This morning reading Mosiah 4:16-23 I thought of the Romney-Ryan campaign and of my passionate Republican friends and family and wondered how they read these verses? My Catholic friend Claire and I were talking about the new Mormon-Catholic Presidentional bid, she said “Not that his budget plan is very Catholic” and I replied “Nor is Romney’s very Mormon.” Interesting that both parties take more or less moral/religious stances on different issues.
Democrats, as a stereotype at least, are more vocal about government’s need to, to quote King Benjamin, “Succor those that stand in need of your succor; administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and do not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish.” Mind you this address is given in particular to “those who are rich as pertaining to the things of this world.” Now I understand that some will say: Republicans would prefer to take their religious charity out of government and would prefer to keep their money and distribute it the way they would like. Some statistics state that Republicans give much more than Democrats do (in upwards of 30-50% more. They also give more by percentage of income- and interesting the working poor give more in percentage of income than the middle class.) So, while I start to feel Republicans are callous to the poor when I listen to their political retoric, that isn’t the case. They just feel that, in general, religious institutions do a better job of caring for the poor. So while Democrats are more vocal about their desire to serve the poor, privately they do so less than Republicans.
When it comes to other situations, however, say gay marriage, Republicans play the religious card in a strong way. Ultimately, the reason why gay marraige is frowned upon in the religious community is because, we believe, it is against the will of God. But why then do Republicans who, in regards to charity, choose the church as the best distributor, feel that government should be in charge when it comes to marriage.
I voice these things as I’m trying to sort them out myself. What is the role of government?
One response to “"Are we not all beggars?"”
Kjirsti, I’ve been thinking about this post since I read it hours ago. Nathan and I went to watch 2016 (seriously one of the most amazing documentaries I’ve ever seen) tonight and once in a while I found my thoughts coming back to this post and your questions. And still, I’m not entirely sure what to say. That may be because it is after 1AM and I’m tired 🙂 but I couldn’t go to bed without writing something.
I’m one of your “passionate Republican” friends. I don’t see how Romney’s plan is not “very Mormon.” Yes, in the scriptures we see example after example of people being generous and giving to the poor, downtrodden, the widowed, etc. But those who are giving of their sustenance aren’t being forced. Like you said, Republicans prefer to do charity work on their own without someone coming along and forcing us to give a certain amount of our earnings to hand out to people we don’t know. Romney wants what other Republicans and Conservatives want–to help those who need help, to not force others into service, but encourage them, and to make sure those who receive help are, at some point, able to help themselves. It’s very much like the Church Welfare System. You can receive help, but you are expected to do all you can to help yourself. We’ve at points needed help from the Bishop’s Storehouse and I willingly went to the Storehouse and helped and delivered groceries who weren’t able to go for themselves. When we were in Logan I needed to see a councilor to deal with some abuse issues I’d experienced when I was younger. Our Bishop was most willing to use funds to help me, but insisted that I do all I could to help pay for each session, which I was of course willing to do. Romney’s view and the Church view, don’t seem all that different to me.
As a child and teenager I’m sure I would have fit in very well with the Democratic party and leftists. I was incredibly anti-war and had visions of opening a non-profit organization that would help the homeless and unemployed gain skills needed to find work. I was incredibly idealistic and there was a lot more to my little vision that I won’t go into here.
Those who are receiving help in the scriptures don’t demand it, nor do they come across to me as feeling entitled to the help. Instead they are humble, they ask for help and seem to wish they didn’t need it, but could take care of themselves. Those who help them aren’t forced. The help is given freely and in person. I think that is the most important part, freely and in person. The more the government gets involved, the less personal it is. King Benjamin never taxed the people in order to help the poor, he told them to go out and do the service themselves. I don’t feel like I can be fully obedient to that commandment if I’m forced to pay into a system that chooses for me who will be benefited by our earnings and by how much.
As an example of a people in the scriptures, the anti-Nephi-Lehi’s needed military help. They couldn’t do that for themselves without breaking their covenant. They gave of their sustenance in exchange for help from the Nephites.
As for the government choosing, people are people and tend to begin feeling entitled once they receive government entitlements (ironic that they are called such). There are children growing up in many lower income areas that have no plans for their future education or careers because they see no need. I have witnessed this myself and it makes me sad and angry. They have no shame in telling their teachers (or substitute teachers, apparently) that school doesn’t matter because the government will take care of them. They see the government taking care of their parents and assume it will do the same for them.
I know people on Food Stamps who refuse to cut cable or dish programing from their list of “Needs” and families on Food Stamps who have children who don’t eat any meals at home because they are fed at school all three meals for free, even during the summer. I also know how much money is being wasted per family and what it takes to get on the program in the first place. The Food Stamp program is designed to keep the people on it, always on it. When we looked into it our first month in Cleveland, we had an ok sized savings account that would quickly be depleted within two months of paying rent, much less buying food. We were told we had too much in savings and were told to “go buy something big and then prove that the money is gone.” The woman actually suggested we buy a car and then come back, as if we had enough to do that anyway.
You don’t hear much about the humble in the scriptures feeling entitled and getting stingy and I think that it’s at least partially because it was all done personally. There’s more to service and charity than just writing a check to the government. I think there’s a reason Christ physically got down and washed the feet of the disciples and why Amulek had Alma to his house to spend time with his family and didn’t just take him to the market and buy him a loaf of bread. Those are actions from the heart and those are more what Republicans and Conservatives have in mind. Getting to know the people, help them up, help them find a way to stay up without having them stand on our shoulders.
As to your other question with gay marriage. I don’t feel it is government’s job to dictate on gay marriage and I wish they would stay out of it. However, I do fear the results of what will happen if it does become a norm. I taught the RS lesson last Sunday and it was from Elder Ballard’s talk “That the Lost May Be Found.” He spoke so much about how societies all over the world are failing because of a lack of respect for traditional marriage and a general a lack of success in the home. Homes lose the guidance of the Spirit when wickedness takes place and for that kind of wickedness to become the norm does scare me. I have had gay friends, bi friends, and gay relatives. I am not afraid of these people nor do I shun their friendship/company. I am not going to stop shopping at stores like JC Penny because they have Ellen do commercials for them (and I love her show), but I will admit I’m more likely to eat at Chick fil A now than I was before the huge hoopla.
It makes me angry when people on the left paint conservatives as hate-filled people because of religious beliefs against homosexuality. I don’t hate my friends or my uncle. Every conservative I’ve ever talked to or listened to on the radio, tv, read, etc. has never expressed hate toward gays, but instead has shown frustration at being misunderstood and labeled.
I firmly believe that government is there to keep us safe. It is there mostly for foreign relations, for the broader picture, for military purposes. The more government there is in our lives, the less opportunity and the less freedom we have as a country and individuals. I firmly believe that most of the control that the government has should be passed to the individual states themselves. The whole premise behind the United States was that we would be small countries that would band together to be something strong and great. It was intended that we would make most decisions on our own and let Washington D.C. help us out with the big ones that would affect us all, such as national security.
I know I’ve written a ton here, and I’m sorry. Like I said in the beginning, I’m one of those “passionate Republicans” and I just watched a very politically charged documentary that really quite honestly scared me. I don’t know how well I’ve answered your questions and I’m afraid I maybe rambled on and not made sense because I’m so tired right now. But I do understand where you are coming from, having been there once before years ago.