Hey Folks, We Need to Talk

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"the War on Poverty", Acheivement, compassion, dependency, fdr, general-welfare-clause, government freebies, great-depression, handouts, Individual rights, Indoctrination, limitations, limitless, Personal responsibility, The "New Deal", The Other America

All the images that pass before our eyes … starving babies, homeless Veterans or single moms, so many struggling to make it … No, not in some remote third world country RIGHT HERE, in America – the wealthiest nation ever! It’s virtually impossible to wrap our heads around it. It’s overwhelming and heart wrenching. Surely, we can do better! Something more has to be done, right? No question! But what?

In response to those who hold that the”General Welfare clause” of the Constitution means taking care of the people, America, as a government,  has tried several different programs over the past few decades to help those in need to find their way to the American Dream and alleviate suffering. “The New Deal,” inspired by the Great Depression, opened the hearts and minds of Americans under FDR (D), way back in 1933–1937.But did it solve the problem of poverty in America? Short answer, no!

Neither was the “War on Poverty” initiated under President Johnson a success. More recently, the policies and programs of President Obama have done exactly the opposite of their so-called intent. They have found more people, not fewer, in the unemployment lines, applying for food stamps and other social programs.

In his January 1964 State of the Union address, President Lyndon Johnson proclaimed, “This administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America.” In the 50 years since that time, U.S. taxpayers have spent over $22 trillion on anti-poverty programs. Adjusted for inflation, this spending (which does not include Social Security or Medicare) is three times the cost of all U.S. military wars since the American Revolution. Yet progress against poverty, as measured by the U.S. Census Bureau, has been minimal, and in terms of President Johnson’s main goal of reducing the “causes” rather than the mere “consequences” of poverty, the War on Poverty has failed completely. In fact, a significant portion of the population is now less capable of self-sufficiency than it was when the War on Poverty began.

It’s a funny thing about human nature that philosophers seldom seem to consider well … There are specific things that motivate humans to productivity and achievement, and certain things which subdue those inclinations. The “war on poverty was a costly, tragic mistake,” the article, “Why the War on Poverty Failed: Handouts Provide the Wrong Incentives,” begins. “Possibly the most influential policy book in history, The Other America Michael Harrington’s The Other America, published in 1962. (Harrington died in 1989.) was cited again and again by the politicians, activists, and administrators who set up welfare programs in the 1960s. In it we find the fallacies that sent reformers down dark and tangled paths into today’s social tragedies.”

The tragic error of this thinking is in the assumption poverty is strictly a lack of material goods. “While the state of neediness we call poverty does involve a lack of material resources, it also involves a mass of psychological and moral problems, including weak motivation, lack of trust in others, ignorance, irresponsibility, self-destructiveness, short-sightedness, alcoholism, drug addiction, promiscuity, and violence.”  The article continues, “It was a perspective that led to intolerance. Since poverty was so simple to remedy—the activists reasoned—it was unethical not to act. “In a nation with a technology that could provide every citizen with a decent life,” Harrington thundered, “it is an outrage and a scandal that there should be such social misery.”⁴ For the activists, welfare programs did not involve complex relationships and intractable problems about which honest people could disagree. They were simple moral imperatives, and anyone who opposed them was seen as selfish and insensitive. (This dogmatic view has by no means disappeared from so-called liberal circles.)”

Yes, poverty is wretched wherever it appears, but the rational answer (contrary to the sentimental response) is not handouts or “freebies.” The answer is the proverbial “hand up,” instead of the “hand out!”

• Basic education and training, which sadly is no longer flourishing in our public schools, does more to cripple our children than prepare them for a productive adult life.
• Trade schools, long hidden by some pseudo-intellectual pride, hunger for eager students, but are shunned by a populace who want to start as CEO’s, rather than work their way up the ladder.
• Food banks, soup kitchens, and clothing closets are a great start to elp the hurting and many communities have such things, but more are needed, not from government, but from us … you and me.

