pudge's Journal: Katrina

I am watching a show where Republicans and Democrats are arguing about how much they care about New Orleans and fixing the city after Katrina devastated it.

I do not care. I do not care at all. It has nothing to do with me, it's not where I live, and I do not want any of my money going to it. If you care, I have no problem with that. If you want to give your money to it, I have no problem with that. But I do not care, I do not want my money going to it, and I see no rational reason why my money should go to it.

This is not "selfishness," at least, not in a negative sense. I do not expect people in New Orleans to care if Seattle gets flooded, and am against our state seeking funds for repairs to help prevent that. I am personally embarassed that my (former) state benefitted to the tune of billions of federal dollars for the Big Dig; why should anyone in Montana care that people in Boston can get a brand new highway system?

If New Orleans never "comes back" it won't adversely affect me at all, and I do not care, and there is no reason why I should care.

"provide for the common defense"?

[ARTrainor]

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed y

Re:

[nandorman]

Yes, but there are real questions as to what Jesus is saying here. Jesus did NOT speak to either political entities or to groups of people as to what morality should be; rather, he spoke of individual morality (not just here, but ALL of his quotes in the NT).

Remember, Pudge started off his post by talking about political parties arguing - it leads me to believe that he MAY be talking about "his" money with respect to the money that he has been forced to give the Federal Government through taxation. Though

Re:

[pudge]

nandorman is right on. I was speaking in the context of activities of the federal government, not of my own personal activities. I've written about this before, but Christ's exhortations for us to help other people can, in no way, be taken as a mandate to help others through the tool of government. Someone else may shoot back that, well, Christ doesn't say to NOT go through government, at which point I respond, true, but there are many practical reasons -- both religious and civil -- to not do so, starti