The Government Can

Thanks to the blog reader who sent me to this! What a lovely way to use humor to stress an important principle: the government can only give away what it takes from someone else. It does not make money.

I am a little disheartened when I hear well-meaning people say that the government should provide us with health, a standard of living, education, and retirement funds . . . What? No, all we are promised is the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. On GMA the other morning I heard Dr. Tim Johnson say that we couldn't be happy without good health care . . . well, I know a lot of bed-ridden folks, and people who live with chronic pain, who would disagree with that. His statement is only a hair's breadth away from saying that if you can't achieve a certain quality of life, then your life isn't worth living.

No, sir.

We who are Christians are charged with feeding the poor and ministering to the less fortunate. In fact, every religion I know of (except, perhaps, for a couple of odd cults) promotes kindness and generosity as a way of life for its members. To entrust charity, education, and health care to the hands of the government will only insure that our dollars buy less and our hearts grow cold because problems will always be someone else's responsibility.

In truth, my friends, the government CAN'T. It should stick to doing what it has been charged with doing--protecting the national boundaries (i.e., defense) and maintaining law and order.

~~Angie