The Biblical concept of compassion isn’t issued to the government, but to the individual. The Golden Rule (you remember, Do unto others …?) is not for governments, but people, whether people of faith or not … people helping people. Governments have no idea how to help as evidenced by 80 years of welfare programs initiated in an vain attempt to curtail poverty. The secret to overcoming poverty, in most cases, is personal responsibility, we all ought

Now, we have an avowed “democrat socialist”(whatever that is) asking for our votes so he can increase taxes on the wager-earner so he can also increase the number of programs handing out “stuff”to those now trapped in a unemployment and dependency on the government programs that were supposed to free them from poverty.

Isn’t 80 years of failure enough to make a statement to try another tact? It isn’t the rich that are the bad guys here. It is our own greed that as crippled the most successful, productive, innovative, creative, and compassionate culture it the world, and ALL of us are guilty of the same greed, both the have’s and the have not’s!

America, use your HEAD to choose our next president. Use your HEART to make a personal investment in your neighborhood and your neighbors. Vote for individual rights and personal responsibility!

Paul wrote, “We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up” (Romans 15:1–2)

Excellent reading:

• Economic policies highlight partisan divide among governors
• Was the New Deal a success or failure?
• The War on Poverty After 50 Years
• Why the War on Poverty Failed
• What does the General Welfare Clause really mean?
• Allen West: Government Handouts a Form of Slavery
• Europeans Fear Crisis Threatens Liberal Benefits
• Uncovering the Bad Math (or Logic) of an Economic Analysis Embraced by Bernie Sanders

 

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The Cost of Freedom

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America, American history, application, compassion, First Responders, freedom, military personel, patriotism, sacrifice

During the last several years, I have been increasingly embarrassed by the number of Americans who have sold out to the well-intentioned but misguided concept of COMPASSION. It is an age-old deception passed down through the generations that says if we are to be kind, we must be willing to compromise our standards. Nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact, true compassion, the self-sacrificing noble compassion can only be rooted in solid, absolute but merciful moral code.

COMPASSION: a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.

The question is, what is the best way to alleviate the suffering or hardship of others. Pain and suffering are part of life, and not necessarily the worst part. Though no one desires pain and hardship, many people around the world manage to endure it with joy, or at least acceptance knowing that good always follows pain … eventually.

It saddens me that in today’s America, we seem to have forgotten the benefits of struggle, or working toward a goal, of fighting through disease, of sacrificing for the good of others. This is the essence of compassion.

Instead, we have opted for the shortcuts. Problem is, “No pain – no gain” is completely accurate! We are left with a nation of Americans who have no idea what it cost to build America into a nation where, at least before the current administration, people of all races, religions, and backgrounds could live together in relative harmony. We are no longer taught of the price the Founding Fathers paid for their rebellion against the status quo. Of course, humans are imperfect, and today’s educators and political liberals choose to focus on their imperfections rather than the enormous gifts they gave and the heavy costs they paid.

Today is July 4, 2015. For any who are not aware, July Fourth in the U.S., is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, by the Continental Congress declaring that the thirteen American colonies regarded themselves as a new nation, the United States of America, and no longer part of the British Empire. During the American Revolution, the legal separation of the Thirteen Colonies from Great Britain occurred on July 2, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence that had been proposed in June by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia declaring the United States independent from Great Britain rule.

Now, there are many whose lives reflect the same selfless sacrifice in service to others. Recently, police have come under irrational scrutiny because of some ideologues political agenda. Of course, there are imperfections and abuses. As long as they are human, that will be the case. But we dare not overlook the tremendous personal sacrifices made by our first responders and military service members (and families.)

As we celebrate this weekend, I pray we remember … the tremendous cost of freedom that allows us the many choices we have, and it is my prayer that we will work to overcome evil with good…each of us…one kindness at a time!

Father God, many in our nation have turned away from You, but you know each one and love us still. Father God, please turn our hearts back to You in gratitude for all You have provided. Heal the divides between neighbors. Restore our yearning for self-reliance with You as our Source and our Guide … for the sake of the lost people of the world.

