December 8, 2010 - We received the following letters to the editor at "The Nosy News" from 10 year old Virginia. Virginia asks hard questions.
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Conservatives believe in helping themselves at the expense of others; Liberals believe in helping others at the expense to themselves. Everyone knows that. So, why don't you people believe in the Obama Claus?
Your Friend,
Virginia
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Dear Virginia,
You have it all wrong. You assume that only conservatives are greedy people. There are greedy people of both political persuasions that believe in helping themselves to other people's money (see redistribution of wealth and Ponzi schemes - which are the same thing). In fact, Bernie Madoff, convicted of the largest Ponzi scheme in history (he defrauded his clients of billions of dollars), was a heavy donor to the Democrat party and was a major Obama supporter.
Percentage wise, conservatives actually give more to charity than any other group. They give more foreign aid annually than the federal government - it just goes to people that need it instead of to greedy warlords and corrupt third world government officials.
You say "Liberals help others at the expense of themselves." Really? Who is it that wants to take money from the wealthy (not themselves) to fund all this giving? Liberals claim to represent the poor and downtrodden, who are, by definition, from lower income groups. Folks with no money probably don't pay any taxes anyway. So I have to ask myself, Virginia, from whom is all this largesse, that liberals supposedly give, going to come from?
When we give to charity directly, to our church or to people who need our help directly, all the money goes to help people in trouble, not to support a fat bureaucracy that generates more paperwork than help.
Obama Claus is, after all, a myth designed to convince us we don't need to to be generous - that someone else will do it for us.
Your Friend,
The Editor
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Dear Editor
My family donates hundreds of dollars and hours to our church. They haven't exactly offered to help us with my Dad's unemployment or my sister's medical bills. They did however, ask us to make an extra, "end of the year" ...donation to make sure they make budget.
I love my church and it provides me with spiritual guidance and education, but I don't quite see how it is going to help us find a job. It did teach me that I should feed the poor, comfort the hurting and help the sick, but that sounds too much like medicaid and healthcare reform.
Exactly what are we supposed to ask them to provide?
Your friend,
Virginia
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Dear Virginia,
I don't know what church you belong to, but in mine, I'm actively involved in the process of deciding where the church budget should go. If you want to feed people or help people who are struggling , be part of the decision-making process when you grow up. Get on the church board. Become a deacon or volunteer to run the food pantry or soup kitchen. When you have a home of your own, give a homeless person a room till they get on their feet.
You talk about your church as "them" in the same way you talk about the government in the third person - as though both church and governments were some kind of magical god-like creatures that are supposed to fix our problems for us. The government and the church are "us", Virginia. Both organizations are run by people with various philosophies and values systems.
The question then is, dear Virginia, "Do you trust your pastor and the church elders or the politicians and the bureaucrats." My money's on the church folks.
And "What exactly do we ask them to provide?" The answer is, "Whatever you think your church should be providing." It is, after all, YOUR church.
Though I think sometimes the government is helpful for stuff like this, I'm not sure they are the most efficient way to dispense charity.
Besides, I think the Obama Claus is up to something, myself.
Your friend,
The Editor
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