General Welfare

Last night, an historic bill was passed in the House of Representatives in the name of "protecting the General Welfare." I think that anyone who reads this blog is probably somewhat acquainted with my views on that subject, but I thought I'd put in my two cents anyway, partially because I'm really upset with the "blue dog" Dems and the government in general and partially because I just did a post on promoting the general welfare that I would now like to amend.

For the record, I don't believe that it's the government's responsibility to make everybody happy. However, the government should at least try to keep most of its citizenry happy. It's quite apparent if you look here that most people don't want this particular species of healthcare reform. (Obviously, the vote on the page is mine.) Therefore, by passing this bill, the House of Representatives was actually destroying the general welfare. The general welfare is what the people want, not what the government says the people should want.

Also, general welfare is not entitlement. We as a people are not entitled to a posh life. The government was not put in place to make everybody successful. The government's job is to protect the constitutional rights of the people, which are enumerated in the Bill of Rights. This is a far cry from the feeling of entitlement that is so prevalent today. (See Equality, Parts I, II, and III.) Don't be deceived, people; the government knows about this feeling and is using it to twist the American people into complicity with a scheme that can only ruin the nation. We've seen what "healthcare reform" does in Canada and the UK and other countries, and we don't need that horrid muddle here.

Just because everybody who's anybody in the world has a socialized healthcare system doesn't mean that America has to as well. We are America, the Land of the Free... not the Land of the Entitled. We do not follow. We lead. So following all the other civilized nations, lemming-like, in their descent into mayhem is not acceptable no matter how the government spins it.

There's still hope; this snafu of a bill isn't law yet. It has to get through the Senate first and then across the President's desk. And even if (when) this bill does get rammed through, it won't be the end of the world. God has something lined out for us. It will be hard. It will probably involve chastening, so to speak. But in the end, it will be worked out for good, at least for those of us who are Christians (Rom. 8:28-29). So let that be our hope. Someday, somehow, everything will get better... even if we have to wait until the other side of eternity to see it.