A Parable of Faith Activation

Tags

aide, community-service, compassion, faith, fear, government, government-programs, help, people, personal service to others, Self-sacrifice, service, The Little Dutch Boy, unselfishness, volunteers

“What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but YOU {emphasis bjb} do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” James 2: 14- 17

“The dam is breaking! The dam is breaking! Emergency!!!” The screams of the people of Borderville frantically scurrying to get out of harm’s way echoed from the hillsides surrounding the town. Chaos everywhere! People watched in horror from hilltops and housetops as a wall of water rushed down the ravine sweeping over everything in its path. Thousands of homes gone in a moment. Families swept away. Utter and complete devastation in the wake with more tragedy ahead in its path.

Warnings had been given prior, but no one listened. There was a lot of talk, several plans were put forth, money had even been allocated, but nothing was done. Now, it was too late.

Emergency broadcasts flooded the airways urgently notifying people to seek higher ground. There was a cry, too, for volunteers to help tend the wounded and homeless.

It wasn’t long before the government issued a “warning” to local residents, and they began to organize shelters and supplies for the many victims. The Governor sought Federal assistance asking it be declared an “EMERGENCY!” Thousands of homes had already been destroyed. Many lives had been lost, and still the enormity of this tragedy was only beginning.

The water surged downhill wiping out everything in its path. Homes, schools, churches … businesses. It was ruthless.

Within a half hour of the breach, three or four helicopters peppered the sky. Whether journalists reporting the story or government agencies looking at the devastation was unclear. News bulletins resounded across the nation.

The hours began to roll by. The path of tragedy grew. The cry for help continued. Checks began to pour in from the American public. Emergency “#800” phones were organized. Government agencies brought supplies to nearby make shift shelters. Piles of blankets and cases of water grew.

The following weekend, pleas issued from pulpits in churches, tabernacles, mosques, as well as community outreach programs. Tons of building and survival supplies were quickly being gathered at points from coast to coast.

Hollywood celebrities and politicians issued calls for help from their walled-in mansions and executive offices. Photos flashed across TV screens and computer screens of the gorgeous celebs at fundraisers supporting the victims relief effort.

Hours and days passed. The flood continued to demolish town after town, home after home. Politicians chose sides: some pleaded for more money and supplies to tend the victims, and others wanted, first, to repair the dam.

“Oh no, we must let the water go and take care of the people first! That is the compassionate thing. To repair the dam is taking food out of the childrens’ mouths!” they said.

A handful of volunteers gathered at the local Red Cross. The size or their task was immeasurable. Money was plentiful. Supplies from the government were available, but volunteers were scarce. Seems everyone had a reason not to lend a physical hand to help the distraught and displaced survivors.

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

There is a children’s story I recall – The Little Dutch Boy, by Mary Mapes Dodge. Peter Miller writes this synopsis of the tale:

“Dutch legend has it that there was once a small boy who upon passing a dyke (or dam) on his way to school noticed a slight leak as the sea trickled in through a small hole. Knowing that he would be in trouble if he were to be late for school, the boy poked his finger into the hole and so stemmed the flow of water. Some time later a passerby saw him and went to get help. This came in the form of other men who were able to effect repairs on the dyke and seal up the leak.

“This story is told to children to teach them that if they act quickly and in time, even they with their limited strength and resources can avert disasters. The fact that the Little Dutch Boy used his finger to stop the flow of water, is used as an illustration of self-sacrifice. The physical lesson is also taught: a small trickle of water soon becomes a stream and the stream a torrent and the torrent a flood sweeping all before it, Dyke material, roadways and cars, and even railway tracks and bridges and whole trains.”

The Bible teaches God is a personal God. He is interested in our individual growth and character. In America, and in our world today, there are several “dams breaking.” We have agency upon agency duplicating tasks and spending obscene amounts of money, and accomplishing little. President Johnson back in the 60’s declared a “War on Poverty,” establishing “Social Security (creating medicare & medicaid) and “Food Stamp Act.”

As noble as the “War on Poverty” idea is, we have MORE poverty today, not less. We’ve lost the “War on Poverty!” Look around! If these programs actually worked, wouldn’t the percentages decrease and the numbers of thriving Americans increase? Service programs abound, but people willing to volunteer their time and talents are few. Government not equipped to tend the needs of individual families or communities. Government cannot empathize or feel compassion. We can!

