Death panels are here, courtesy of those who cried the loudest about them. And of course it's not Democrats who are promoting them, but instead Republicans on Fox News.
Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick said the words out loud, but many Republicans are arguing that it's time to let the old folks die in order to get the economy moving again.
“No one reached out to me and said as a senior citizen, are you willing to take a chance on your survival in exchange for keeping the America that all America loves for your children and grandchildren," Patrick told Tucker Carlson. "And if that’s the exchange, I’m all in.”
Because you know, the America we "all love" is the one where older people are seen as excess baggage.
This is still a new thing, the idea of human sacrifice, but Rick Wilson is right:
Watch how this becomes the mainstream view on the Trump right pic.twitter.com/mkY8Vscwv0
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) March 23, 2020
And of course it's a death panel. Remember when death panels were something bad? Not anymore. That whole "life is precious" thing? That expires at age 60. Just lay down, ladies and gents and prepare to die. The Wall Street bell doth toll for thee.
Here, even the "Christians" are in on it! Raw Story:
But not all those of faith feel this way. In an angry article published in the right-wing Christian Journal First Things, editor R. R. Reno took a different position, suggesting that Christianity does not, in fact, command the faithful to take steps to save lives from COVID-19.
“At the press conference on Friday announcing the New York shutdown, Governor Andrew Cuomo said, ‘I want to be able to say to the people of New York — I did everything we could do. And if everything we do saves just one life, I’ll be happy,'” wrote Reno. “This statement reflects a disastrous sentimentalism. Everything for the sake of physical life? What about justice, beauty, and honor? There are many things more precious than life.
...
“Fear of death and causing death is pervasive — stoked by a materialistic view of survival at any price and unchecked by Christian leaders who in all likelihood secretly accept the materialist assumptions of our age,” concluded Reno. “As long as we allow fear to reign, it will cause nearly all believers to fail to do as Christ commands in Matthew 25. It already is.”
Look for this to be what they say. Step up to the death panel if you're over age 60 or have some other weakness, because really you're just too expensive to maintain. And Christians needn't worry about the moral or ethical failures of this because they're not killing anyone. Not really. Just letting them sacrifice for the greater good.
So tell me. Would you give your life for the NASDAQ? Or the Dow? Because that is what is being asked of you.
