If Jesus were alive in America

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Periodically, I hear Jesus’ name mentioned by politicians and political pundits who love to claim if he was alive today, Jesus would be a member of their political party. In their ignorance, they assume if Jesus was alive today, he would be an American. At any rate, I thought I would weigh in with my thoughts and tell you where I think Jesus would stand on some of the issues we face today.

Let’s assume, for argument’s sake, if he were alive today, Jesus would be an American citizen. How would he feel about our country? Being an American does not guarantee he would be white. Would his race influence his beliefs? Let’s also assume his race would not matter. Would Jesus be part of the 99 percent or one percent? I believe he would be part of the one percent in terms of wealth but very much in tune with the needs of the less fortunate.

Jesus would have to be far wealthier than the average American if he had any desire to spread his message. In today’s world, if you do not have money, or access to someone with it, your voice goes unheard.

I believe Jesus would make full use of today’s technology. His tweets would be closely studied and followed worldwide. He would also appear on as many television news and talk shows spreading his message of love for all. He would command large sums of money to speak at universities or private functions and use that money to finance his message. There would be a slew of books authored by him in which his sermons would appear and you could probably go into any Walmart or Target and buy his line of endorsed apparel, which would be splashed with his message.

Finally, his web site would be among the most, if not the most, viewed web sites on the planet, allowing him to not only spread his word but to bring in millions of dollars every month.
In this regard, Jesus would not be much different than Oprah, Rush, or any other well know personality who seems to pop up everywhere. However, I also believe that with this wealth, Jesus would use his money for the betterment of all mankind rather than sinking it into get rich quick Wall Street scams that add to his wealth while bilking innocent people of their hard earned money.

I also believe Jesus would be outraged over the number of Americans who live a glutinous life, both rich and poor, while others around the world starve. He would not like seeing a nation as wealthy as ours fail to deliver affordable health care to its citizens or to citizens in other nations. I believe he would tell our citizens who make a life of living off of the welfare system to get off their butts and start contributing to our society rather than bleeding it dry while urging the wealthy to create more jobs and think about who they can help with their wealth more than about their next billion dollars.

Jesus would have little positive to say to those who do not vote but are quick to complain about the job their leaders do. While he would sympathize with groups like the occupy protesters, he would also remind them there are plenty of jobs that need doing in this country if they can swallow their pride and do the dirty work that seems to only be done by illegals or go undone.

He would be a calming voice rather than a divisive force during our recent protests and serve as someone who can get people to see the challenges faced by both people of color and those in law enforcement.

Jesus would oppose abortions, but I also believe he would be troubled by people who claim it is okay to bring harm to those who provide them while at the same time doing little to curb the number of people killed each year by hand guns or assault weapons. He would remind us it does not take a village to raise a child if that child has parents who put him or her before their career goals or material desires.

Jesus would look at our schools and ask, “How can you expect so much from our children when so few expectations were placed on you when you were growing up?”

And in the end, Jesus would deliver a simple message; one that is easy to follow but all too often lost in a world made complicated by leaders who fail more than they succeed. He would simply remind all of us, male or female, young or old, rich or poor, black or white, to treat one another the way you want to be treated in return.

Finally, I also believe if Jesus was alive and living in America today, he would not live to see old age. You see, we have had plenty of others deliver a message of love, peace, and hope who have all to often been struck down too soon. Do the names Martin, Bobby or John ring a bell?

The world we live in can seem like a crazy place but it does not have to be. All we need is to live life by the golden rule and the rest will take care of itself. It was the same 2,000 years ago when Jesus first graced this planet and can be that way today if we allow it to happen.

James Moore

Jim is a life long resident of California and retired school teacher with 30 years in public education. Jim earned his BA in History from CSU Chico in 1981 and his MA in Education from Azusa Pacific University in 1994. He is also the author of Teaching The Teacher: Lessons Learned From Teaching. Jim considers himself an equal opportunity pain in the ass to any political party, group, or individual who looks to profit off of hypocrisy. When he is not pointing out the conflicting words and actions of our leaders, the NFL commissioner, or humans in general, he can be found riding his bike for hours on end while pondering his next article. Jim recently moved to Camarillo, CA after being convinced to join the witness protection program.