Not Yours to Give...

It is high time that people realize that acts of evil most often come clothed in the robe of good intentions.   The devastation that has been wreaked upon the people of Haiti over the last few days is terrible beyond all words.  Those people need help–and lots of it.  Any decent human being should feel sympathy toward their plight and, I would argue, an urge to assist them in the same way that we would want assistance if it had happened to us.  With that being said, we also have to realize that instances of misfortune and even tragedy are not a free pass for our government to abandon the principles upon which it was founded.

President Obama has pledged $100 million to help the people of Haiti.  Who could possibly be against such a good-hearted gesture?  Me.  And you–if you believe in the tennets of the Constitution and the freedom which the our nation is supposed to stand for.  Foreign aid–whether it be to Haiti for earthquake relief or to Israel for defense or to Ethiopia for famine relief–is forced charity.  The money the government “pledges” comes from the tax dollars of every single American.  It is donated without our consent or our input.  It is allocated without the slightest consideration for the values or preferences of those whose pocket it has come from.  Simply put, we should be telling our legislators and our President that the money is Not Yours to Give.

I capitalized those words because they comprise the title of an excellent story about Davy Crockett during his days in Congress.  The story is a bit too lengthy for reproduction here, so I will simply include this link.

http://www.juntosociety.com/patriotism/inytg.html

In short, the story simply teaches the lesson that charity is a personal choice.  It should come from the hearts and minds of those individuals who truly care enough about a cause to open their wallets and purses to do something about it.  I urge every American to give–and give deeply–to those causes which stir in them a passion to help.  Surely, Haiti qualifies.  Then again, maybe it doesn’t.  You should, however, have the freedom to make that decision for yourself.

[Via http://gaultsgulch.wordpress.com]