferring the law of man to that of their god.

“Every seventh year you shall grant a remission of debts. And this is the manner of the remission: every creditor shall remit the claim that is held against a neighbor, not exacting it,[a] because the Lord’s remission has been proclaimed. Of a foreigner you may exact it, but you must remit your claim on whatever any member of your community owes you. There will, however, be no one in need among you, because the Lord is sure to bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you as a possession to occupy, if only you will obey the Lord your God by diligently observing this entire commandment that I command you today.

Deuteronomy 15:1-5

I’m not a Christian or religious at all. But I did have a Christian upbringing and a lot of my family are Christian conservatives. And one of the main reasons I left religion is because I couldn’t stand the hypocrisy. People so unwilling to answer my questions, seemingly because their faith was so weak it couldn’t stand up next to an opposing thought or query (James 2:20). People who would sing hymns in the sanctuary and gossip and condemn in the hallways (Matthew 7). People who turned a blind eye to those in need, quoting an Old Testament scripture to justify their actions while also indulging in meals made from animals with cleft hooves and shellfish (Leviticus 11). Interpreting the Bible figuratively in one moment and literally in the next, whenever it was convenient. I didn’t find joy or comfort in religion but confusion and anger. How could this huge group of people talk about love and then spend every waking moment supporting groups that hurt people simply because, on paper, their policies aligned with theirs? I left the flock because I was no sheep and I found, at least in the church I grew up in, that inquiring minds were not welcome (despite Romans 14:1-23).

Working v. contribution: there’s a difference

I digress. We have normalized a 40-plus-hour workweek because it’s what has been demanded of us to survive. More and more throughout the years. My dad, like so many others in his generation, bought his first house with only a part-time job. Now one part-time job isn’t enough to pay the rent on someone’s shit-hole studio apartment. To accept this and go along with it and flex your hours is absurd and lacks independent thought. Even if you don’t like the answer provided to you (eg, socialism), why not think of an alternative instead of simply accepting the only way is to work yourself to death just to survive?

In my opinion, working hard isn’t always about a job, but what you do to contribute. Though that concept has been up for debate for decades. Who worked harder in the 50s: The husband who went to the office for 40 hours a week or the wife who stayed home and raised 2.5 children for 168 hours a week? Who works harder: someone who goes to the office for 40 hours a week, or someone who goes to the office for 20 hours a week and spends the other 20 volunteering at a homeless shelter? People judge others by their jobs, job titles, and how many hours they work, not what is actually contributed. If you have a job that contributes nothing good, then it doesn’t matter how many hours you work. A child helping a little old lady cross the road once a week contributes more than a person whose only job is to make money for themselves and their already rich overlords.

I’ve worked 80-hour workweeks. I’ve even worked 100 (tech startup life). But I wasn’t fulfilled and I wasn’t contributing or making a positive impact on the world. Hell, I felt more impactful being someone’s unlicensed therapist while working as a part-time bartender in my early 20s. Christians believe we’re all here for a reason, part of some grand design, and that everyone is special. This is another reason there should be more socialist Christians – surely, someone’s point on this earth isn’t to work at a Burger King until their dying breath just to make ends meet. But they don’t encourage or allow the necessary self-discovery for a person to actually find their calling or purpose because they’re so afraid such self-discovery would take them away from the church. Weak. You’d think, if there was a God, She’d want a fellowship of artists who express their faith through masterpieces, scientists who fearlessly explore the world She [theoretically] created, musicians who created new and enrapturing songs of worship, and doctors who heal through faith and the power of western medicine She [again, theoretically] influenced. But no, that is not the way of the conservative Christians who rule so much of this country (USA). Instead, we have prodigies whose genius will never be seen because they can’t afford higher education or even health care and will never be able to contribute the way they should be able to. Condemned is the person who aborts an undeveloped fetus who MIGHT be the next Einstein (who is always used as a reference point, but was not a Christian), but praised are the people who disallow an actual living, breathing person to pursue means that would allow them to contribute to a more prosperous world. I will never understand their logic because there is no logic or rational thought involved – just flawed people being selfish in the name of one of the many, many gods.

But sure, let’s call people weak who want to spend more time with their families and less time with Barb from marketing. Let’s call people lazy or entitled for demanding a free higher education so they can contribute to the world. Let’s guffaw at the JC Penny floorperson who wants a higher minimum wage for dealing with assholes who think they’re “less than” because they work in retail (despite those same assholes not being able to find a specific aisle to save their fucking life).

