AM I MY BROTHER'S KEEPER?

Those words from the bible (from the story of Cain and Abel) came to symbolize people's unwillingness to accept responsibility for the welfare of their fellows – their brothers in the extended sense of the term. The traditions of Judaism and Christianity is that people do have this responsibility.

The liberals have stretched that definition to include the government as the primary “keeper” not the individual. This, of course, takes a load off the shoulders of the individual and puts it squarely on the shoulders of everybody else, whether they want that responsibility or not.

It is honorable for people to go out of their way to come to the aid of a less fortunate person (a brother) to help that person get back on his/her feet, or to help solve the problem he/she is confronted with. It is the right thing to do. And most religions preach that as part of their dogma.

But, when you get the government involved, sometimes called the “nanny state”, you take away the need for the individual to do the right thing by shifting the responsibility to an “impersonal” entity called the government. When that occurs, you will see the government start to intrude in all aspects of our lives – sometimes good, but mostly bad. The “impersonal” government then becomes rife with favoritism and corruption because the bureaucrats, running the government agencies and programs, are dealing with other peoples money ( your tax money) and not their own, therefore, waste and inefficiency become the norm rather than the exception.

Why are most all the “nanny state” countries going broke? In our country Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Farm programs, Amtrak, Energy department, Post Office etc. (all government sponsored programs) are all fraught with waste, inefficiency and, in many cases, outright corruption? Are they really our “brother's keeper” or are they self-perpetuating government “piggy banks” for the well-connected politicians and bureaucrats?

Look what is happening in Europe, who have an advanced mentality of pursuing “cradle to the grave” policies, who now find themselves trying to prevent themselves from going bankrupt. It didn't happen overnight, but the “Piper” is now coming home to be paid and these countries are unable to pay him. Riots and civil unrest are now raising their ugly heads, in these socialist-oriented “nanny states”, because many of the entitlements that these countries “gave” to the people now have to be cut back. The old adage of “there is no such thing as a fee lunch” is coming back to bite them in the butt big time. That should be a warning and a wake-up call to us (the U.S.A.), but the “liberal demagogues” are sharpening their knives to eviscerate the challenge to the “nanny state” programs which were enacted with good intentions, but have proved to be way too costly to be maintained now and into the future. The “Piper” will be visiting us sooner rather than later unless we wake up before it is too late.

Yes, we have a moral obligation to be our “brother's keeper”, but without the heavy hand of the government. In the words of former President Ronald Reagan, “Government is not the answer to our problems, government is the problem”.

Conservative commentary by Chuck Lehmann