A Rare Political Moment/Rant

I found the quote below on one of my favorite blog haunts (The Good Apple). I don't often get into politics on my blog because it tends to open a can of worms, but this quote resonates exactly with what I have been feeling the last little while as I have observed the direction our country/government seems to be heading.

"You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is the beginning of the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."
~ Adrian Rogers (1931-2005), Founder of Love Worth Finding Ministries & Pastor Emeritus of Bellevue Baptist Church

Forgive my slight jab contained in the link "the beginning of the end", I just thought it rather ironic :) It kind of reminded me of the story about the young bride who said to her mother on her wedding day, "Oh mother, I am at the end of all my troubles." To which her mother replied, "Yes, but do you know which end?" And NO I do NOT think that our nation is at "the end", but I also do not think signing away trillions of dollars with the stroke of a pen is going to be the turning point for our failing economy.

I suppose I should place a caveat here in reference to the quote from above. I am NOT opposed to helping those who are less fortunate than I. I firmly believe that we should all be striving for a society in which the Law of Consecration is being implemented by all its members. However I very firmly believe that this state of society should not (and cannot successfully) be forced upon citizens by their government. It only works if it is a personal choice by every individual (and under the direction of spiritual leadership) and also only works if EVERY individual is willing to contribute their part.

So there is my little rant. I could go on, but I won't.

I should also say (after my little jab from above) that I do not dislike everything about President Obama. I think that he has the best interests of the country at heart, but I do not agree with many of his ideas of what is "best" for our country. The problems our nation is facing are not his creating (they have been years/decades in the making), however I don't believe that they are going to end/be solved by his presidency or leadership either.

On a more hopeful note, here is a bit of inspiration for those of you who may also feel like our country is headed in a direction that is a bit frightening and is losing what I consider to be core values and principles of both a successful life and nation. I don't agree with everything on the site and certainly don't think it is a "cure all" to our current national crises, but I do agree with the 9 Principles and 12 Values ( you can also check out their tabs on the 9-12 Project website). I personally believe that if more of these principles were practiced by each of us as individuals the positive effects on our country would be phenomenal.

P.S. - If you disagree with anything I have said and feel a burning desire to voice your opinion feel free to make a comment but please remember that reasonable people can always reasonably disagree, so don't write anything too nasty to me personally :) Thanks!