During this political season let's be reminded of these words:
You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away men's initiative and independence.
You cannot help men permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves.
--Abraham Lincoln
6 comments:
As I read that, I thought to myself....he must have been a republican, because those are all republican values. I did some research and found the following:
"Scholars rank Lincoln among the top three U.S. Presidents, with the highest of those surveyed placing him at number one. He is noted for his lasting influence on U.S. politics, including a redefinition of republican values.[
His assassination in 1865 was the first in U.S. history and made him a martyr for the ideal of national unity."
I agree with him on all of those values.
Those are very important words that still apply today. The first and last lines are particularly significant to today's political situation.
Lincoln's entire statement is related to a topic that I have been thinking about posting.
I have titled the post "I might be a Democrat except..."
I love all these lines.
However your assumptions that they are uniquely Republican characteristics are wrong. Democrats believe these words as well. You are intimating (come on, admit it) that Democrats don't believe these words. Tell any union member who works with her/his hands 30 to 40 years and who are Democrats that these are Republican values and not Democratic values and you might get punched. I am a Democrat, non-union member, am in my 31st year of work (I have at least 10 to 12 more in front of me) and I hold these as MY values.
I assume that you are referring to various welfare programs. Which programs would you like to have eliminated? In what way would you make things different? Would you eliminate Medicaid, Medicare, social security, veterans hospitals, Ryan White money, unemployment benefits, social security disability benefits, early childhood school lunch programs?
Who wants to destroy the rich? And do you think the rich are currently being destroyed? The facts are that the rich, I mean the RICH as defined by John McCain are doing very, very well. If they are not doing well this month it is because they are too invested in the market, a risky enterprise they decided to participate in. No rich people have been destroyed or made poor by paying a higher level of taxes. There are no examples of this.
Who wants to weaken the strong? Who?
Who is discouraging thrift? It is George Bush who said spend, spend, spend after 9-11.
Who is pulling a wage payer down? Government taxes on the employer you say. OK. So we cut back on employer taxes and we have to make it up somewhere, how about the taxpayer? No? OK. Then we have to start cutting services. What do you want to cut?
Who is inciting class hatred? I supposed you will say that Obama and Dems incite class hatred somehow. I don't get it. I have not heard Obama or other Dem leaders I listen to tell me to hate anyone, let alone the rich. I also have no disdain for the rich.
Who/what is taking away our initiative and our independence? There is no systematic effort to do this. Those who abuse welfare are showing bad judgment and poor personal characteristics and they are a minority of those receiving help.
Who is having done for them what they could do for themselves? There is certainly abuse by some recipients of government welfare programs, and this is wrong. But all? 50%? 25%?
Right wing attack dogs drag out appalling true stories of those who are cheating on the system and very often propose eliminating the program.
Is this answer you espouse?
Abraham Lincoln's words are beautiful. Think about what they mean and what they do not say!
Again I see some points on both sides of this but I usually find one sentence that Doug that stands out in his posts that just screams DEMOCRATIC thinking. Which is fine if it works for him, I applaud him in his being a bull in a china cabinet.
This time he said, "No rich people have been destroyed or made poor by paying a higher level of taxes. There are no examples of this."
My response...comparing an entry in another post he stated, "McCain TAKES it, Obama TAKES it. It is the Widow's Mite in reverse.
It didn't matter how much she gave, she gave.
You take the money, you take the money. It's the principle. Essentially you are saying that there are degrees of guilt that can be measured by the amount of money you accept and in the space of time you take it. OK."
If it is the principle then I do not understand the principle of equality that allows the government to take a "higher level of taxes" from the rich just because they have been successful and more productive.
If it is the principle Doug fights for one scenario then is should be the principle of equality in taxes as well. Not a higher level for one than another.
I believe this is what incites the class hatred mentioned above.
Thanks for your mention, Brian, of me being a bull in a china cabinet. But believe me, this blog is no china cabinet. Not much delicate debate here.
The principle of equality does not apply to all situations in life. Collection of taxes is one of them. I was referring to holding to the principle that guided the establishing of the rules. Taxes have their own set of rules that have been established and can be changed. Fair application of the established rules is what I am alluding to. You would all (I think all) like to see the tax rules changed. Go for it.
Personally, I think it is fair to ask more of those who have more. I learned this in church as a young boy. How many times did I hear, "Where much is given, much is expected." That goes for 'a lot is earned'. Brian is right, it is what makes me a Democrat.
Still no one is answering my questions in my previous comment in this post.
To further the debate, just how are you and your Republican politicians anticipating addressing the fantastic budget deficit in the face of a recession? The various aspects of the economy will not generate the needed revenues. The government must either spend a great deal less or raise taxes. During the Republican domination of the first six years the deficit soared to record highs. Oh yea, we were at war. No problem. So we go to war and no one has to sacrifice? No increased taxes to pay for it? Where does it come from? Oh yea , I forgot, spend spend spend so sales taxes can be raised. So we can continue the clearly unhealthy cycle Americans are engaged in. Spending beyond their means.
Obama wants to raise taxes. Fine by me. Pay now or times will be worse in the future. My beef with Obama is that he is not addressing the deficit and unhealthy consumer mania any more that McCain is.
All this china shop stuff is my fault. I set up this china shop and then busted out the bat and started whacking. I invited everyone in off of Email Street who were playing boring pitch and catch. Several other joined me and we've been having a ball since. Pardon me, but I need to go find some more china lest everyone go back to pitch and catch!
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