The Quiet Conservative March 14, 2007
Jesus as Union Propaganda
At Christmas there was a new ad going around. Perhaps you saw the ad or heard about it on the
news. It went “Would Jesus shop at Wal-Mart?” At first it seemed just mildly offensive. But then I
thought, why not? There is no respect for anything anymore. Why should there be a standard of
respect for what the majority of Americans see as the Son of God? So let’s just pick it up that
thought from there. I want us to all be on the same page. What would Jesus drive, a hybrid or an
electric? What would Jesus think about… hemp clothing? Medical marijuana? What political party
would Jesus vote? Green Party? Socialist? Democrat? What was Jesus’ carbon footprint? How
many carbon credits would he buy? Where would Jesus stand on off shore drilling or social justice?
Would Jesus stump for Hillary or Obama? What are we to take on Jesus's stand for shopping?
Discount or retail? Come on now, Wal-Mart or Pottery Barn?
I am of two minds to how to respond to this dreck. I would look first to the historical Jesus. I
would point out that Jesus lived in the time of the Roman occupation of Israel. The Roman
treatment of conquered populations could be considered as a bit harsh. The Romans issued laws and
expected their obedience or else. Control was gained by methods of punishment that included
crucifixion. Yet how did Jesus react to that occupation? “Render therefore to Caesar the things that
are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God's.” Hardly a stinging indictment of the socio-
political order. You could say he was here for something else. In fact that is what the entire New
Testament is about. To those that actually believe in him (most Americans after all) He was here to
save all of mankind forever. He was here to conquer evil and death and sin. He came to offer
redemption for all. That is a bit larger than employee relations at a retail outlet. So I would have to
say that Jesus wouldn't shop at Wal-Mart or the Pottery Barn. In fact, the next time he comes all
those questions will be moot. So if you actually believe in Christ, the question is insulting. If you
don’t, then to treat it in such a manner knowing that millions do is still insulting. The fact that the
commercial makers found a patsy in a Louisville preacher to front for them simply makes me
despair. I can say nothing against the man. For I have met many nice people in life that were taken
advantage of. I will hope that he is just a tool and not a willing accomplice. He might not even know
who he is shilling for.
So my other thought in how to respond to this dreck is to figure out who would be so completely
clueless as to push this into the public domain. I mean, it isn't like it was a crucifix in a jar of urine-
like the NEA supported Piss Christ that was all the liberal rage in 1989. That was championed by
the left as free speech and federally funded art. This ad was put out by somebody that has no clue
or respect for Christianity. You know, a hip socialist or progressive atheist who thinks we are
deluded in believing in a loving God who would send his only son to save us. This ad was put
together by a web site called wakeupwalmart.com.
When you go to the web site what is not apparent from the multitude of links and pages is just who
is wakeupwalmart.com? Not, at least, until you look at the very fine print at the bottom of the page.
There you will see the copyright symbol with the title 2005 United Food and Commercial Workers
International Union. Oh, so now it becomes apparent. I missed that when I looked at their “About”
page. There was no listing of any unions there, although the link for “Learn about Wal-Mart’s Right
Wing Liars” should have been a clue. The UFCW has been fighting for years to unionize Wal-Mart.
This site along with the “Where would Jesus Shop” spot is simply another attack on Wal-Mart. The
union, in its political wing, has donated over 7.7 million of dollars to campaigns over the last four
election cycles. 7.5 million of those donations are to Democrats. Do you think that the union
members had any say in where that money went? The union is just one more effort by the socialist
left to soak up more money for its own ends- and Wal-Mart is the biggest money of all.
Before those of you leap forward to defend the pure motives of the union, I would give one fine
example of how the union is little different from an old time protection racket. Remember the recent
Swift company immigration raids? The ones done to meat packing plants that rounded up all the
illegal aliens? It was vehemently opposed by the United Food and Commercial Workers International
Union. Ms. Cashen, a spokeswoman for the union had an interesting bit of press in an interview with
the Salt Lake City Tribune. At one point she indicated that wages used to be higher twenty years ago
and that meat cutting was a "cold nasty and dangerous job". The union represents workers at five of
the six Swift plants. "When wages were higher there were no staffing issues."
Now according to the article applications are up 75% because the plants have to offer higher wages
while "Cashan said the group strongly opposes such raids." Well what do you think of that? Wages
were $18-20 dollars twenty years ago. Now the wages, because of illegals, were hovering around $9
an hour. Good thing the union was there. Otherwise the company could have cheap labor and not
pay benefits because they were using illegals. Oh wait, that is exactly what happened. Now with the
raids the wages go back up and applicants extend around the block. What did the union do? Protest
the raids. Way to look out for the little guy. Any more raids like that and wages might keep going up-
unless the union intervenes. But then, did the illegals pay union dues without having a union vote?
Seems a win/win for labor and the company.
You might be wondering what this all has to be dredged up again. Well, it is current news if you
pay attention to what our Congressperson Nancy Boyda is doing in Congress. You see she is co-
sponsor of a bill called the "Employee Free Choice Act" which is a lot more noble sounding than H.
R. 800. The Wall Street Journal had a great article on this on their online forum March 1, 2007
under the title of Walter Reuther's Ghost. The long and short of the article is that the bill strips away
the right of employees to secret ballots when deciding to unionize. They would now have to do it in
the open. Frankly no Kansan should have a problem with that. After all, it worked in Venezuela
when Hugo Chavez scored 97% of the vote. It worked in Cuba where Castro got 100% of the vote.
Heck, it works in North Korea too. Why can't it work here for unions? Nancy Boyda thinks so. She
sponsored it. We voted her in. We must like what she is doing. Which reminded me of the original
shopping at Wal-Mart with Jesus and a Louisville preacher spot at Christmas. If Jesus worked at
Wal-Mart and elected not to join a union, would his tires be slashed in the parking lot? Would he
get beaten up for not wanting the union? If he joined the union, would his dues be used to support
Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro Choice America? Would the Kentucky preacher approve? Oh,
bother, now I am doing it too. Sorry.
Let's just end it with the left believes the ends justify the means. Using Christ to crack a juicy plum
like Wal-Mart is OK. Strong arming employees into paying union dues is OK. Using the donations
to fund the Democratic Party and far left causes is OK. Having our Kansas Congressperson sponsor
this is OK. I just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page. Some Kansans might not
know how our elected officials are spending their time.