First off, I like it that you posted something political. Most of us (especially myself) have been posting kind of banal stuff in our journals lately. So, Kudos on sparking an exciting debate.
I'm kind of confused about something you said. Are you upset about paying taxes so that deforesters can be subsidized, or are you happy to pay taxes in order to protect said trees. I kind of got lost in there.
Personally, I think people should stop ruining all the public stuff --which means pollution, antibiotics, deforesting, and so on. And for the rest of it, people should be able to do what they want, without any laws or rules or subsidies or whatever.
My point was that I am willing to pay taxes to support programs and laws that protect the land (environment) and the people.
I feel that patriotism is like belonging to a really really big family. You might not like most of them - but do you really want to see them out on the street starving?
How about personal responsibility? Say I don't show up for work because I don't feel like it. And I buy some fancy clothes instead of saving my money. Or I buy shit at Target and consume it up. And I have nothing left. Or any set of bad choices. And then, oh, wow, surprise, I'm starving! Will you give me money for food? At what point do you feel that it's someone's own fault that they're starving
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Actually, I don't believe in handouts. Your problems are always your fault. I'm helping you because your poverty, your drug addiction is lowering the quality of my life. Either through the crimes you commit to support your habbit, or by your icky homeless body living on the street messing up my view. One of the problems that I do have with our government programs is that they ask nothing in return for the help given - that is bad for the person being helped and those of us paying taxes to help
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Also from the belief that a patriot would never condone or be comfortable with poverty, starvation, and no medical help for fellow citizens.
This is the part I don't agree with. Whether I love my country and have a good opinion of my fellow citizens doesn't influence whether I want to do anything about poverty, starvation, medical help, etc.
If I say that I care about the environment but still drive a SUV, approve of forest destruction, and don't care if companies pour lead, murcury and other pollutants into the water - am I really an environmentalist?
If I call myself an American, that that means I am concerned about the welfare my country - which includes the citizens and I want to make sure that there are safety nets in place to help out.
If you don't care about your fellow countrymen - then they won't care about you and then we no longer have a country. We have anarchy.
That is very simplified and seems harsh - but if you really think about it, it makes sense.
Let me ask you ... how do you show you care about something? In what way does not every thing you do, some how not have a monetary value?
When I volunteer at the woman's shelter, my time has a monetary value. That is time I could have spent earning a living for myself. Instead, I donated that money as time to the shelter.
But I don't have enough time to volunteer at every shelter, home, kitchen - so I pay taxes in order to enable my government to pay for these things.
I of course want some accountability from the government on how they are spending my taxes and some say in what they spend them on - but that's a WHOLE 'Nother RANT.
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I'm kind of confused about something you said. Are you upset about paying taxes so that deforesters can be subsidized, or are you happy to pay taxes in order to protect said trees. I kind of got lost in there.
Personally, I think people should stop ruining all the public stuff --which means pollution, antibiotics, deforesting, and so on. And for the rest of it, people should be able to do what they want, without any laws or rules or subsidies or whatever.
Reply
I feel that patriotism is like belonging to a really really big family. You might not like most of them - but do you really want to see them out on the street starving?
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This is the part I don't agree with. Whether I love my country and have a good opinion of my fellow citizens doesn't influence whether I want to do anything about poverty, starvation, medical help, etc.
Reply
If I call myself an American, that that means I am concerned about the welfare my country - which includes the citizens and I want to make sure that there are safety nets in place to help out.
If you don't care about your fellow countrymen - then they won't care about you and then we no longer have a country. We have anarchy.
That is very simplified and seems harsh - but if you really think about it, it makes sense.
Reply
Reply
When I volunteer at the woman's shelter, my time has a monetary value. That is time I could have spent earning a living for myself. Instead, I donated that money as time to the shelter.
But I don't have enough time to volunteer at every shelter, home, kitchen - so I pay taxes in order to enable my government to pay for these things.
I of course want some accountability from the government on how they are spending my taxes and some say in what they spend them on - but that's a WHOLE 'Nother RANT.
Reply
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