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A Tale of Two Brothers, and a Sister
Am I my brother's keeper?
Let's imagine this as the subject of a family conference, a negotiation, if you will. The parents and spouses are going to remain silent for this one and leave it to the "kids" to work out -- for now. We have the "good brother," Abel -- a religion professor with a family (including a very sensitive poodle named Harold) who dutifully pays his mortgage on time but has seen his retirement savings decimated. There's the "bad brother," Cain -- an unemployed investment banker who's lost most of his money by investing in financial stocks which he also had advised Abel to buy. Cain needs a loan from his brother Abel to start over. There's also a sister, but she doesn't have a name -- after all, this is a matter between brothers. The sister is given a pro forma or ex officio place in the negotiation, although Cain and Abel don't solicit her input. But the sister manages to have her say nonetheless, with a little help from Harold the poodle.
"Brother Cain," Abel says licking his lips "you're to blame for all of this. You deceived us when you said housing prices would continue to rise. You deceived us when you said that the market was efficient and rational. You deceived us because of your greed. Enough was never enough for you. If the Biblical Cain slew his brother Abel, I'm here to say that by your deceit you've slain all of us. All the money we had tied up with you is gone. Now I have to hold on to what I have left. Cain fled to the land of Nod and God marked his forehead for all to see. The credit agencies will mark you sure enough, Cain: you'll get no loans from them nor will you from me. You can go to Nod or Vegas, and do whatever it is you do. But not with my money. We live within our means and play by the rules. I refuse to be your keeper."
"Brother Abel," Cain says without hesitation, "you're also to blame. Back in the 1990s, money made by me and people like me bankrolled your study of religion. If you want an example of reckless spending you need look no further than to your own privileged position. But some very wealthy people somehow thought it would serve the common good to establish scholarships and endowed positions for the likes of you. But we don't even need to go there. How about when you were working at that homeless shelter in New York? Your informal vow of poverty didn't prevent you from tagging along with me and my clients when we had Knicks tickets or when we were going to a fancy steakhouse to talk business. I didn't have to invite you, but I did (I wrote off all the beers you drank as a business expense.) I didn't deceive you with my investments. I was following standard practice and widely accepted computer forecasts. What we have here is a once in a lifetime constellation of elements, like an earthquake, tornado, and tsunami coming all at the same time. You deceived yourself in thinking that none of this capitalist wheeling and dealing had anything to do with you. Now that the business cycle has come round again, you wash your hands of me and my kind while you complain about the falling value of college endowments. I'm your brother. I was your keeper for a long time, even though you were loathe to acknowledge it. Now's the time to be my keeper."
The conversation was getting heated and so Harold, the ever-sensitive poodle, runs in barking. Cain and Abel try to distract Harold by throwing him a chew toy. They each throw a different one to different corners of the room and Harold runs around in circles. The sister takes advantage of the confusion and speaks.
"Brothers Cain and Abel," says the sister, "I blame you both. Not that it matters, though. You two have been doing the blame game all your lives -- academics, sports, girlfriends -- it was all about who was ahead, who was the most accomplished, who had the better life. When you think like that, argument and recrimination are sure to follow. Let's look at things honestly. Cain, it's rather self-serving to portray all of this as the financial equivalent of a natural disaster. This disaster was created by human beings and, the last time I checked, your humanity was intact in spite of what Abel has to say. In any case, you hardly styled yourself as an "investment banker for the common man"--you were too well manicured for that role. As for you, Abel, you, above all people, should know about making mistakes since you've made plenty. But let's not talk about all the help you received when you were younger, when it seemed like you'd never get out of high school, let alone get a Ph.D. In any case, you're not the one handling the finances in your family, you don't even know how to balance a check book."
Harold the poodle goes silent. He found a bone under a chair because he couldn't decide which chew toy to take. Cain and Abel fall silent too. The sister continues.
"I suppose all this bickering is what brothers do, but I'm here to tell you that there's more to this family than the two of you. There's mom and dad, spouses, and all the kids. Don't make them pay the price for your pride and envy. I tell you what, I'll chip in to help out Cain and his family and Abel's going to do it too. Even if Cain finally goes to Nod, he'll still be only a computer click away. The world's a lot smaller now and we can't disentangle ourselves even if we tried. We're a family and together, as a family, we need to rethink things to move beyond where we find ourselves now. I am in this family too. But first you need to recognize that I have a name. it's not just about you brothers anymore."
By
Mathew N. Schmalz
|
March 5, 2009; 12:52 AM ET
| Category:
Morality
,
Personal Religion
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Next: A Religious Obligation To Help All Those Suffering -- Not Just The Poor
Posted by: Viejita | March 7, 2009 3:25 PM
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The real deal with the JW [not bashing] is that the Watchtower discouraged 'materialism' aka saving for retirement and higher education.Typically are my family members my brother is carpenter who has no retirement plan not even social security as he worked self-employed and believed the Watchtower that he 'would never grow old in this system',Armageddon would come first.
There are a million Jehovah's Witnesses like him out there with their abstinence self-employment and nothing saved.NOW the Watchtower denies that they ever put these followers in this jam.
Posted by: Robert Davis | March 7, 2009 11:27 AM
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TO:Ogfarmer Stop TROLLING Stop shooting the messenger.
It's not "bashing" to expose the true origins of the Watchtower Jehovah's Witnesses.
Jesus second coming in 1914 is the core creed of Jehovah's Witnesses.
By their own admission published in hundreds of millions of Watchtower magazines,yes entire forest have been denuded for the pulpwood to make the paper.
Posted by: Danny Haszard | March 7, 2009 4:59 AM
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Danny,
Shame on you...You know you are bashing the very people you used to love. Jesus is ruling in heaven and he is watching you.
Posted by: Ogfarmer | March 6, 2009 10:04 PM
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Sounds more like Yakko, Wakko, and Dot to me.
Posted by: Athena | March 5, 2009 8:02 PM
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The big difference between Jehovah's Witnesses and Christians is that the Watchtower Society's central core creed proclaims Jesus second coming in October 1914.
They sometimes try to obscure this failed prophecy,and say that he came 'invisibly'.Yes,all other Christains are awaiting Jesus return,the JW say he ALREADY came back in 1914 and is only working through their Watchtower society.
--
Danny Haszard
Posted by: Danny Haszard | March 4, 2009 9:28 AM
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Beautiful response.
Here is my question, though. Who is a part of our family as Christians? It seems to me that in the gospels, Jesus rather radically redefines the idea to include all those who work for the coming Kingdom (or Kindom). Does this mean that we have equal responsibility to care and provide for all who are a part of this community? Or is there some sort of principle of familial priority? Do you have a greater responsibility to make sure your children and your (biological) brothers' and sisters' children are well-fed and cared for than the children of the woman who lives down the street and just lost her job?
Isn't it the case that all of us, related by blood or not, are all in this together?
Posted by: Anariel | March 3, 2009 7:27 PM
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The comments to this entry are closed.
Excuse me, what does Schmalz's column have to do with Jehovah's Witnesses?
I've stayed away from On Faith for awhile because of trivial questions and off-topic answers. I found this question, and this response, worth following up.
Anariel, I think the "brother's keeper" trope -- here and elsewhere -- has to refer to humanity in general and not one family or faith group. Otherwise it is meaningless.
Although I get the point, I think the division is not in gender (brothers v. sisters) but between the theoreticians and those in the trenches. Maybe it's also those who struggle v. those who take things for granted.
Danny, Og and Robert, you seem to be in some other conversation. You need to take it outside.