See, only we, as individuals and neighbors know the specific needs of one another and have the ability to feel compassion. The thing about helping others … not only does serving one another help them, the victims, but it activates us! There is something reciprocal that happens when we reach out to “care” for another human being. I’ve heard it from missionaries to go with the warm intention of helping others, but they return feeling more a recipient than a giver.

It’s about people, a “People Connection” that opens our hearts and drowns the fears we have of people, of strangers. We are free to serve, yes, but only in doing does the reverse become true – our service frees us! Only in service to our neighbors does our faith become activated. Regardless of whether our religion is Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism … it is our personal service to others that confirms, affirms, and activates our Faith.

♫ Like a Rock ♫

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Bob Seger, character, community-service, compassion, goodness, Helping others, homeless, integrity, kindness, Like a Rock, mentally ill, music, neighbors, service, stand, take stand, truth

Popular approval of Congress has reached an all time low as Americans reel under the vast scope of myriad scandals and lies perpetrated by this Administration. Yes! We have seen corruption before. Yes, we’ve been lied to before. Yes, we’ve even seen huge character flaws in our leaders before, but never … NEVER to the depth and scope to which we’re seeing today.

♫ Like a Rock ♫

Why? What has changed? What has happened to allow or facilitate such widespread corruption?

♫ Like a Rock ♫

Will a building stand if its foundation is compromised?

♫ Like a Rock ♫

Will a traveler reach his destination without first plotting his course & naming his destination?

♫ Like a Rock ♫

Can a nation long survive which has shredded its moral compass and floats aimlessly on sentimentalism?

♫ Like a Rock ♫

Perhaps innocently, perhaps with vile intent, social mores held firm throughout global civilizations over thousands of years, have suddenly (over the past few decades) come into question. GOD was declared dead April 8, 1966, and since that time, little by little, the once universal boundaries of Right & Wrong, have blurred. What was once, not more than generation ago, accepted behavior, has become “Old-fashioned” and “intolerant.”

Funny thing is, GOD is no place defined in our Founding documents, and the early Framers each held different personal beliefs. They intentionally kept all reference to GOD ambiguous so various individual beliefs might be adapted and accepted.

♫ Like a Rock ♫

• The point is CHARACTER.
• The point is GOALS … self-improvement … serving others.
• The point is standing for something bigger than yourself.
  The point is growing in personal integrity and service to the community… by choice, rather than by mandate.
• The point … is standing firm on some defined principles that are other aware.

♫ Like a Rock ♫

Without a firm foundation to stand on, the tides of political correctness too easily blow us around until we find ourselves … surrounded by Corruption. Like so many of our political leaders, bought and sold to the highest bidder, we, too, succumb to the popular trends and thoughts, victims of popular opinion.

How did we get here? We allowed it by our own compromise.

♫ Like a Rock ♫

Take a stand for GOODNESS
Take a stand for KINDNESS
Take a stand for TRUTH
Take a stand for COMPASSION
Take a stand for your Neighbor, for the Homeless, for the mentally infirmed … to be personally involved!

♫ Like a Rock ♫

Find something bigger than yourself worth STANDING FOR, worth giving your life’s passion to support, worth working toward and Take a Stand.

“We must stop acting like children.
We must not let deceitful people trick us by their false teachings,
which are like winds that toss us around from place to place.”
Eph 4:14 CEV

♫ Like a Rock ♫

Words and music by Bob Seger

Stood there boldly
Sweatin’ in the sun
Felt like a million
Felt like number one
The height of summer
I’d never felt that strong
Like a rock

I was eighteen
Didn’t have a care
Working for peanuts
Not a dime to spare
But I was lean and
Solid everywhere
Like a rock

My hands were steady
My eyes were clear and bright
My walk had purpose
My steps were quick and light
And I held firmly
To what I felt was right
Like a rock

Like a rock, I was strong as I could be
Like a rock, nothin’ ever got to me
Like a rock, I was something to see
Like a rock

And I stood arrow straight
Unencumbered by the weight
Of all these hustlers and their schemes
I stood proud, I stood tall
High above it all
I still believed in my dreams

Twenty years now
Where’d they go?
Twenty years
I don’t know
Sit and I wonder sometimes
Where they’ve gone

And sometimes late at night
When I’m bathed in the firelight
The moon comes callin’ a ghostly white
And I recall
I Recall …

