Put ME in Charge....

Recently through a friend, I came across a young woman's right-wing rant about what she would do if she were in charge of allocating public assistance programs in America. Here is the post, which is currently in circulation on Facebook:

WRITTEN BY A 21 YEAR OLD FEMALE
PUT ME IN CHARGE . . .

Put me in charge of food stamps. I'd get rid of Lone Star cards; no cash for Ding Dongs or Ho Ho's, just money for 50-pound bags of rice and beans, blocks of cheese and all the powdered milk you can haul away. If you want steak and frozen pizza, then get a job.

Put me in charge of Medicaid. The first thing I'd do is to get women Norplant ...birth control implants or tubal ligations. Then, we'll test recipients for drugs, alcohol, and nicotine. If you want to reproduce or use drugs, alcohol, or smoke, then get a job.

Put me in charge of government housing. Ever live in a military barracks? You will maintain our property in a clean and good state of repair. Your home" will be subject to inspections anytime and possessions will be inventoried. If you want a plasma TV or Xbox 360, then get a job and your own place.

In addition, you will either present a check stub from a job each week or you will report to a "government" job. It may be cleaning the roadways of trash, painting and repairing public housing, whatever we find for you. We will sell your 22 inch rims and low profile tires and your blasting stereo and speakers and put that money toward the "common good.."

Before you write that I've violated someone's rights, realize that all of the above is voluntary. If you want our money, accept our rules. Before you say that this would be "demeaning" and ruin their "self esteem," consider that it wasn't that long ago that taking someone else's money for doing absolutely nothing was demeaning and lowered self esteem.

If we are expected to pay for other people's mistakes we should at least attempt to make them learn from their bad choices. The current system rewards them for continuing to make bad choices.

AND While you are on Gov't subsistence, you no longer can VOTE! Yes, that is correct. For you to vote would be a conflict of interest. You will voluntarily remove yourself from voting while you are receiving a Gov't welfare check. If you want to vote, then get a job.

Now, if you have the guts - PASS IT ON...I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO GET THIS BACK, IF EVERYONE SENDS IT, I WILL GET OVER 220 BACK!!! I WOULD KNOW YOU SENT IT ON!!!

 

Normally I would dismiss posts such as this one, but for some reason this just stuck with me.  And it made me angry.  It wasn't just the sheer amount of ignorance the post exudes- case in point, the repeated phrase "get a job" presumes that most people on welfare don't work, is decidedly a falsehood; in reality, the majority of food stamp recipients are indeed working, but in underpaid positions in the workforce. Or they simply don't work because they are elderly, children, or disabled. Ironically, this woman probably believes the government should be the least intrusive in the lives of individuals....but I guess the exception to that rule must be for the poorest folks it seems, as she has a lot of ideas about restricting their basic rights as citizens. No, what really got under my skin was the cynicism, and that I know people who agree with this person's views.

 

Admittedly, I don't know the young woman who wrote this post.  But I do wonder if she identifies as a Christian.  I wonder this, because I know a lot of people who do consider themselves charitable, Christian folk. And at the same time, this is how they too see the recipients of welfare:  as taxpayer -dollar -sucking, lazy wasteoids who have no interest in putting in an honest day's work but instead, are living it up on government handouts.  The argument I hear again and again is, that Jesus asked us as individuals to help the poor, not the government doing so.  What some Christian folks are forgetting is, if they as individuals are speaking about the poor in this fashion, they have already strayed from what Jesus called Christians to do, and that is to care for the least of society. If you agree with the above- if you speak about the least of society in this fashion? You simply are not furthering the work Christ asked us to do on earth, period.  Never mind the fact that our government is acting on behalf of us as a collective of individuals. Wouldn't we then want the government to enact some measure of social justice, as Jesus would? And sorry, but agreeing with the above and then making a tax deductible donation to a charity does not give you a free pass on this issue, nor does it give you the right to assume that every person on food stamps is undeserving of that assistance. Sure, there will always be scammers, but it's good to remember that doesn't apply to everyone.  Far from it, but people like this young woman still keep saying such things hold as an absolute truth for all the poor folks collecting any form of public assistance.  

 

Also glaringly obvious to me, is that this 21 year old female who wants to be in charge, has never spent a day in her life with anyone poor. I'm sorry that the poor are not living up to her standards in terms of neediness. I'm sorry that her cynical viewpoint that everyone is a scam artist, overshadows the realities the poor in America are faced with. I'm sorry she thinks it justifiable to kick people who are down on their luck... with her "ideas". I'm even sorrier that other people buy into this way of thinking, and that it results in lawmakers who think that blindly trimming dollars from food stamp programs, will somehow make those dependent upon that help miraculously self-sufficient. Because as she so insistently stated, none of those poor people work to begin with.

