My Mom is getting on, as the saying goes, and I've begun to notice she repeats herself a lot. Well at 88 I suppose there is little new in the world, at least her little world. She lives in a retirement community in Florida, as all good New Yorker's do, and is rather isolated. Her husband Joe is 99 and sadly in a home suffering from dementia. Mom just recently got a cell phone, flip model, and knows nothing about computers or social networks. The truth is that stuff scares her to death. All she hears about it is how people are getting ripped off and their identity stolen. Well, it is most likely just as well that she doesn't see all the junk that is on there anyway, just make her mad. And you know old people when they get mad ! They never shut up about it.
As I was thinking about this I realized I have begun to repeat myself somewhat as well. Oh, I'll make excuses for it, but it is true. The latest recurring theme of mine concerns principles and popularity. I can't help but believe that many are choosing the popular sentiment and setting principles aside. That and confusing principles with privilege. Dwight Eisenhower said, " a people that value its privileges above its principles soon lose both. " It is a sentiment I repeat often, I was repeating that, in different words, before I knew that Ike said it ! The confusion today is between what is principle, and what is privilege ? The difference is, principle is applied to all and privilege applies to a select few. That is why we are governed by principle, not privilege. Compulsory charity is not the defining principle of an effective government. Charity is a Christian principle. When we sacrifice that principle, labeling it as privilege, we are redefining the whole system.
There is certainly nothing wrong with charity and a government should show compassion for its' citizens. The amount and extent of charity should be determined by the people, not by government. As Margaret Thatcher so eloquently pointed out, " the problem with socialism is you run out of others peoples money. " The author George Sands pointed out that " Charity degrades those who receive it and hardens those who dispense it. " In my observation both of those statements are true. I also believe over time those that receive this charity begin to regard it as a matter of principle, rather than as privilege. Privilege should be received with gratitude, not demands. Privilege is granted, extended by the charity of others. The imposition of your will either by wealth or influence is not privilege either. Those actions are abuses. Yet how many times are we told those folks have wealth and privilege ? We are ignoring the principle lesson when we do that. As Epictetus, the famous Greek philosopher advised, " be careful to leave your sons well instructed rather than rich, for the hopes of the instructed are better than the wealth of the ignorant. " I've known a few wealthy folks in my time that are quite ignorant. That's true even when those wealthy folks attempt to disguise their ignorance with charity ! Their hope being principle will be forgotten. The wealthy are always more concerned with interest than principle, for it is interest that increases wealth.
The easiest way to gain your interest is to separate you from your principles. Emotions are transient things and are acted upon impulsively. Impulsive behaviors are often ill advised behaviors. Restraint is the mark of maturity and understanding, An adherence to principle. Emotion is not the language of reason. Yes, the easiest way to gain your interest is to separate you from your principles, in other words , get you to buy into whatever it is they are selling. And that is what I find myself repeating.
I'd say we tend to repeat the things that are on our mind. We say them as they pop up. For Mom it is things she doesn't really understand, like the Internet and what music the kids are listening to. It is things like the cost of bread or milk. But for me it is the things that trouble me about the way I see our country headed. Oh, I'm well aware that every generation before me has said the same thing. I believe that is simply because every generation before me shared the same principles as I do. That isn't to say that they applied those principles fairly or consistently, just that the principles were understood.
As for me, I have no wealth to pass to my sons and so I hope to instruct them well. I do not regret the lack of wealth, although I feel I could handle the burden associated with that condition, but I do wish to leave something behind. That is the reason I write these words down. If there is satisfaction to be found in death for me it would have to be, " I told you so " carved on my tombstone.
As I was thinking about this I realized I have begun to repeat myself somewhat as well. Oh, I'll make excuses for it, but it is true. The latest recurring theme of mine concerns principles and popularity. I can't help but believe that many are choosing the popular sentiment and setting principles aside. That and confusing principles with privilege. Dwight Eisenhower said, " a people that value its privileges above its principles soon lose both. " It is a sentiment I repeat often, I was repeating that, in different words, before I knew that Ike said it ! The confusion today is between what is principle, and what is privilege ? The difference is, principle is applied to all and privilege applies to a select few. That is why we are governed by principle, not privilege. Compulsory charity is not the defining principle of an effective government. Charity is a Christian principle. When we sacrifice that principle, labeling it as privilege, we are redefining the whole system.
There is certainly nothing wrong with charity and a government should show compassion for its' citizens. The amount and extent of charity should be determined by the people, not by government. As Margaret Thatcher so eloquently pointed out, " the problem with socialism is you run out of others peoples money. " The author George Sands pointed out that " Charity degrades those who receive it and hardens those who dispense it. " In my observation both of those statements are true. I also believe over time those that receive this charity begin to regard it as a matter of principle, rather than as privilege. Privilege should be received with gratitude, not demands. Privilege is granted, extended by the charity of others. The imposition of your will either by wealth or influence is not privilege either. Those actions are abuses. Yet how many times are we told those folks have wealth and privilege ? We are ignoring the principle lesson when we do that. As Epictetus, the famous Greek philosopher advised, " be careful to leave your sons well instructed rather than rich, for the hopes of the instructed are better than the wealth of the ignorant. " I've known a few wealthy folks in my time that are quite ignorant. That's true even when those wealthy folks attempt to disguise their ignorance with charity ! Their hope being principle will be forgotten. The wealthy are always more concerned with interest than principle, for it is interest that increases wealth.
The easiest way to gain your interest is to separate you from your principles. Emotions are transient things and are acted upon impulsively. Impulsive behaviors are often ill advised behaviors. Restraint is the mark of maturity and understanding, An adherence to principle. Emotion is not the language of reason. Yes, the easiest way to gain your interest is to separate you from your principles, in other words , get you to buy into whatever it is they are selling. And that is what I find myself repeating.
I'd say we tend to repeat the things that are on our mind. We say them as they pop up. For Mom it is things she doesn't really understand, like the Internet and what music the kids are listening to. It is things like the cost of bread or milk. But for me it is the things that trouble me about the way I see our country headed. Oh, I'm well aware that every generation before me has said the same thing. I believe that is simply because every generation before me shared the same principles as I do. That isn't to say that they applied those principles fairly or consistently, just that the principles were understood.
As for me, I have no wealth to pass to my sons and so I hope to instruct them well. I do not regret the lack of wealth, although I feel I could handle the burden associated with that condition, but I do wish to leave something behind. That is the reason I write these words down. If there is satisfaction to be found in death for me it would have to be, " I told you so " carved on my tombstone.
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