Like a rock. standin’ arrow straight
Like a rock, chargin’ from the gate
Like a rock, carryin’ the weight
Like a rock

Like a rock, the sun upon my skin
Like a rock, hard against the wind
Like a rock, I see myself again
Like a rock

Priorities & Perspective

Tags

"life lessons", America, balance, character training, choices, citizenship, compassion, faith, God, Human nature, Military appreciation, priorities, responsibilities, spiritual

A reflective light amidst the darkness and storms

I am a person of faith, and as such, the priorities of my life revolve around my personal relationship with God.  My love for him and the compassion and empathy I feel for others all flow from God. The fierceness of my love for my three children is rooted and tempered. In God. The tremendous gratitude and pride (not arrogance) that swells within me eminates ultimately from the throne of God.

There are those who believe that faith belongs only in a church or synagogue. I am not among them. Faith is who I am, but there are “apps” in each of our lives for that faith, places to use and apply our faith since faith without works is dead. Being an American citizen entitles me to share in the many rich choices available here. From the hundreds of varieties of shampoo to the fresh produce at the grocery to clothing, fragrances, cars, and technology. In exchange, I pay taxes and served my country a brief 3 years.

Now, my duties, my responsibilities to my children no longer include daily meals, laundry, and carpooling, so I am FREE to make other choices. Shall I join a bowling league? a Bridge Club? a local Tea Party? or lock myself within the 4 walls of a local congregation? There are a multitude of options. This is America!

America was birthed with a Godly purpose. She has grown, matured, and rebelled, just like any person. Now, she must grow up and become a mature, responsible, compassionate adult. The outcome is not my responsibility. The ultimate path of our nation is not my responsibility. It IS my responsibility, however, to do my part. It is the RIGHT place for me to APPLY my faith. It may not be for every person of faith, I suppose, but again, that is not my responsibility. I can only do my part. I am one voice, but I vow to be a persistent voice for balance, for compassion tempered by responsibility. I love my country and the people who call her “HOME.”

Stop Teaching Kids to Bully! Lead by Example!

Tags

"Buffalo Springfield", "life lessons", American Moral Character, behavior, bullies, bully, bullying, children, compassion, differences, empathy, teach, values

Bullying is not a new thing. Kids have always sought the solitary differences among them to ridicule. We dealt with it and eventually learned to fight back … nicely, of course. Problem is, the culture in the 50’s, and early 60’s was a bit gentler than today, even with the unwanted war actions.

Kids learn to bully … somewhere?

Let me ask you this: What do our children learn from TV/movies/video games … the NEWS? (Not, what do they watch) What is shown to them? Do we teach them to appreciate the differences of others? Or do we teach “If you don’t believe like me, you’re WRONG!” ?

Left v Right

Republican v Democrat,

Union, v Non-Union,

North v South,

Christian v Islam,

Male v Female

… and on and on we go in our dichotomic world. Why are there only two choices? When there are but two choices, if you don’t agree completely with me, you must be wrong. I mean, who believes the wrong thing by choice???

Grown ups must start acting like adults, and stop teaching our children to bully!

“Battle lines being drawn. Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong!

Buffalo Springfield – For What It’s Worth 1967

Our children learn what we teach them. More specifically, children learn what they SEE and HEAR routinely. WE teach our children to either embrace the differences of others or question them. We teach our children to judge others even as we tell them not to because we teach with our behavior. When we scoff at the fat man across the street, or the short person struggling to get onto the bus, or the person who doesn’t appear as “handsome” as we might wish, we are teaching our children the ideology the produces bullying. When we sneer at the “sinner” across the parking lot of the church, synagogue or mosque we just left, are we displaying the compassion ALL major religions preach or the judgment condemned in all holy writings? It doesn’t have to be a sexuality issue! Kids have always been just plain mean! They find ANY difference reason enough to bully! Sounds kinda like our politicians, doesn’t it? Uh, behavior has to be learned some place!

Someday, just for fun, we should try to APPRECIATE our differences … just for fun, mind you! 😉 It might be too productive, I understand. We might learn to value other perspectives and maybe, just maybe, learn a thing or two. Maybe!