"Oh nonononono. This is bad. This is bad. This is very very bad."
-Said in a Flynn Ryder voice.
I made this button to efficiently express my feelings on the subject of today's Supreme Court developments. I'm in the depths of despair. :P What are your thoughts? It's a pickle, ain't it?
*I truly would love to hear your thoughts. If your opinion differs from mine I'd love to hear from you too, but please keep your comments kind and thoughtful. We don't need to start a Civil War over it. ;)
What a pickle! A bad pickle! I share your depths of despair feelings, my friend. What is our United States coming to? :(
ReplyDeleteI'm so much in despair and despite about it that I don't know what to do.... How will I ever manage to raise a family of my own (when I do have one) in such a society??? O.o
ReplyDeleteLord be our help!
I can won't even start my angry remarks about Obamacare.....P.s. who puts there name on something like that!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteObamacare is the colloquial name for the law. The law's legal name is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
DeleteYes--it's like the nick-name that people have given it.
DeleteWell it's a really important lesson for all of us, I think. We need to make sure we are involved in politics. I can't help but think that a lot of the reason we have someone like Obama in office is because the rest of us have sat on our hands all these years and pretended like complaining was going to do something. We should start a trend: "Stop complaining--help campaigning!" ;)
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more, Rachel. When my father told me the news just yesterday afternoon — I was out of the house for the morning — it was like someone had shoved me into an icy pool. I couldn't believe it. The things our government leaders will do for power . . .
ReplyDelete“Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have. The course of history shows us that as a government grows, liberty decreases.”
― Thomas Jefferson
What congressional developments? I thought it was a Supreme Court decision. The Supreme Court is not part of Congress.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, Ms. McBride--I spoke to quickly on that. It is a Supreme Court decision in the end.
DeleteFrom the Jefferson Monticello:
ReplyDelete"The following statement, or variations thereof, is often attributed to Thomas Jefferson:
"A government big enough to give you everything you need, is a government big enough to take away everything that you have...."
We have never found such a statement in Jefferson's writings. As far as we know, this statement actually originates with Gerald R. Ford, who said, "A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have," in an address to a joint session of Congress on August 12, 1974.[1]
This quotation is sometimes followed by, "The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases," which is most likely a misquotation of Jefferson's comment, "The natural progress of things is for liberty to yeild, and government to gain ground."
True, which is why I don't think it's wise to look for the government to give you everything you need. It's not their place. The place of government is to "secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity."
DeleteAs Jefferson said, the "natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground." Out of context it might seem that he was pushing for Big Government, but in the context of pairing his statement with Ford's the idea is merely saying that if we are depending on government to give us everything, *obviously* it will gain ground. :)
"Depths of despair?" Wow, I so wish that my life was so carefree and easy that THIS is the depths of despair.
ReplyDeleteI suppose you have never had a child who needs thousands of dollars worth of medical care every single month, something that will continue for their whole life, and had to worry that if your husband lost his job no other insurance would cover the child? Don't claim charity, church and family will cover that, they won't.
I suppose you have never spent your nights worried that you or another family member might get sick because if they did, you can't afford insurance and the medical debt would plunge you into bankrupcy. Hospitals don't work too well with people to pay their bills. Collection agencies and high monthly payments are the norm.
I suppose that you have never experienced having a strong family history of cancer, not being able to afford insurance, so you can't go for regular check-ups and even if you did, if they found cancer, you couldn't afford to treat it.
I know people who have experienced all of those things and if you had experienced any of them, you would realize that this day is hardly the depths of despair. Be thankful for your privileged life.
I suppose I ought to have thought through the expression I used more carefully--my family and I often quote Anne Shirley of Anne of Green Gables and say in exaggeration, "I'm in the depths of despair." It was more of a quote than my actual emotions. You are right in this, I have a very privileged life.
DeleteBut I am not without some of the worries you propose: We are self-employed, and my family does not have health insurance and I have wondered about what would happen if one of us got very sick--but I have found worrying about things doesn't help. The Lord will provide for His children and I have faith in that because I have seen His hand in my life and my family's so many many times.I don't think we need to be dictated to in that area by the government.
I don't think a tax forcing people to buy what comes out (essentially) to be private goods is a wise and responsible use of governmental authority.
All that to say, I am pleased that Chief Justice Roberts and the rest of the court limited Congress's ability to spend money. (i.e. preventing them from withholding money from the states who don't choose to accept the Medicare expansion.)
I am not an expert, but I do value my liberty. I don't have the answers, and I don't claim to. The points you spoke on are real concerns and I do sympathize with and feel for the families who are going through these tragedies. But I do not believe more government is going to help this.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Anne, and I hope I've helped to explain myself a little better. :)
Just want to hop in here and say that this was an excellent answer, Rachel. :D
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