We will be judged says Matthew 25 on how we treat those who are least our brethren, the weakest, the most vulnerable even the most unlikeable. David Cameron argues that his is a moral crusade to change their situation. Giles Fraser suggests the consequences of government policy suggest otherwise.
Yes, the church is bloody angry about these attacks on the poor, and rightly so
There is nothing 'moral' about the government's
portrayal of the vulnerable as scroungers. It is a national disgrace
Giles
Fraser
The
Guardian, Friday 21 February 2014
'A whole class of
vulnerable people is being disparaged whose greatest crime is to find
themselves struggling to get by in the chill winds of a financial climate that
was absolutely not of their making.
Why are we so
angry? By we, I mean the clergy. Because this is what the government has been
hearing via our bishops and archbishops over the past few days. So let me explain.
Apparently, benefit
cuts are popular with the electorate. The idea has been sold to the public that
there is a whole class of scroungers which prefers to lounge around on the sofa
all day, watching telly, smoking spliffs and drinking lager. Going out and
getting a job makes little economic sense to such people. They are lazy and
dissolute. An insult to hard-working families everywhere. And nobody likes to
have the piss taken out of them, which is what the sofa-lolling brigade have
been doing to the rest of us. The "moral" case for benefit cuts is an
attempt to re-establish a culture of personal responsibility. It is an attack
on the feckless.
We are angry
because this is such a distorted picture, an extrapolation from a tiny number
of cases into some sort of general rule. And this rule is now being used to
disparage a whole class of vulnerable people whose greatest crime in life is to
find themselves struggling to get by in the chill winds of a financial climate
that was absolutely not of their making.
Since Christmas, my
church has turned itself into a homeless shelter once a week. Volunteers cook
large batches of shepherd's pie for hungry people who have been wandering the
streets most of the day. We provide a warm bed and a safe place to hang out for
the evening. Camp beds are set up in the nave of the church. And bacon rolls
and porridge are provided for breakfast. Unfortunately, business is thriving.
There is a waiting list for beds. Homelessness has risen 60% in London
over the past two years. And half a million people now rely on food
banks.
It's not just
churches that are volunteering in this way. And many who help out with us are
not themselves religious. But given the local nature of the parish system, and
given that churches have an outpost in every community in this country, the
clergy are uniquely positioned to understand the effect that financial cuts are
having on the ground. And what makes many of us so bloody angry is that the
reality of what is happening is not being acknowledged by politicians in
government. They don't feel the need to face this reality because the war
against the scroungers is so popular. So long as the rightwing press keeps
stoking our sense of indignation at those who exploit the system, the
government has little incentive to admit the much wider reality that austerity is turning pockets of Britain into
wastelands of hopelessness. The scrounger tag has become a way to blame the
poor for their poverty. How
convenient. Those who created this financial crisis have got away scot free,
protected by their money and their lobbying power. So now we blame the poor, a
much easier target.
David Cameron, in
responding to the churches, has insisted that his is a moral vision too. But no
moral vision worthy of the name can remain indifferent to the hunger and
homelessness of others. This is morality 101. Indeed, far from operating out of
a moral instinct, the government has poisoned the wells of public sympathy by
amplifying a fear that vulnerable people are actually sniggering cheats.
Nothing about this
shameless sleight of hand is moral. In fact, it's right out of the bullying
handbook. Maybe – just maybe – he is feeling a little bit guilty about all of
this. And we often blame those who make us feel guilty. Or we just ignore them.
It's so much easier than admitting our own responsibility for the misery of
others. No, prime minister: this is not moral – it's a national scandal.