 

Funny, I seem to remember Jesus saying in the scriptures, something about it being easier for a rich man to pass through the eye of a needle, than it is for them to get into the kingdom of Heaven. He also said the poor were blessed and would inherit God's Kingdom- the last, shall be first, and the first shall be last.  How do either of these scriptures coincide with a person keeping more of their tax dollars that would otherwise help the needy? I ask my fellow Christians especially, to hold themselves to a higher standard and purpose.

 

This is my rebuttal to the above piece, which is also posted on Facebook:  

 

WRITTEN BY A 38 YEAR OLD MOTHER
Put ME in Charge........
Put me in charge of food stamps. I'd treat people with dignity when they are struggling. I wouldn't presume to know what a person would like to buy or eat. I would understand that... food is a basic need, and anyone receiving assistance is worthy. I would honor those who are elderly and can no longer work, the children who can't help they were born poor, and the veterans who cannot find work in the country they fought to serve. I would treat people as I would want to be treated if I'd fallen on hard times, and thank my God for my prosperity.

Put me in charge of Medicaid. I would hire enough people to eliminate forever, the billion dollar plus fraud business perpetuated by organized crime, instead of the three agents charged with this responsibility. I would then ensure we have a system that takes care of our most vulnerable citizens. Never again would anyone go bankrupt over healthcare costs. I would create a system that is patient centric and healing centric, not a system for profit. After all, Jesus never healed people for money. He also never dictated who could or could not reproduce, and valued all life regardless of circumstance.

Put me in charge of government housing. I would send an army of volunteers to repair and restore the broken, depressed, unclean overcrowded "homes" of those who have multiple jobs and cannot provide more for their families. I would create quiet, peaceful places in these housing units for children to play safely, and do their homework. I would challenge citizens to do more for the invisible homeless who don't even qualify for any government housing. I would beseach lawmakers to consider, that when a person has dignity restored, they will do more for themselves and society only benefits from investments in its people. And then I would ensure the working poor have opportunities that would pay them a living wage so their dignity could be maintained along with their children. No longer would it be more appealing to sell drugs or brandish a weapon, and going to college would be far more attainable.

I would never demand that the poor and the most vulnerable of our society, should not enjoy any pleasure, or that they should all be working. I do not expect grandparents, children, or the infirmed and disabled to work, and any society that expects that has their priorities all wrong.

In addition, every citizen will be required to do at least one selfless act for their community. Spend an afternoon feeding the hungry out of your own pocket, and go eat a meal with them. Go have cookies and milk with homeless children in a shelter and read them a bedtime story. Go to the inner city and help paint murals on a playground. Go be a mentor to a teen. Go and sit for an hour with an old person in a home who has no family left and no visitors. Because if everyone did that, I guarantee nobody would find value in any material things. They would instead, find value in one another. And the distasteful finger pointing at the most vulnerable, would cease to exist.

As a follower of Jesus, I know his greatest commandment was to care for the least of these, and if I follow him it is my calling to act as He commands. Please. Put ME in charge.

Now, if you have the guts? Don't just share this, go out and do something that makes a difference. Be thankful for what you have and less judgemental of those that do not have. Do something that makes the world a little kinder. Living is hard enough as it is.

 

Living IS hard enough as it is. When we expect the best of others, that is what we get and cultivate. When we treat the least of these with dignity, they too embrace dignity again. Until the cynics get on board with these truths, they will only see what justifies their cynicism. 

 

-- T

 

D is For......

The most recent development in my family is that we adopted a rescue dog.

And over the last 4 months of dog ownership, one thing has become abundantly clear: we got a defective one.

Our dog is 8 months old now.  In addition to her name which we didn't change after adopting, she's got several nicknames and a few catchy sung phrases too created just for her (All my children have their own songs. This is just what I do.) She wags her tail incessantly, sometimes coupling this with jumping up on people to say hello.  The jumping doesn't always go over so well with small people, but I digress.  The new family dog is relatively smart.  She knows the following commands:  sit, stay, down, watch me, and back.  Of course like most members of my family, the mere mention of the word "treat" has her willing to do just about anything.  Food motivated is kind of an understatement.  She hardly ever complains when asked to go in her kennel.  If you put your face near hers, she'll give you kisses.

