Episode 10: The Renaissance

Why not hate the Renaissance? Why love it? Some politicians these days don’t care too much for the re-birth of Europe (1330-1550) Some like Bachmann even say that today’s problems in the US can be traced directly back to the Renaissance. Others say maybe these folks have read too much Francis Schaeffer. “A number of Christian leaders, authors, and evangelists credit Schaeffer’s ideas with helping spark the rise of the Christian Right in the United States and were strongly influenced by him. Among them are Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry, Focus on the Family‘s James Dobson, the 700 Club‘s Pat Robertson, Prison Fellowship‘s Charles Colson, columnist Cal Thomas, preacher and author Tim LaHaye, former Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, and Liberty University and Moral Majority founder Jerry Falwell.” — Wiki. Let us bring everything including religious beliefs into the realm of power and taxes. Here’s a thought: maybe some folks today want to be exempt from paying taxes. Maybe these same folks wish not to stick the paying of taxes to themselves—the rich and politically powerful—in a fair and just manner. Instead, they may wish to shackle the less powerful working middle class with the entire burden while still holding to the slogan that “We are all in this together.” But, dang it, due to the Renaissance serfdom became increasingly unpopular in most of Western Europe and eventually much the new world—not a happy turn of events if you are one of the rich and politically powerful. If one must know, a serf in addition to being property was part of the land. Included in the role as Lord’s assets in the pre-Renaissance years, serfs paid all the taxes.