Charity begins where?

Many of us have heard that charity begins in the heart. From a conscious choice within to express goodwill toward another, an individual then lets that decision to be charitable be implemented with the tool of their mind. Action follows.

This, of course, can occur from individual to individual, individual to a group or cause, or from like minded individuals joining together to express charity toward others. It’s always a free will choice to give one’s time, talents, possessions or money to assist another who has need of something you possess.

Contrast that with the rarely challenged and highly government propagandized notion that to be charitable is synonymous with government taking your money (taxes) and distributing it to people who they say need it more than you. To accept this is to 1. Agree that the money you earn isn’t yours at all, but that your work and its income belongs to the collective, a collective to which you have an obligation - enforced by the threat of fines and/or incarceration. 2. Agree that you are incompetent to determine for yourself if and to whom is worthy for you to give your resources to.

I seriously doubt too many people would voice agreement to either point one or two. And, yet, many of these same people will actually defend and support the multitude of government programs, which they pay heavily for, simply because it’s got a good sounding ring to it. But government programs are as far away from true charity as it comes. They are, in my opinion, based on threat, exploitation, greed, power, and control - the antithesis of true charity, even hurting the very ones they proclaim to care for. Add to this that if a private charity operated with the bureaucratic waste and unaccountability that government often does, it being exposed, wouldn’t last for long since few people want to throw away their money to enrich another who simply claims the money is going toward a good cause - most of us want to know the money we give goes predominantly to the cause.

Your fair share

 A few weeks ago, I received a letter (”Presorted First-class postage & fees paid”) which I assumed was the census, but upon its opening, I found it was yet another piece of federal government propaganda notifying me that I would soon be receiving the census and instructing me to “mail it in promptly” because my response was ‘important” so my “community” would get its “fair share” since that “fair share” includes “government funds for highways, schools, health facilities, and many other programs you and your neighbors need.”

Postage was spent to send a preliminary letter letting me know to be ready for the census.

The U.S. Census Bureau has undertaken one of the largest propaganda machines I’ve seen with their “Road Tour” whose intent is “to motivate America’s growing and increasingly diverse population” to mail the census back by appearing at “local parades and festivals to major sporting events like the Super Bowl and NCAA Final Four”, TV and radio ads, a census sponsored race car in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, and PSAs, saying on their website that “The advertising campaign represents the most extensive and diverse outreach campaign in U.S. history, with advertisements appearing in 28 languages,” and that “For every percentage point increase in the 2010 Census mail-back participation rate, the Census Bureau saves about $85 million in follow-up costs with households that failed to return their forms.”

Yet somehow I don’t believe “costs” are much of a concern- what with all their personal visits of census workers, even sometimes to deliver the census rather than sending it by mail. And most importantly, the census has become something far beyond a simple headcount as called for in the Constitution.

Fact is, I “need” nor want none of what the federal government wants me to excitedly and eagerly take from other people, I need only to be left alone with my full share which is everything I earn, to give or keep as I so choose. I’m one who investigates charitable causes, examining their overhead costs with their actual charitable work, and am selective in who and what I support based on my values. I have to trust an organization before I give. I “share” my resources with those I choose to help. The federal government fails to meet my requirements as a trusted entity, and unlike any other organization which must earn a contributor’s trust - it doesn’t ask for money, it demands and takes it by force.

The whole idea of getting a “fair share” is repulsive and despicable because it condones the immoral government sanctioned/imposed socialism and the legalized theft it relies upon. None are of are owed anything from our fellow countrymen, and yet our nation has devolved into acceptance of all manner of taxpayer funded “entitlements” as a way of life.

People wouldn’t be fighting over getting back those dollars if it weren’t taken from them to begin with. Government gives us nothing because it creates nothing - it merely takes what we earn and says they in government know better than we how to spend our earnings.

