by Mary Fahnestock-Thomas, Hamilton
When I returned to Montana after several decades away I first heard, “Taxation is theft.” Something I read recently is helping me understand this view. It pointed out that the Bible says we should help each other, not that we should give money to a government that will then decide how best to use it.
My source doesn’t say that that’s not freedom, but it could, and freedom is big in this country, esp. out here in the sparsely populated West.
The trouble is, those of us who try to follow religious teachings do so on a small, personal scale, not a scale large enough to benefit the millions of human beings in the world who suffer from need through no fault of their own. (Please note: Matthew 7 says we are NOT to judge.)
I am generally happy to pay taxes to an entity that does not have a religious affiliation, which can skew the perspective, and that at least theoretically is there to help level the playing field for all Americans.
If we all did what our higher power tells us to, government would be unnecessary.
Consider the new roundabouts – traffic circles – in southern Hamilton that some people apparently object to.
If we drivers were always on top of our game and as aware of our surroundings as we could and should be, even stop signs wouldn’t be needed to protect other drivers, children and other pedestrians, pets, and other people’s property from the big motorized metal boxes we use to get from one place to another.
But sometimes we’re in a hurry, or angry, or didn’t get enough sleep, or forgot our glasses, or just feel downright egotistical and damn the rest of the world. Red lights and stop signs can get our attention, but roundabouts mean we need to be paying attention generally or we can really mess up our cars.
So I am generally grateful for government, because I can’t know it all and do it all myself. I just wish we were all caring and non-partisan enough to elect people who are caring and non-partisan, less concerned about Me and Mine and more concerned for humankind in general.
It would be a different world.
helen sabin says
Again, a thoughtful op-ed from you, however, even Madison knew that…
“If Men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and the next place, oblige it to control itself.”