Right. So ...
the other day, I'm at the local quickie-mart.
I'm there because I'm a shameless Pepsi addict,
and I'm feenin'.
Bad.
All I can think about is the wave of joy that will wash over me when I get that first hit of my bubbly, burp-y, burn-y sugar-fix.
Bad.
All I can think about is the wave of joy that will wash over me when I get that first hit of my bubbly, burp-y, burn-y sugar-fix.
Day before payday. Multiple proms and band trips
and a graduation and an unfunded bathroom project and some unexpected car expenses
and dental work for two kids and hospital bills and Lord-only-knows-what other demands
on my finances, as unexpected as they are unavoidable, have hit all at once,
and they have drained my checking and savings accounts, utterly.
So, here's me, feeling very sorry for myself,
indeed. Feeling like I'm working my life away and have nothing to show for it; hitting
the soda-bottle for that sweet, sweet pick-me-up to get through another day of
making some other guy really rich, and scoring my fix with change I scrounged
from the change jar.
And that's when I see her.
Right in front of me stands this girl; old
enough to have a baby with her, but not beyond her early 20's, surely. She's
wearing dirty pj's and buying that same Pepsi, and a slice of pizza as a bonus,
with what appears to be some sort of government card.
I have to confess that, in that moment, I was overwhelmed with this sense that I'm quite
literally working my life away to pay for her Pepsi and Pizza when she couldn't
be bothered to even wash her PJ's.
So, let me start by just acknowledging that I
GET IT.
I really do get it. I get that impulse that I
see so many of you expressing on a daily basis on the facebooks. Meme's like this one:
Government assistance isn't paid by the rich, it's paid by the guy working 70 hours a week who can't afford what you're buying,
Yep. Spot on. I hear ya'.
Government assistance isn't paid by the rich, it's paid by the guy working 70 hours a week who can't afford what you're buying,
Yep. Spot on. I hear ya'.
Frustrating! Irritating! Unfair! I get it.
I find that the conversation around this comes
down to this:
One side wants Karma to work, and the other side doesn't.
Seriously.
One side wants Karma to work, and the other side doesn't.
Seriously.
You make bad decisions, and you end up with a crappy life. Your parents make bad decisions, and you have either to work extra hard to overcome them, or you end up with a crappy life. Someone does something horrible to you and sets your world spinning off kilter, you have to overcome that, or live a crappy life.
I get that perspective.
I just don't agree with it.
In spite of the way I felt in that moment, I don't agree with the sentiment that we should not be feeding poor people. Even poor people who have made, and continue to make, bad decisions (such as wearing dirty PJ's out to buy soda and a slice of pizza).
In spite of the way I felt in that moment, I don't agree with the sentiment that we should not be feeding poor people. Even poor people who have made, and continue to make, bad decisions (such as wearing dirty PJ's out to buy soda and a slice of pizza).
At a fundamental level, here's why:
And this:
And, finally, because I believe that government
is not this externalized beast that is up to no good.
Government is us. The government that I am determined to FIGHT for is not what's being done to us, but what we choose
to do together!
I believe in a government of the people, by the people, and for
the people.
Saying it is not the government's place to take care of the poor is
exactly like saying it's not MY place to take care of the poor.
No, it is EXACTLY saying that it is not my
place to take care of the poor.
Are they undeserving? Maybe. Maybe not. Who
knows. Let's assume they are. And then, let's feed them, anyway.
In fact, in the list of all the things that a
rich nation might give to the undeserving, I would think that FOOD would be at the top, wouldn't you?! Yeah, you're not the greatest,
but here: let's not let you starve...
So, you're lazy? You're stupid? You're ugly? You
have no social skills? You have a mental or physical disability? You have made
terrible decisions resulting in a criminal record and no one will hire you? You continue to make terrible, impulsive financial decisions that lead to absurdities like you're owning an iPhone but not being able to buy groceries?
You are completely unlovable and I can't stand to be in the miasma you create for more than a few seconds?
You are completely unlovable and I can't stand to be in the miasma you create for more than a few seconds?
Great - Have some food. On me.
In Jesus' name, amen.
