This week’s comic is actually last week’s but I was delayed by the physical effects of medication changes that exhausted me, but I’m over that now, so no worries.
The comic itself is inspired by recent moves by a few Republican-dominated state legislatures to undermine over a century of worker protections for minors won by the labor struggles of the late 19th and early 20th centuries; the failure of a state sponsored free school lunch program in North Dakota; the revelation that minors have been exploited by the meat-packing industry; and a Missouri Republican defending the right to marry a child.
One of the threads of American politics tying this altogether is dominionist theology among certain sects of Christianity.
Instead, society would be reconstructed so that the male-headed family and local church fulfill the roles that currently belong to the government, which would have the authority only to protect private property and punish capital offenses. Families and churches, as the cornerstones of the reconstructed society, would implement Mosaic law, with Christ as king over what would have become a Christian nation. Without government welfare, churches would carry the responsibility of aid to the poor, and without public schools, families would be responsible for their own children’s education. The economy would operate without any government regulation, meaning present laws requiring the integrity of consumer goods, protecting workers’ rights, and disallowing exploitative financial practices would no longer be in effect. Because in a reconstructed America Christians would have brought God’s kingdom to earth through the implementation of Mosaic law, these protections would not be necessary.
It is not the kind of world I want to create for my children.
Discussion ¬