A Spiritual Leaders Comments on the Trend Towards a Socialist Welfare State:What is the real cause of this trend toward the welfare state, toward more socialism? In the last analysis, in my judgment, it is personal unrighteousness. When people do not use their freedoms responsibly and righteously, they will gradually lose these freedoms. . . .
If man will not recognize the inequalities around him and voluntarily, through the gospel plan, come to the aid of his brother, he will find that through a democratic process he will be forced to come to the aid of his brother. The government will take from the haves and give to the have nots. Both have lost their freedom. Those who have, lost their freedom to give voluntarily of their own free will and in the way they desire. Those who have not, lost their freedom because they did not earn what they received. They got something for nothing, and they will neither appreciate the gift nor the giver of the gift.
Under this climate, people gradually become blind to what has happened and to the vital freedoms which they have lost. (Speeches of the Year 1965-1966, pp. 1-11, The Law of the Harvest. Devotional Address,
T - Here are a few of my thoughts I shared on a facebook thread that are relevant to the common good vs charity discussion. I hope you find them contributory.
ReplyDeleteI have reached the point where I will no longer tolerate the lie "Everybody tries their hardest so we all deserve __________ from the government." First off, no one gives 100% of their effort 100% of the time on 100% of whatever they're doing. This attitude also completely ignores our nation's history of social programs that have already robbed a certain amount of our society of their sense of self-reliance and initiative to get off welfare. Multi-generational welfare families are proof of this. Secondly, the government is not the vehicle by which the mechanisms of individual compassion can be exercised on behalf of the needy. Collective compassion is a lie championed by a fallen angel who was thrown out over it. Only when we as members of society mean something to each other can compassion and charity be invoked and the needy be helped. The compulsion inherent in universal health care excused under the guise of the common good removes the value of the individual. That means that we mean nothing to each other as individuals, and we are nothing more than competitors for governmentally-limited resources fighting for our own interests at the expense of everyone else. It means we're all needy and we're all parasites on the each other and the planet. For all the ideal intent of helping each other, THIS DOES THE OPPOSITE. Collectivism has no compassion. It is not an elevation of the value of human life. The only value that can be added to society and raise it out of the mire is the effort of the individual. The government may not function in the individual's role to any tolerable level of success. The expense in both freedoms and efforts to the individual under collective requirement is too high when the participants do not willingly participate. Choice cannot be mitigated without resulting in the destruction of the matrix (which equates geopolitically to society). Quit thinking like the Architect where perfect theories should control and dictate every aspect of our lives. Are you content to be nothing more than a communal battery that fuels the power of our enemies or will you have have eyes to see the power that is yours as an individual through choice? Only when we choose to mean the right things to each other as members of society will there be enough compassion and charity to cleanse the world of neediness. It cannot be mandated. It must be chosen one individual at a time. You may NOT put me in a pod!