Facts
When I met the local leader of the armed group that, along with two others, **control and extort everyone** in our region, he wore a short gun at his waist and I asked him why he carried it. He only replied that it was his custom. I told him he should be valued for who he is, for his person, not for his gun. The reality is that, **without the long guns** that he and his group carry, **they wouldn’t be able to impose their laws on the entire community**. They wouldn’t also obtain the money they get from extortion, because farmers and merchants pay the quotas they demand because their guns give them power to enrich themselves.
And that money gives them the capacity to buy more weapons. **I hope the day doesn’t come too late when federal authorities do what they should**, because everyone knows these leaders and knows where they live and how they act. Certainly **it is seen that they have already decided not to follow that nefarious policy of *embraces* ** towards them, but the power of organized crime is enormous.
Donald Trump, because his country is very rich and its military potential is enormous, feels entitled to intervene in other countries and impose its laws and tariffs. With its economic and military power, it wants to control everything. Isn’t there anyone in the USA to control it? Our country has to accede to many things it demands, otherwise it imposes even more tariffs on us and our economy is affected. Although cooperation is talked about here, in reality, it all seems like submission.
The same thing happens at other levels. There are parents who buy their children’s affection and respect with money. Abusers of minors and women buy the silence of their victims with money and death threats. Abused wives endure everything so that their husbands don’t leave them without resources. Money and weapons prevail, as if truth and justice could be bought. The same government support for the elderly, which is an act of justice, can be used to buy votes. Money can corrupt.
Pope Francis, in his exhortation Evangelii gaudium, warns:
“We have created new idols. The worship of the old golden calf has found a new and ruthless version in the fetishism of money and in the dictatorship of the economy without a truly human face and without a goal.” (55). “A new invisible tyranny is established, sometimes virtual, which imposes, unilaterally and relentlessly, its laws and its rules. The pursuit of power and possession knows no bounds.” (56).
“Behind this attitude lies the rejection of ethics and the rejection of God. Ethics is often looked down upon with a certain mocking disdain. It is considered counterproductive, too human, because it relativizes money and power. It feels like a threat, as it condemns manipulation and the degradation of the person. Ethics – an ethics that is not ideologized – allows for the creation of a more humane social balance and order.” (57).
“A financial reform that does not ignore ethics would require a strong change of attitude on the part of political leaders, whom I urge to face this challenge with determination and a vision for the future. Money must serve and not govern! The Pope loves everyone, rich and poor, but has the obligation, in the name of Christ, to remind the wealthy to help the poor, respect them, promote them. I urge you to selfless solidarity and a return of the economy and finance to an ethics in favor of human beings.” (58).
Golden Calf
**Actions**
Let money have the importance it deserves, but no more. May money not dominate us or empower us to impose ourselves on others; may it not be used to buy or dominate children or a spouse. Let the value of our person not depend on weapons and money, nor on threats, but on the love and respect we give to others.
Felipe Arizmendi
English version translated with AI