All I want is for the money the federal government has taken to be given back to the individuals from which it came. Not returned through a “program” but as real money to individuals whose money was forcibly taken from them. All I “need” is to be able to keep all I earn to do with as I please - including providing for my own retirement as well as health insurance free from all government intrusion. What I also need is a state government who will step up and refuse to be subservient to the federal government’s regulations and stipulations which take away the rights and liberties of their citizens; a state government that places individual liberty above any collective want.

The lion’s share

And, with tax time upon us, I marvel sadly at the pathetic people who appear to happily compliment the government for all its help provided taxpayers in getting their taxes paid on time. They speak as if they’d be grateful if, in being robbed, the robber kindly offered to assist them by opening their wallet for them.

Even many of those citizens who complain about doing their taxes will defend that very tyranny when they encounter the libertarian idea of ending the income tax.

Obviously, government propaganda has worked enormously well; decades of indoctrination has made a people forget the origins of this country and the principles upon which it was founded.

Instead of challenging the wasteful, immoral, evil, and certainly unconstitutional ways the money taken from them is used for, many instead concern themselves with getting the so called “fair share” for their state and community from the federal government, while the monstrous federal government smugly takes the lion’s share for itself.

The only source of charity

Many seek to feel good without choosing to do good. There’s a big difference between abiding or complying with what you’re legally forced to do in this society, and making a conscience decision to take a particular action, of your own free will, to benefit another. Without choice, there is no virtue. There is nothing particularly virtuous, and certainly nothing charitable, in simply obeying the laws.

True charity is a voluntary giving, it comes not from the actions you are forced to comply with (whether you agree with them or not). It neither begins nor can ever come from any government agency or program because the funding was taken forcibly thereby eliminating all free choice to love or not. The only “share” you’re ethically entitled to is that which you earn or that which is voluntarily given you.

I began this blog with a question: Charity begins where?

The answer is, of course, in your heart. Some say “at home.” Same thing. It begins with the free will choice of an individual to help another. It is void of all coercion. In fact, it’s such a strong force it comes to the rescue of all people and all causes, often with relief, provision, and even abundance. There is no scarcity, only a government which manipulates with fear (including the fear of scarcity) to deceive the people into accepting they need government to provide “charity” for their every need.

Despite the fact so much of our money is taken from us by government, we’re still a most generous, compassionate charitable nation. Even when the effects of government intrusion into our economic lives is at its worst, with the repercussions being suffered nationwide, we’re still a charitable people. We give to our friends and family in times of their need, to our favorite charities, our churches, and even to worldwide relief in times of disaster. We open our hearts first, then our wallets. And when we’re on the receiving end, be it someone volunteering their time or a tangible item or a monetary gift to help us, we experience gratitude because we realize that person or organization didn’t have to help - they weren’t forced to help - they helped because they wanted to.

That being the case, just think what we could do to help others if we were able to keep the money currently taken from us by government - if we kept all or most of what we earned. Imagine the increase in contributions for every cause you care about. The homeless and the ill…the struggling, hurting, alone or hungry…to the arts and education and environment…no matter the cause, there’d be no more talk of trying to get back a “fair share” from the federal government because the money would have been kept with those who earned it. Those who choose to give could give so much more from their earnings, resulting in no artificial limit - because there’s no limit to the capacity to love within the human heart - the only source of charity.

http://www.ElectChristineSmith.com

Topic: the debate over healthcare reform (including a discussion of The Tenth Amendment).
I invite you to listen. (audio approximately 15 minutes).

“Reading Friedrich A. Hayek’s Road to Serfdom, one is amazed that a book published 64 years ago could paint such an accurate picture of where the United States is headed today. Hayek’s warning of the dangers of centralized planning and his cautioning that well-intentioned planning can degrade into tyranny describes the road the United States embarked upon several decades ago and has traveled ever since. We now live in a nation where many people give only lip service to the free market and its fruits of economic and personal freedom…”

I invite you to read my article, The Road Waiting to Be Taken, published by The Future of Freedom Foundation.