For years I have been surrounded by students who have been politically shaped by the opinions of their parents. Because of this, I began to see myself as a mere political drone, only adapting to the views of my parents and peers. But no longer do I hold these views. I am now a teenager capable of critical thinking, who developed a conclusion that left me in the middle of the political spectrum — a much different place than I would have ever pictured myself landing.

Taxes are perhaps one of the most disputed issues in politics to this day. Conservatives typically call for a minnimal amount of taxes, while liberals tend to use taxes to fix budget problems. For years I have been told that taxes are pretty much the worst thing a government can do. Older people have always told me that the money they earn should be their’s alone, not the government’s.

Yet, shouldn’t taxes be used to benefit all of us, to redistribute wealth to those who need it? The problem with this lies in the phrase: “redistribution of wealth.” Most conservatives have learned to associate that phrase or the expression “sharing the wealth” with communism. Mainstream conservatives typically believe that the money people earn should be given to no one else, as to distribute wealth to the poor is a violation of private property.

I used to understand this and actually learned to hate taxes, as it was the government’s way of intruding in our lives. And, anyways, can’t the poor just fend for themselves? If the wealthy earned their money fair and square, then how is it their problem if someone else can’t afford to feed themselves? The better question is: how can we not care? As caring citizens, we should feel obligated to help our fellow Americans, who are not able to help themselves.

Another phrase that is thrown around quite frequently in political campaigns is “If Jesus was here he would do [this].” Typically, I would say that this phrase is always absurd since religion and politics should be completely separated for fear of an oligarchy. Yet, to “fight fire with fire,” I will appeal to those who do compare their personal religion with politics. If I were to say that Jesus would support anything political today then I would say that Jesus would support the rich giving back to the less fortunate. Such as in Mark 10:21, where Jesus commands a rich man to sell everything he has and give it to the poor. At that point, he “shall have the treasure in heaven.”

Another instance is in Luke 16 where Jesus tells the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. The synopsis of the story is Lazarus is a beggar outside the Rich Man’s house, yet the Rich Man never bothers to help Lazarus. Eventually, Lazarus dies and goes to heaven while the Rich Man goes to hell. The story, though drastic, is another example of the way Jesus viewed how the wealthy should manage their money.

Let me make one very important distinction in my argument: Jesus is not against wealth at all. Many of great leaders in the Bible where rich or became rich, such as Solomon, King David or Job. It is merely the rich in the Bible who refuse to use their money for the greater good of others who are punished.

As a Christian, it pains me to hear of families in need and children who have grown up in poverty who cannot afford to go to college without assistance. Yet, what pains me even more is when conservative Christians merely say that the money they have earned is their’s alone and no one else has the right to share it. I now see this complete double standard in many Republican voters, and, to be perfectly frank, I hate it.

We have become so greedy and focussed on our own success that we have lost the ability to care for one another. Shouldn’t it pain us to see others without food while our greatest worry is choosing a new smart phone? We can call redistribution of wealth communism or socialism if that rationalizes our choice to keep the money for ourselves, but, in reality, we should want to share our wealth to ease the pain of poverty.

On the flip-side, I am in no way against wealth. Money is great and one day I hope to own a BMW and a incredible place to live, like any other 17-year-old boy. Yet, our desire for wealth should not go as far as to hurt those in our way.

Jesus called for the wealthy to give back and not just to give to charities for tax deductibles; he wanted the rich to really give to the poor in a way that they sacrificed their own wealth. In fact, I am willing to bet that Jesus would have loved the idea of some form of free health care, where everyone’s needs are taken care of.

For this reason, I support free health care — though not Obamacare, which has numerous flaws. Yet, those who cannot provide for themselves should at least be given the opportunity to have their medical needs taken care of.

Many conservatives claim that those who cannot afford health care are only to blame themselves. This is absurd. Can you really say that everyone who cannot afford health care is to blame for their own condition? There are thousands and thousands of single parents who work vigorously, yet cannot afford to keep their family healthy.

We must begin to look inside ourselves and develop a standard, a standard that incorporates our political beliefs and moral tenants together. We must leave our greed behind and attempt to look towards others. We must begin to think for ourselves, and not merely adapt to the thoughts of others. Great leaders, ranging from Barack Obama to George Bush, typically have this same characteristic: they know what they believe and why they believe it, and they stick to their guns. Go and do likewise.

For more political columns, read the March 2 article, Point two: Building up our national defense.