“I am for doing good to the poor, but…I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. I observed…that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer.” – Benjamin Franklin
Oliver Anthony‘s “Rich Men North of Richmond” has sparked a lot of discussion and even more criticism, mostly by those online rich men (and women) north of Richmond. The folks whose definition of hard work was an all-nighter in college. It is a heartfelt cry, however.
The latest to pile onto the online blanket party for Anthony is Christianity Today, which is criticizing him for being too mean in his attitude toward the poor. The man doesn’t like his hard-earned pay going to pay for fudge rounds of the morbidly obese on welfare. According to Christianity Today, that is an unchristian thought and Anthony is guilty of wrongthink. (Others disagree.)
Yet despite my being morbidly obese I cannot criticize Anthony for resenting having to pay for the food of the morbidly obese. I have never asked anyone to pay for my fudge rounds. I pay for the food I eat through my labors and have never expected the public at large to pay for them. (Although I am also proof it is just as easy to get fat on healthy food as junk food. I avoid fudge rounds and generally eat healthy food. It’s the quantity rather than the quality that counts.)
Moreover, it is not in the American tradition to feel an obligation to support those able to but unwilling to work. Benjamin Franklin’s quote illustrates that. Nor is it in the Christian tradition. (The Not The Bee article linked earlier provides plenty of Bible verses underscoring that point.
What makes the criticism more grotesque is Anthony himself is just above poor. He works hard and rightfully wants to keep enough of his own labors to better himself. He is one of those who Franklin can lead out of poverty. More correctly, Anthony will lead himself out of poverty if his “betters” simply get out of his way, and stop hindering him. And stop criticizing him for being uppity. No wonder he is frustrated and depressed. As are millions of others. Like the Langston Hughes poem “Harlem,” Anthony’s song has universal applicability.
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