I apologize for my lack of commentary for several weeks. I needn't lecture any of the few followers of this forum about the rapidity with which time seems to disappear into thin air. One reason, however, is that I am truly discouraged by our current political situation. I discover that when I have periods of intense news watching and reading that I get discouraged for what the future of this country may present to my young children. I want them to know an America where the hope is based on honesty and not hype. I want them to know an America where they are empowered by the government, not entangled by it. I want them to know an America where their success is their own and not disproportionately taken by the government as their efforts to be the best that they can be yield greater results. Where are all the voices who call for "fair taxation" when taxes are raised on the wealthy when the statistics are presented to them that 50% of the American population pay only 3.3% of its taxes, while a mere 1% pay over a full third of all taxes collected by the government--36.89%? (see full stats in Comments below). Do you want a fair portion of the burden you ask others to bear? Or is your hypocritical bickering based more on the fact that their burden is to your relief, thus depriving you of learning the virtue of work, self-reliance, and dependence on your own labors and not someone else's?
This rant is moving into some thoughts I had today while driving home from work. The American Dream....what is it? What has it been? (for a more concise and officially accepted definition see comments below). Coming to a land that affords you the opportunity to succeed...to work at a better life for your family, and be the best that you can be within your community, business, and home. Is this the American dream? Or is that simply a memory...fastly fading in the warp speed rise of big government? Can the American dream that once drove us to work at success in our profession still exist when that dream is capped by a government that leaves you with a fraction of what you earn based on their opinion that they know how much you need to survive, and that they--not you--can spend your hard earned cash better than you? When a government presumes to know what is best for your money better than you do, are they really fostering the ideal of 'the sky is the limit' that once drove entrepreneurs to be their best? Sure there are those who do abuse the system, who can truly be more charitable, but just because we're all not perfect, should we all be punished? I'll be totally honest. Over the last few months, my dreams to be a professor making a 6 digit salary have been dampened as I recognize that the more I make, the less control I have over my own finances. Soon the richer in finances will be poorer in freedom. Do I really want to be punished by the government that has supposedly empowered its citizens to truly reach for the stars? I'm not greedy, and I'm certainly not opposed to offering financial assistance to those in need. But I AM opposed to forced charity, I am opposed to the destruction of my agency, the agency that allows me to determine where the money I have earned can best be put to use. It is an eternal principle that you not only better appreciate something, but are better able to use something that you have strained to earn on your own merits. Doesn't it stand to reason that I can then best determine how my wealth can be best put to use for the benefit of humanity? Does the government think they can do a better job?
Agency, as we know, has been at the heart of a great struggle that began before any other of which we know. As such, it is the prime target of the adversary in all things. It has been that way since the beginning. Forced acceptance has always been the way of Lucifer. Now I'm not saying our government is in Satan's back pocket, and I'm not implying all politicians are consulting the prince of darkness each night. I'm simply saying that the subtle attacks on our agency as American citizens in the category of financial freedom have become more overt in recent months. Our ability to determine how the sweat of our own brow can be of a benefit to others is being greatly diminished by a body of politicians who believe they have a better way to distribute our wealth than we can. Thomas Jefferson said "To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical." Politicians lack of faith in the American Dream to enable its own citizens to succeed and then share that wealth with those less fortunate is extremely disturbing. Or could it be not so much a lack of their faith in the people they represent, but a clouding of their understanding once they enter the political realm and become too enmeshed in the great power at their fingertips, knowing that they essentially determine through their legislations the fate of over 300 million people? Our leaders may be elected democratically, but that doesn't ensure the survival of a democratic republic. President Howard W. Hunter said in his role as prophet while addressing students at BYU: "What is the real cause of this trend toward the welfare state, toward more socialism? In the last analysis, in my judgment, it is personal unrighteousness. When people do not use their freedoms responsibly and righteously, they will gradually lose their freedoms. . . . If man will not recognize the inequalities around him and voluntarily, through the gospel plan, come to the aid of his brother, he will find that through "a democratic process" he will be forced to come to the aid of his brother. The government will take from the "haves" and give to the "have nots." Both have lost their freedom. Those who "have," lost their freedom to give voluntarily of their own free will and in the way they desire. Those who "have not," lost their freedom because they did not earn what they received. They got "something for nothing," and they will neither appreciate the gift nor the giver of the gift.
Under this climate, people gradually become blind to what has happened and to the vital freedoms which they have lost." (The Teachings of Howard W. Hunter, p. 169; Bookcraft 1997).
I believe taxation should be fair and respect the sacredness of the eternal virtue we are all endowed with, agency. Again, not all successful millionaires will be as charitable as others, but not all of God's children were as virtuous as the others. Did He punish the whole because of the weakness of a few? Should all the wealthy be taxed because of the poor financial charity of a few? Should the ability of those philanthropists whose charity is truly Christ-like be reigned in by a government too shallow to believe in the faith of its own citizens? Should the government determine where our money can supposedly be best spent while disregarding the values and wishes of the earner of those wages? Or are the politicians wooed by the sheer number of people who pay less, take more, and are the beneficiaries of the forced government charity? The number of needy are much greater than the number of philanthropists, and elections are won by number of voters, not the amount of their donations.
So the American Dream. What was it for the Irish family in the 1850s? Or the English settler of the 18th century? Or the Italian immigrant of the early 1900s? And what is it now, for the settled generations of Americans whose forebearers believed in a dream strong enough to make it come true, and then hope for its perpetual blessings to be enjoyed by those who would come after them? Are the blessings they enjoyed being allowed to flourish, or are they being curtailed by growing governmental regulations? Is the encroachment of the government suffocating the American dream? Who will be left to determine the value in our success to bless the lives of others--ourselves, or the government?
