What Would Jesus Buy?

I watched the Today Show this morning and found the story about the "Reverend Billy" fascinating and worthy of comment. In the seedy days of Pre-Giuliani NYC, Times Square was noted for its porn shows and other ghetto activity. In those days, street preachers were common who condemned the sins pervasive in the city. You will only find one such preacher today, in most circumstances, and that is Reverend Billy and he is going after the problem of "commercialism." He preaches against the Targets, Disney Stores, and other purveyors of "materialism" and tells people to leave their money in their wallets and don't subsidize such large retail stores.

He romanticizes "the good old days" when New York was lined with little family owned stores and everyone knew their neighbors. Of course, in those "good old days," people had far fewer employment opportunities and the cost of goods were often out of reach. I'm not only talking about wasteful "stuff," but the staples of life itself. Furthermore, these poorly funded, but much more "neighborly" streets, lacked what was necessary to make New York safe and prosperous. If he wants to go to "Pre-Giuliani" New York, he should move to....; well, I don't want to insult any city.

Billy is more than anti-commercial, he's a typical liberal who likes to spin circumstances according to his worldview. His worldview is one that is oblivious to economic plight, one that fails to recognize how "a rising tide lifts all boats" and that economic growth benefits everyone, especially those who are hit the hardest. In the real world where his audience lives, most seem to be far happier to live in a safer and more prosperous New York city. A prosperity that goes beyond mere Wall Street to Wal-mart. Oops, that's in New Jersy, but you get my point.