The only Dutch food I can vouch for is hagelslag.

Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

Jesus didn’t live in a democracy, so he never talked about how people should exercise their right to vote, all he said was love your neighbor and pay your taxes. That’s why I said it’s cringe to invoke his name for the purpose of partisan politics, because anything you say about what he would or would not have approved of is pure speculation.

Also, I don’t vote (and I never have), so please stop blaming me for whatever issues you have with the current administration. I don’t rely on the government to make ends meet, so I’d rather not carry the burden of feeling responsible for whatever mess they’re deciding to create. If you feel like taking part in that process, that’s your choice, but I’m going to wash my hands clean of that guilt.

Fun fact, if you look up “Dutch cuisine” on Wikipedia, this is literally the second picture (right after Gouda cheese).

Yeah, he probably deserves one of those.

I’m sorry, but what exactly made you think I’m supporting the Republican party here, just because I hinted at the fact that the Democrats are no angels either? What did it matter that Democrats were in control for the last four years when grocery prices still went up by 100%?

Where did I advocate for tax cuts for the wealthy, or cutting welfare to the needy? All I said was that as far as I understand it, Jesus didn’t advocate for voting to have the government take care of your neighbor, but to do it yourself instead. Which, as far as I understand it, just means that you can’t vote your way out of your problems, you have to take personal responsibility as much as you can.

If there is someone in your life that needs more help than the government is providing, and you have the means to help them, you should do so, instead of complaining that the government isn’t doing enough. It doesn’t matter who’s in charge of the White House, what matters is what you do with what you’re given.

Invoking the name of the Lord for the purpose of partisan politics is cringe no matter who does it.

He advocated for people giving directly to the poor (i.e. charity), not for letting the government handle that.

What does that have to do with anything?

The question was whether or not he advocated for socialism.

Yeah, that’s like saying vegans wouldn’t eat pork.

As I said, you have no idea what he said but you’re confident he’d agree with you.

So you have no idea what Jesus advocated for, but you’re confident that he’d agree with you…

Yes, progressive taxation is a feature of socialist government.

Did Jesus ever advocate for trusting the system?

What did I get wrong? Where did Jesus advocate for forced redistribution by government?

No. Socialism is a form of government that relies on forced redistribution, which is not something Jesus ever advocated for or practiced. He DID encourage people to share their wealth and take care of the poor, yes, but he never took anything by force in order to give it to them, and he never told people to do so either.

So, just half to death then?

I was born and raised in Germany and used to feel similar. I’ve been living in the US for over a decade now, and somehow I still feel that way, so I’m starting to think it’s more of a me problem.

There are definitely advantages to living here, but also many drawbacks. The sense of freedom is definitely real, people here are generally far less judgemental than in Germany, unless perhaps you’re way out in the countryside. As long as you’re not going out of your way to piss people off, they’ll generally let you be as weird as you want.

The downside is that compared to Germany, life can feel pretty chaotic and unorganized at times. A lot of things you might take for granted over there simply don’t work the same way here. People are rarely on time and might cancel plans at the last minute for spurious reasons, and instead of being direct and upfront about what’s bothering them, they’ll be vague and indirect.

Also, food and rent are far more expensive than in Germany, and the quality is often worse, unless you’re willing to spend extra money. On the plus side, taxes are lower, and if you have a marketable skill set, you can definitely earn far more than you would in Germany (but you’ll be spending most of it in order to have a comparable lifestyle).

Overall, living here requires a lot of discipline and self-reliance. No one’s gonna tell you what to do, and there are fewer guardrails in place to keep you from going off the rails. It’s a high risk, high reward society.

Hey, that’s MY activation key!

I sincerely hope that you don’t have any children, because I’ve seen 13 year olds who were more mature than you.

And I know this is going to sound crazy, but the concept of paying your kids to behave isn’t new, it’s called an allowance, and it’s fairly common for parents to use it as a disciplinary tool by tying it to certain behavioral expectations (such as doing your household chores).

It is in fact really important to teach your kids that good behavior is rewarded, otherwise they’ll simply give up on being good and find other ways to make money, such as stealing or dealing drugs.