Our dog is a couch hog.  Her favorite pastime when she's not playing or eating, is sleeping...preferably on said couch and as stretched out as she possibly can be.   The couch is always the default position for her, and her own dog bed is second. The fact that she is not finished growing, yet already takes up nearly 3/4 of said couch, is rather disconcerting.  Thankfully she prefers a human companion to share the couch with.  And she doesn't discriminate. Kids or adults are most welcome to snuggle and cuddle.

Our dog is playful. Sometimes she gets fits of energy and runs all over the backyard like a wild thing.  She is learning how to play fetch, but you really need two tennis balls because she hasn't quite gotten the concept yet of "drop it".  Leash etiquette is not her strong suit.  A harness has helped.  She just loves walks even though she is a tad leash-spastic, especially when she gets to greet other dogs.  She thinks that all dogs she meets are friendly, and is rather surprised when this is sometimes not the case.  She is learning that people and children do not play in the same way that other dogs might play with her, but honestly for a puppy she doesn't mouth much if ever. Running free and playing with her own furiends at the dog park, ranks high on our dog's to-do list.

Our dog is loyal.  If she could talk, she'd probably quote Ariel from The Little Mermaid:  "I want to go, where the people are."  The kids adore her, but none more than my nearly 6 year old daughter, who often will work on tricks and training with the dog, almost to a level of some kind of dog-whisperer prodigy (I'm seriously not exaggerating. There could be a future career here for this child.)If my kids are sad, which is a rarity, the dog is checking on them.  Don't mistake loyalty for guarding though.  This is no guard dog.  She hardly barks at anything, unless its Buster, our resident feline who arguably bosses her around quite a bit....which is very funny considering the cat is probably a third of her size at best. We've discovered that turning on the sprinkler sends her running indoors.  Sometimes I wish she would bark when the doorbell rings, or at least when I'm turning the key in the lock.  I mean, what's the point of owning a large dog if they don't bark at the appropriate times?  But no, not this dog.  She sure does bark if I leave the house without her, unless she's in her kennel of course. When out and about, she periodically "checks in" with me, looking up at me as if to say "How'm I doin?", or "So what's next?".  We are her people. She's definitely loyal.

Our dog gets into trouble.  She has a ridiculously cute face and trust me, she works this to her advantage to get out of jams. One look at that face and you're suddenly wondering where the dog biscuits are so you can give her one.  It's truly terrible. Her newfound size has enabled her to perfect things like putting her paws up on the pantry counter in the hopes someone left a tasty food item within reach.  Let me be the first to say that many a loaf of bread has met an early demise.  No, I don't condone this behavior and we're working on correcting it, but sometimes the dog wins in the maylay that comes with a three-children-household. Mia culpa.  She's also 8 months old and not completely housebroken. I realize part of this is on me and the hubs, for not always seeing her cues.  However, standing at the back door silently in a household like mine, may not always get noticed.  This is where a bark or two would be more than helpful!  Just sayin. Guaranteed if the silent backdoor vigil is not noticed within what feels like a hot second, trouble of an elimination kind ensues. Recently if she's caught in the act, and I immediately usher her outside, her whole attitude is like, "Oh yeah! I'm sposed to go out HERE!"  Sigh. Obviously we are getting played.

Our dog is generally obedient, though not without consistent reminders. This dog probably hears the word "NO!" about a bazillion times in a 24 hour period. Here I thought I said no a lot to my children!  Not even close. Her favorite home turf pastime is finding toys not belonging to her and making them her own.  This is not to say that she doesn't have a growing number of her own toys to play with, including an abundance of treats and rawhide chews. But if given the opportunity, she's more than happy to attempt to personally add to her own toy collection. She also thinks that stealing recycled cardboard and cereal boxes and shredding them up is helpful. Um, no.  I suppose I should be grateful this does not include furniture chewing. She is still a puppy, after all.  She has never chewed the furniture.  Not even once. Barbie however, has not been so lucky.

I know what you are thinking.  Sounds like a perfectly normal dog, you say? Yeah, she's pretty wonderful, and a great addition to our family.  Even strangers think so. She's becoming an avid social networking canine, with her own Facebook page and a growing number of human fans and furiends alike, some as far away as Australia.

But I'm telling you, she's defective! Something is clearly wrong with her.  She is not anything like I'd heard a dog like her would be.

Meet our family dog, Piper.  The pitbull.