Socialist Government

Just like many people, my grandfather (and at least 3 of his brothers) risked his life for the freedom of our nation - the freedom that we live through every day. My grandpa enlisted in the navy towards the end of World War II when he was 18 years old. My great uncle, his older brother, fought in naval battles in World War II and was a fighter pilot in the Air Forces during the Korean War. He received multiple awards including a Silver Star. My Uncle - my grandfather's son - was also military at one point of his life.

To me, this is a big deal. My grandpa turned eighty years old this year and he will probably die soon. I spent this last weekend in Florida (that's home for me) and I took the time to make a video of my grandpa telling me about where my family came from and about his childhood and life. My grandpa is a hard-core conservative and republican. He fought for democracy and freedom. He served as a City Commissioner in Brooksville, FL for many years. He even ran for State Representative. America is important to him. He lives on a small plot of land (almost forty acres) in central Florida with everything he needs to survive. He has a garden, he hunts deer and turkey and fishes, he owns his home with a pool, barbeque, large shed, bar, miniature orange grove, and thousands of pine trees that he will eventually be able to harvest. He is not poor at all. And some would say that that is the true mark of the republican - old, rich, conservative, not willing to help anyone else out, and extremely judgemental.

When my grandparents got married they had $15.00. I have never met two people who work harder then they have (and continue to do) in my life. Neither of them have a college degree. Neither of them were born into opportunity. But they made sacrifices, they worked hard, and they are now, eighty years later, finally settled. My grandma (also eighty years old) works tirelessly at a clothes closet in Brooksville collecting, cleaning, organizing, and giving clothes to those in the community who need help. Both of my grandparents are extremely generous and do the best they can to help the down and out.

I needed to explain those things before I started talking about what has really been on my heart. Everyone knows that our nation is vastly different than it was when my grandpa was young - and that it is about to change even more. There has been a general idea floating around that somehow a socialist government is a good idea. Just like any governmental structure, it has pros and cons. I would argue that it has more cons than pros, and is not nearly as efficient as a democracy. I don't really want to get into that.

I just feel like somehow is a moral cop-out. There are unwritten, unbending rules that must be followed for a democracy to function correctly. I would say (from my limited understanding) that some of these rules are work hard, care about your neighbor (in other words - when you are making a decision think of everyone it involves, not only yourself), self-sacrifice, and equality (no man has greater influence than another man and should not act in such a way). Moral relativity is the lack of these rules. Moral relativity says (whether we want to believe it or not) "I don't really want to be accountable to anyone or anything because I want what I want - so there is no right or wrong." This attitude is extremely selfish. This is my attitude more than I would like it to be, and this is the attitude of our generation as a whole. We were spoiled with comfort and toys as children and we expect little less as adults. We don't want to work, we don't want to be wrong, we don't want to care about others, so we get rid of everything moral. Here is what I think that has done. I think that our selfishness, our "moral relativity", has fed (not soley, but partially) poverty. I think that our selfishness has fed (again, not soley) corrupt businesses and unethical business practices. We want everything for free, and we use "moral relativity" as a coverup for our lack of personal responsibility and offenses (sin).

This may be the lamest thing that I have ever observed.

So, we have become morally relative, and we have decided that we need a socialist government to fill the void left by our lack of morals. Social Government is a control - it is a change, and maybe we do need it (we have proven ourselves incapable of handling freedom) - but it is not better than democracy. Social health care sounds great. Everyone gets health care that's affordable. What isn't advertised is the type of health care everyone gets. I am not talking about eye care, dental care, etc. I mean quality. Think about - if the government arrives at a place where it controls our health care services, eventually those services will become cheap. Someone has to pay for healthcare, if we are getting more affordable rates, then the government surely won't spend tons of money to make sure we get quality healthcare. This may seem a harsh criticism of the government, but I have experienced social health care first hand. It is nothing like our health care now, expensive as it may be. It's probably great for the first fifty years - maybe not even that long - but then everything goes downhill.

Maybe our founding fathers were too optimistic. Maybe they really believed that freedom was something everyone wanted. They probably shouldn't have put so much stake in the goodness of man - because freedom has made us selfish instead of generous. We are so rich. The poorest person in America is a king in comparison to most of the poor through the world.

This all probably seems harsh - and I am definitely not above it. I, too, am an American. There is no pure form of government. There will always be flaws in any structure we create but we cannot simply hide behind "moral relativity" and be afraid to draw distinct lines of right and wrong to avoid facing these flaws. When moral relativity is shirked away and morals re-established we will be obligated to help the poor, we will be expected to work hard and give to others, and we will be held accountable when we do not do so.

I must add, this is a very ideal blog. I am not even touching a definition of morality because this blog is already long enough. However, there is inerrant truth (a law) that has been given to us to aid us in morality that unites those who believe. Those who believe only do so through the grace of Jesus Christ, who is Lord over all of this sinful earth anyways and who will be glorified and worshiped for the rest of eternity. And that makes all of this seem extremely futile.

Someday I want a Muntjac Deer

This is my blog. Mostly, I think I will blog about whatever I feel like blogging about (I don't want to limit myself in the world of blog). So, today I feel like blogging about Muntjac Deer. I pronounce it "moont-jack", but I don't know if that is right. You can pronounce it however you'd like. And if you do know the correct pronunciation, please let me know because it isn't on Wikipedia.
If you don't know what Muntjac Deer are, they are little tiny deer that are about the size of a kitten when they are born and don't grow to be more than 20 lbs. I am thinkin' that is pretty sweet. I have wanted a kitten for awhile now. But why would I get a kitten when I could have a deer that's the size of a kitten? Ridiculous. Here are my top 6 favorite things (in no particular order) about the possibility of owning a Muntjac Deer:

1. They don't smell, they use a litter box, and they are clean.
2. If I had one, I could name it Faline if it was a girl and Bambi if it was a boy.
3. They bark. How funny would it be if you took your deer on a walk and it barked at people? What a good time.
4. They are from China. I love everything Asian.
5. The technical name of a Muntjac Deer is Muntiacus reevesi. Roughly translated, this means Reeves Muntjac. Reeves is my maiden name.
6. They like to leap, run, and don't jump on the furniture.

The only thing about owning one of these cute little guys is that they are kinda pricey. If you ever happen to find a deal on one (like, less than $100) it would be kind of you to let me know. Or, if you are just walking down the street and you happen to see one just put it in a box or something and I will come pick it up.