re: At the bar with a Lawyer friend...

Your Lawyer friend should consider that the predatory nature of humans is legendary and the tribalist pack mentality perniciously efficient and contagious when there is no superior societal power to deter it. Law, in plainspeak. Albeit think of Lula’s transformation in El Salvador where their society went from that of barbaric gangs of feral heathen with zero conscience ruling their communities to one of the most secure and safe places in the world today.

Our Nation’s Founding Documents were imagined and based on the idea of God, with “inalienable Rights “ extended to ALL citizens. But the Rights of citizens were only respected if and to the degree that those citizens did not disrespect the rights of their fellow citizens. I.e., break laws that define and defend said individual rights.

There has never been a time or society in human history when a citizen who does not assume their social responsibility to WORK with and as others dutifully do, for the common survival and prosperity of themselves and society. And further and ludicrously so, that the irresponsible citizen can demand (morality based) that the responsible citizens pay for their own bodily needs, irresponsibility nws. That idea will spread like the Covid virus if ever held as a high moral standard, accepted by the citizenry as a form of ‘social justice’ and foist upon the responsible and truly moral citizenry. It is basically suicidal.

Our Nation’s foundation is based on a loving God and further derived from the Judeo-Christian ideology, in that a particular Bible was paid for, printed and approved by the Congress for dissemination and teaching in our schools. As historically such it is obvious that the very essence of Christian Theology is to justly and mercifully care for the weaker brethren of God’s family. That is a qualifier laid down by Jesus Christ if professing Christians desire mercy at their own judgment into our next life. And a pillar of all Religions ( to my knowledge).

I have long supported ‘subsidies’ for the poor, but as the poor are very likely poor for an obvious reason, those merciful subsidies should come with the same QUALIFIERS that Jesus lays on his Own for His mercy towards them. The current demand for food subsidies which include high sugar/fat products that the (poor) will obviously be powerless to discipline their intake of within healthy limits and which will assure future, costly and deadly consequences. Such morality-based demands are not only immoral, from the poor who make them, but immoral for those who would approve and implement such policy as some form of individual rights or ‘social justice’. RFK is caught in this moral conundrum as I type, and making an admirable stand.

This ‘dirty laundry’ stuff is going to have to be aired in our highest political and social forums and honestly argued. Otherwise Mother Nature will do what human wisdom obviously cannot. I.e., judge us by or beliefs and works. And drop the hammer.