Elections come down to the question of trust, which candidate do you trust more? Americans need to think about a more important question as they vote, which party trusts them? Democrats have this paternalistic quality in which they want to "take care" of Americans with the unspoken theme that government knows best, particularly the federal government. Republicans want Americans to take care of themselves as much as possible.
It's a question of trust. Democrats view society's problems and their first impulse is to legislate them away. Admittedly it is difficult to not want to take the reigns of society when there is so much chaos in the news. It's incredibly hard to watch people fail and not do something to help them. We have a social safety net with programs like welfare, food stamps, medicare and medicaid. However our safety net has become sticky rather than springy. It ensnares and entraps people rather than giving them a much needed bounce to propel them forward. Democrats use this stickiness to their advantage and try to create fear in the electorate that something vital is being taken away. What voters ought to fear is that their very self-respect is being eaten away with each silky thread added to this so called safety net. Each tendril that appears to embrace us and shield us from supposed harm in fact wraps us and keeps us in this net, this sticky web of government dependence. I don't think Americans ever would have supported these programs had they realized the supposed cushion that they were intended to provide would indeed be used to suffocate America.
Republicans are left to combat this image of being the party that takes away when in all honesty they are the party that gives to America. Republicans give to individual Americans the respect that they deserve. Republicans give to each of us the trust that it is our individual rights that are upheld by a limited government. I don't want to be sorted into any group by the government. When it comes down to it everyone would like to be viewed as an individual not just a conglomeration of quantifiable attributes such as age, race, gender, or religion to name just a few. I want to be trusted to use my own resources to help others in the way that is meaningful to me.
I want to be trusted to fail. I want to be trusted to fall down and pick myself back up and try again. I want to be trusted to do that over and over again if necessary. It's not that I have a desire to fail or that I want anyone to root for me to fail; I don't. I want the opportunity to try and the freedom to try what I want and in the manner I see fit to attempt it. Republicans have trust in the individual citizen. They believe in me that I have the right to trust in myself and my God and to act according to my conscience.
Billy Joel - A Matter of Trust
Tuesday, October 02, 2012
Friday, March 09, 2012
Manners Matter
My kids will tell you I'm obsessive about manners. Did you say please and thank you? Say excuse me or pardon me when you do x, y, or z. The list goes on and on. I comment on their tv shows to point out not so nice behavior. In fact, i-carly is no longer welcome in our home, especially when I am within earshot. Why? Because of the rude side kick.
Rudeness rules the day in our political culture. Just listen to any talk show, tv or otherwise. It's become perfectly okay to talk about others who disagree with your point of view with viciousness. When it suits someone's agenda people are called out for their rude behavior and comments. I don't think that one group in particular is more worthy than others to be protected from attack. Sadly these attacks come from all sides. We've stopped recognizing that the person on the other side has a soul, they are merely some label to be attacked.
You see rudeness on the playground and the internet and everywhere in between. It's all about one upping someone else with a snarky comment. We see it and laugh. We think it's funny to watch someone get made fun of or laughed at. A comment that has sadly made it's way into my kids' vocabulary is, " you got owned." Aside from being grammatically incorrect, it bugs me on another level.
The Emmancipation Proclamation happened more than a century ago to free American slaves yet somehow we let ourselves talk about each other in this way? No, no matter how wrong I am or what stupid thing I do or say, nobody owns me. I belong to Christ because I was made in his image and have a unique soul. That is the only way I recognize being "owned". That is the only way I want my kids to recognize being owned. That is the only way I want them to see the world around them.
I insist on manners because using courtesy recognizes the dignity of each person. Manners acknowledge the soul. Not everyone sees it this way. Some think of manners as a function of upbringing and a tool of snobbery. Manners at their most basic are not a weapon but a universal language (albeit sometimes a function of culture when getting down to the nitty gritt details of personal space and eye contact) used to acknowledge each other's personhood, their soul. The great commandment, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, predates any etiquette guide.
Treating people with respect and expecting the same treatment in return is a powerful way to witness to the presence of Christ in all of us.
Rudeness rules the day in our political culture. Just listen to any talk show, tv or otherwise. It's become perfectly okay to talk about others who disagree with your point of view with viciousness. When it suits someone's agenda people are called out for their rude behavior and comments. I don't think that one group in particular is more worthy than others to be protected from attack. Sadly these attacks come from all sides. We've stopped recognizing that the person on the other side has a soul, they are merely some label to be attacked.
You see rudeness on the playground and the internet and everywhere in between. It's all about one upping someone else with a snarky comment. We see it and laugh. We think it's funny to watch someone get made fun of or laughed at. A comment that has sadly made it's way into my kids' vocabulary is, " you got owned." Aside from being grammatically incorrect, it bugs me on another level.
The Emmancipation Proclamation happened more than a century ago to free American slaves yet somehow we let ourselves talk about each other in this way? No, no matter how wrong I am or what stupid thing I do or say, nobody owns me. I belong to Christ because I was made in his image and have a unique soul. That is the only way I recognize being "owned". That is the only way I want my kids to recognize being owned. That is the only way I want them to see the world around them.
I insist on manners because using courtesy recognizes the dignity of each person. Manners acknowledge the soul. Not everyone sees it this way. Some think of manners as a function of upbringing and a tool of snobbery. Manners at their most basic are not a weapon but a universal language (albeit sometimes a function of culture when getting down to the nitty gritt details of personal space and eye contact) used to acknowledge each other's personhood, their soul. The great commandment, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, predates any etiquette guide.
Treating people with respect and expecting the same treatment in return is a powerful way to witness to the presence of Christ in all of us.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Message in an aisle
I was all set to go to Mass this morning but somehow I lost track of time and it didn't happen. I thought it might be rude to show up during the homily. So I went grocery shopping earlier than planned. As I wandered up and down the aisles looking for a needed, or at the very least wanted, product to fulfill the 10 items for a bunch cheaper deal I ran into a mom I knew from ballet. She informed me that her daughter might be giving up ballet for good because the bone has worn away in her ankle to such a degree that she will be having surgery to fix it. Ballet is not for the faint of heart or weak bodied. Her daughter is in 7th grade. She has been dancing at the performing level for a few years and just got her pointe shoes. She dances 4 hours a day most days and now she will have to go cold turkey. 7th grade and her bone has worn away.....I really can't fathom that.
It makes me wonder what road my own daughter is starting down with ballet. She is only in 3rd grade but she has 3 classes a week. She swings between loving ballet and not wanting to go at all. Time will tell if ballet wins out over basketball, soccer, softball, and school plays. I'd like for her to be able to take ballet just as a class to enjoy in its own right and not fall into the trap of viewing it as a stepping stone to professional ballet. So very few make it that far......and the price they pay to travel that road is higher than I would be willing to pay.
This mom's sad story was most definitely the warning sign I needed today. I missed Mass but I think I was exactly where I was supposed to be.
It makes me wonder what road my own daughter is starting down with ballet. She is only in 3rd grade but she has 3 classes a week. She swings between loving ballet and not wanting to go at all. Time will tell if ballet wins out over basketball, soccer, softball, and school plays. I'd like for her to be able to take ballet just as a class to enjoy in its own right and not fall into the trap of viewing it as a stepping stone to professional ballet. So very few make it that far......and the price they pay to travel that road is higher than I would be willing to pay.
This mom's sad story was most definitely the warning sign I needed today. I missed Mass but I think I was exactly where I was supposed to be.
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