[quote name='JolietJake'][quote name='bmulligan']We are. The government's job used to be to eliminate the possibility of me becoming in charge of everyone else. Now they want that monopoly to themselves. [/quote]That was supposed to be a joke but apparently it failed.[/quote]
It was sarcasm. It was aimed at all the Leftists here who's moral justification for power over other men is to further the common good.
Anyway, the government is involved in the lives of citizens to the extent that it needs to be. Despite your apparent affection for social darwinism, most people don't think that way. At least not the ones who care to devote more than 5 minutes of their time to think about it. One day when everyone is perfect like yourself and people always do the responsible thing with their money i'll say the government should butt out, but i don't count on that day coming during my lifetime.
I've said for a while that classes on financial responsibility should be required in schools, just so that people do learn to do the responsible thing. But i also know that human beings aren't perfect and there will always be a few people who screw up, but those people shouldn't be allowed to just fall to the wayside and end up homeless or otherwise in destitution. Thats no way for a supposedly enlightened society to treat it's people.
Government does not
need to be involved in the lives of free people. In fact, the basis for our form of government was to keep government out of the affairs of free people.
I understand most people don't think that way, yet that is not a valid moral justification to enslave those don't believe in it. Those that DO think about it more than 5 minutes realize the harshness of reality and muster the fortitude to deal with it properly, like men. We don't need to sit around and blank out about our feelings, and how sorry we are for everyone including ourselves and try to figure out a plan to make sure everyone talks nice-nice and never gets a boo-boo. That's not
thinking, it called denial of reality. You think it's compassion, but it is it's complete opposite.
Yes, we're not all perfect. Yes, we all want to be taken care of. In fact, as children, we all need some form of security. but when we become adult citizens, we need to be weaned and become responsible for our own successes as well as our failures. If we continue to be treated as children for our entire lives, we never grow up, and, consequently, are never able to provide our own survival in the wild. When children are not taught the consequences of their actions and given the ability to properly judge risk, they tend to engage in overly risky behavior. When such failures produce no ill effects, riskier behavior results. The absence of
thinking is what necessitates this so-called "care".
Social Darwinists have a
choice to help someone they find who is down and out. I probably know more charitable Social Darwinists than you know people. They give real help to people. They devote their time as well as their money to lift people from their own darkness. They offer real help, personal help, conditional help, - meaningful help. Most Leftists would rather enslave these successful Darwinists than be charitable with their own time and money.
Congratulations, by the way. You must be a recent graduate from the Leftist school of thought. You display the three pillars perfectly. First, deny reality and human nature. Second, propagate freedom as the root of evil. Third, promote slavery as progress and equality. You know them well, yet you don't fully understand them. Again, you think these steps arise from compassion. One day you may realize they come from the desire for power over other men. More than likely, though, you'll never come to that realization. By the way, I think I know one of your professors, his name is Murder.
Anyway, (complete with flippant hand gesture) you are the complete opposite of being part of the "Enlightenment" of society.
.