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.
Lifestyles
October 27, 2012
Watson: Words from the Founders on welfare
- Lifestyles
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- Special Boat Team 22 helps SPCA Special Boat Team 22 members, based out of Stennis, visited the Pearl River County SPCA, on Saturday, to implement “Operation Rescue PRC SPCA.” The Pearl River County SPCA posted on their Facebook page that they were blessed by the team, who “swarmed” in on them from 8 a.m. until after noon. The team, who could not be identified for security issues, did board rot repairs, landscaping, and repainting some of the interior and exterior of the building.
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Swamp Hunters to judge Post 73 Ladies Auxiliary Barbeque Cook Off
The Taylor clan from Tru TV’s “Swamp Hunters” series will be judging the American Legion Post 73 Ladies Auxiliary Barbecue which will be held from 9 a.m. till 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 22. The Legion is located at 2500 Union School Road; all proceeds will go to fund their Christmas Basket project. The Butch Fields Band will be playing outside from noon to 4 p.m.
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Arboretum Paths: Owl pellets and pitcher plant bellies
What lies inside a pitcher plant’s tummy? Campers attending last week’s Summer Nature Camp at the Crosby Arboretum had a chance to find out. Camp projects included dissecting a pitcher plant, learning the definition of a herbarium, and exploring edible plants. Perhaps one of these activities will even spark an interest in a future career or the pursuit of a field of study at Mississippi State University.
- Lions Club marks seventy years of service Recently, an awards and anniversary reception was held at the Crosby Memorial Library to mark the 70th Anniversary of the Picayune Lions Club.
- Vocability Words can be both familiar and extremely confusing when taken from their usual context. Ask any wine enthusiast about legs, fat or bricks and they may assume you are speaking “Vinonese.” Ok — I made that word up; but the language of wine does indeed include legs, fat and brix which have entirely different meanings from what you might assume. Working with definitions from http://www.wineschool.com/vocabulary.html, try your basic knowledge of “Vinonese.”
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City and PRC school work together for flower power
The City of Picayune began a partnership with Pearl River Central High School this past year in a pilot program to supply its own flowers and greenery for flower beds throughout the city. The program, which has been in the works for two years, became a reality as plants were put in the ground in the median area by Exit 6 on Mississippi Highway 43.
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Miller partners with sponsor for Myasthenia Gravis Awareness Month
In a press release, MasterChef Season One winner and cookbook author Whitney Miller announced she is partnering in her Myasthenia Gravis (MG) fundraising campaign with a national sponsor for the month of June.
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Arboretum Paths: Summer Nature Camp time
By the time you read this, Crosby Arboretum’s Summer Nature Camp will be in full swing. We’ve had fun planning for this exciting week, one that will be jam-packed with activities that will explore the wonders of nature.
- Precautions for pet evacuation during natural disasters: Part 2 RedRover.org has put together a list of needs for reptiles and amphibian owners to use in the event of an evacuation. But they advise, “There are greatly varied needs which come with different species of reptiles and amphibians, owners should be familiar with their particular species to know which of the items listed apply to them.”
- Vocability Words can set a tone for a situation, alter someone’s perception of an individual or group — in short, there is power in them. The Bible cautions, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue...” — Proverbs in 18:21, ASB. With that in mind, I will be focusing on words, some recently used and some obscure, to test the readers and build on what you already know. There will be theme weeks, for instance next week will focus on words involving wine — for no particular reason! So try your vocabulary skills with the following and see how you score. I’m always open to suggestions for material.
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