PICAYUNE —
Mitt Romney accuses President Obama of fostering government dependency and that he seeks "a government-centered society, where government grows bigger and more active, occupying more of our everyday lives." Romney's remarks have been countered by the president and in the media by painting presidential candidate Romney as a cold businessman with little or no concern for needy Americans.
When the founders wrote the constitution they drew from a number of great political thinkers from several periods in history. A favorite was Cicero who lived in the century before Jesus. They agreed with his basic principles for building a nation:
Cicero reminded his countrymen that their final best hope was for the commonwealth to cleanse itself of their depravity and return to the Laws of the Creator. Our Founding Fathers also visualized a nation with a high level of moral and spiritual values. They used the national symbol, the eagle, to illustrate the structure of the United States. The eagle had three heads which stood for the three branches of government and two wings which symbolized the right and left political parties of the nation.
The left wing focuses on the needs of the people and devises elaborate plans to meet each need.
The right wing focuses on the proper use of the nations resources and the preservation of the people's freedom. Its function is to ask two questions: Can we afford it? What will it do to the rights and freedom of the people?
America was founded on the proposition that "All men are created equal". We are different in looks, in skills, in mental capacity, and emotional stability but before the law we are all equal - each of us has an equal title to God-given liberties.
The Founders recognized that society should seek to provide: "
— equal opportunity but not expect equal results;
— equal freedom but not expect equal capacity;
— equal rights but not equal possessions;
— equal protection but not equal status;
— equal educational opportunities but not equal grades."
— Cleon Klousen A survey of Ben Franklin's views on misplaced compassion would be instructive today:
"Compassion can easily become an enabling course of action which gives a drunk the means to increase his drinking. It can breed dependency and weakness, blunt the desire or necessity to work for a living and weaken the instinct to strive and excel."
In short, charity, unless it is done appropriately, is a put-down. It can violate the principle of equality and imply that some of us are more equal than others.
The leaders of the early nation recognized that it is our Christian duty to help the poor and underprivileged and outlined the way to do it appropriately:
Help the needy only to the point that they can help themselves.
Allow them the satisfaction of "earned achievement" instead of rewarding them without achievement.
The poor must be encouraged to climb the "appreciation ladder -from tents to cabins, cabins to cottages, cottages to comfortable houses."
Never prolong emergency help to the point where it becomes habitual.
Strictly enforce the scale of "fixed responsibility." The first and foremost level of responsibility is with the individual himself; the second level is the family; then the church; next the community; finally the county, and, in a disaster or emergency, the state.
The Founders decided not to give constitutional authority to the government to intervene in the local affairs of the people including charity or welfare. They felt they were protecting the unalienable rights of the people from abuse by an over-aggressive government as well as serving the best interests of the needy.
Samuel Adams stated that a welfare state was unconstitutional:
"The utopian schemes of leveling .are arbitrary, despotic, and, in our government, unconstitutional."
America's greatest generation grew up in the great depression of the 1930s and tend to identify with the poor with one caveat: They are convinced that today's poor should not reap where they have not sown; that the poor do much better when they are given opportunity and encouragement instead of placing them in a welfare class The poor have much to offer when they are treated as responsible citizens instead of permanent wards of the state.
What happened in America under the principles favored by the Founders was the wonder of the world. The Americans were soon on their way to becoming the most prosperous and best-educated nation in the world. They were also the freest and most generous people on earth, not simply because they were Americans but because these principles would work wonders for any nation.
Features
Watson: Words from the Founders on welfare
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southern gardening
Every spring the home gardener is bombarded with new and improved petunias for the garden and landscape, making it hard to decide which to bring home from the garden center. In my opinion, you simply can’t go wrong selecting any of the Supertunias.
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arboretum paths
Spring is now in full swing at the Crosby Arboretum, and the show is well on its way toward a crescendo. The blooms of native purple Iris can be seen along the edge of the Piney Woods pond, pink “honeysuckle” azalea is flowering near the Pinecote Pavilion, and the yellow blooms of the pitcher plants — called “buttercups” by local residents — are beginning to carpet the south Savanna Exhibit.
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USM set to host Children’s Book Festival
One of the most anticipated events celebrating children’s literature, the Fay B. Kaigler Children’s Book Festival at The University of Southern Mississippi, will be held April 10-12 at the Thad Cochran Center on the Hattiesburg campus.
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Amber Bounds breaks six-year-old state swimming record
The Southern MS Aquatic Club (Mantarays) participated in the Santa’s Best Swim Invitational in Biloxi Nov. 30-Dec. 2. The Mantarays finished 6th out of 22 teams competing from LA, AL, FL, and MS.
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Capitol Pages
Jonathan Fail of Picayune, and Lorrie Warren of Poplarville recently served as pages for the Mississippi Senate.
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Yellow jasmine brightens yards
According to the calendar, we are just a few days away from the official start of the spring season. But if you have been watching the garden and landscape like I have, you’ve seen signs of spring for at least several weeks. The plants are starting to wake up.
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Native blooms abound at the Arboretum’s spring plant sale
The long-awaited weekend is upon us – that time which comes but once a year. Yes, it’s the Crosby Arboretum’s spring native plant sale.
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Welcome Center celebrates arts and literature in March
The Mississippi Development Authority, Division of Tourism will be celebrating “Arts and Literature” during the month of March. Each of the Welcome Centers will be decorated differently for this celebration.
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Lamont Rowlands house important to historical heritage
Pat Crosby first moved to the Lamont Rowlands house in 1992.
Although she found the home in disrepair, she couldn’t imagine not living there and knew that was her new home.
“It just spoke to me, and it still does,” said Crosby, the wife of the late Tommy Crosby, son of R.H. Crosby. Tommy Crosby completely renovated the home and grounds. -
Pearl River County Arts League Art Show and Sale
Pearl River County Arts League Art Show and Sale will be held on Saturday, March 23, from 10 a.m. till 5 p.m. and Sunday, March 24, from noon till 4 p.m. at The Knights of Columbus Hall, 408 Carroll Drive. The show is open to all artists and admission is free to the public.
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