The following debate originally took place on my Facebook wall, upon my post, “Paying Taxes Will NEVER Qualify as Giving to “Charity””…
Rayn: Wake up to the illegitimacy of coercion!
“It’s amazing to me how many people think that voting to have the government give poor people money is compassion. Helping poor and suffering people yourself is compassion. Voting for our government to use guns to give money to help poor and suffering people is immoral self-righteous bullying laziness. People need to be fed, medicated, educated, clothed, and sheltered. If we’re compassionate, we’ll help them, but you get no moral credit for forcing other people to do what you think is right. There is great joy in helping people, but no joy in doing it at gunpoint.” – Penn Jillette
Brian K.: But for the people in need of being fed, medicated, educated, clothed, and sheltered it’s all the same. Self-righteous joy and moral credit (kind of defeats the purpose of altruism) is a luxury. I think their immediate needs are greater than leaving it to the chance of charity and some generous volunteers.
Rayn: Hmm… I have a quick question for you, Brian. Have you ever been one of the “people in need” that you refer to? Well, I have – and, I can say for certain that the various forms of assistance out there in this world are not “all the same,” as you claim. This is true no matter how dire the individual situation at hand. And, forcing an apathetic public to finance a corrupt, soulless institution (whether the “State,” or otherwise), purely in the HOPE and FAITH that a lack of direct concern for (and interest in) the ACTUAL welfare of others will miraculously translate into anything other than systemic ABUSE, NEGLECT, AND FRAUD… Those individuals are living in a PURE FANTASY LAND!
My experiences have long ago opened my eyes to the fact that those hired by the State to “aid” the needy not only loath the poor and destitute, but also actively seek to punish, demean, degrade, demoralize, and strip the dignity of those they are duty-bound to assist. State aid for the poor is nothing more than a rotten fraud, and a dismal failure – giving the apathetic an excuse not to help those in need (nor, to lift so much as a finger, or to get their own hands dirty, for that matter), and the sadly misinformed, yet good-intentioned, a reason not to act!
