Re: Stephen Colbert Quote
By: thinktank to All on Sun Jan 02 2011 06:16 pm
> "If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, eithe
> we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to
> acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy withou
> condition and then admit that we just don't want to do it."
> ~ I am on twitter: @thinktank79 on Twitter ~
>
First off, I have to say that that is a great quote. I don't know how the rest
of the country is, but around here we have a coalition of churchs that receive
tons of donations, so that those of us who are poor (such as I) get what we
need when we need it the most.
I'm curious about the context around the quote, however. I don't believe that
the wealthy should be overly taxed to give to the poor. For instance, I could
probably take advantage of several more programs to get a decent house, a few
more hundred dollars a month in cash assistance, maybe even medicaid. But, I
make myself struggle along in the slum that we're in, only taking a monthly
food benefit, child support, and a small stipend from my family to pay for the
rent and electricity until I get a job. I have yet to even call upon a church
for more than a few winter clothes.
I've met many people who seem to believe just because they aren't working, they
should get unemployment, housing, and medicaid. And some of those didn't even
have kids. When I didn't have the kids with me, I slept out of my car (then a
tent) for a few months before I bought this place. I survived on maybe twenty
dollars a week for food, twenty for gas, bought my cigs, and most of the rest
went towards bettering myself. Unfortunately, life crapped on me, and I'm
barely hanging on again, but the next upswing should take me a lil higher and
hopefully it'll be smooth sailing from there.
Too many people these days want things handed to them. They don't know what
it's really like to be poor. Heck, even my worst wasn't that bad. I've still
always had a roof over my head (be it a car roof, or tent roof, or leaky roof)
and food in my stomach (at least once a day). I've had friends or family to
crash with when the weather was too bad, and when I needed a hot shower. Heck,
WalMart now has solar showers for under $10.
Anyways, long story short, I think this country is doing a fantastic job
helping each other out. I think we sometimes forget; but when things get bad,
those who can spare usually do. My biggest fear is that when I finally do get
into a steady life, most of my hardest earned cash will end up getting taken
from me, and 80% of that eaten up in burocracy before the final 20% gets put to
use. I say most, because aside from income tax, there's the sales and property
and so on. I prefer to have choice about what I can spare.
end rant. :)
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