I never knew you, depart from me

If there is a “capital-G” God as the Christians propose, how sad it will be for them when they die and are not granted access to the kingdom they sought after. For the good deeds they did only to gain access to their precious VIP cloud room and not for the sake of others or the greater good as the intention should have been. Based on the teaching of the Bible, God knows their hearts and also knows how hollow and rotten they are. They cared not for people but only for their own fates.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Matthew 7:21-23

I think religious people should be able to believe in any god they want to. I respect my mom’s faith because she is one of the most truly Christian people I know. We don’t agree on a lot of things, but she’s willing to talk to me and genuinely wants to put good things into the world. I respect that. I respect one of my best friends’ faith. He and I love debating with each other. He won’t shy away from my questions and isn’t afraid to say, “I don’t know, let me do some reading and get back to you.” instead of digging his heels into the ground and dying on a hill that supports neither his faith nor logic. I respect my boss’ faith because she uses it to love and respect others, regardless of race, identity, sexual orientation, or gender; not to condemn them in the name of a God of love.

People should be free to believe in a god, any god they want. After all, religion was created to address questions we didn’t have answers to early in history. And some people still don’t have answers to their questions so they turn to an unknowable entity, seemingly comforted by the idea that we are intentionally not meant to understand something. Some are unwilling to accept the consequences of one’s own actions and instead chalk it up to a divine plan, punishment, or being prepared for something yet to come. And others have mentally associated their faith or religion with comfort simply due to coincidental timing (no different than returning to a TV show that cheered you up during a stressful time). For whatever reason a person chooses religion, it should be respected as long as it isn’t used to hinder someone else. I’m not saying I have all the answers, or even all the questions, I’m just saying religion isn’t my path to finding them. Unfortunately, I see conservative Christianity predominantly used for purposes other than love, joy, comfort, and charity. “Only God can judge me” is the warcry of powerful people who put it upon themselves to judge others and encourage discord, condemnation, and violence against anyone who thinks differently than they do.

All “ye” like sheep

My problem is with hypocrisy and using faith to spread misinformation, cultivate fear, collect wealth, or retain power. And unfortunately, I see a god at the root of many of these issues that keep our society from truly flourishing. Willful ignorance is fostered by a flock mentality that is encouraged to keep people obedient. Ironically, these same words are said by these same people about those who, for example, believe in vaccines or support the “gay agenda.” This has always amused me that the people who literally sing about being a sheep every Sunday are the first ones to cast this stone at a person still wearing a mask in public. I mean… that’s funny, right? How can they not see the flaws in their “logic”? Because, once again, when someone roots their entire infrastructure based on a book written by a man about an invisible sky entity, all logic goes completely out the window. Let’s talk hypothetically for a moment – maybe COVID-19 is completely made up. The fact still remains, wearing a mask hurts no one, while NOT wearing a mask potentially harms millions. Yeah, I’m sure any god would give props for your Gadsden flag shirt given those circumstances (spoiler alert: not).

There will never be anything more terrifying to me than the conservative Christian agenda. From a young age, Christians are encouraged to have unquestioning, blind faith. This doesn’t leave room for considering one’s actions and how they may have an effect on people around you. The Bible is a book written by a man and then translated by many, many people with many different interpretations over thousands of years and then regurgitated by pastors (all with their own interpretation and agenda), and fed to people as if it were fact. To accept this blindly is objectively absurd, and yet it happens every Sunday and people use it to justify their hateful actions due to their blind faith (which, again, is encouraged for this very reason). This could be bred from anything. If there was a private school for kids who believed in Santa, and everyone there believed in Santa and was told Santa was real from Kindergarten to Senior year in high school, then yeah – those people will probably not be easily dissuaded of Santa’s existence when someone outside of the school told them Santa wasn’t real. At a base level, there is no difference.

But sure… tell me again why people are weak because they want to spend less time at their dead-end job and more time with their families, enjoying a hobby, or learning a skill that could contribute to something greater. You know, finding joy in a world your loving god theoretically created? No, no, I’m sure your god put us all on this earth so some old-money schmo can buy another yacht. That’s it. Hey, you have something on your lip – it looks like Kool-Aid.