Wednesday, October 29, 2008

For Whom The Bell Tolls

The sermon by John Donne of so many years ago has been ringing in my head lately. The entire sermon can be found online and is a great read. But the part of that sermon that is most famous I'll copy here and explain:
No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manner of thine own
Or of thine friend's were.
Each man's death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.

In politics it is common to preach to the masses that something (taxes, abortion, war) is evil and addressing it will be painless to most. This timeless poem should serve as a reminder that no action can be taken that does not affect me, and each of you.

To demand a sacrifice money from the few is to demand a sacrifice of all. Ours is a great and generous country and were it possible to hand the poorest in the country a few hundred, or even a few thousand, dollars to remove them from their poverty it would have been done already. There is no shortage of charities in our country that are dedicated to helping those who need help. (Here is my favorite. Ask me if you'd like to know why.) So it is disingenuous to pretend that raising taxes on 5% of the population will solve the problem of poverty in our country. It is disingenuous to pretend that such a hike will not afflict the other 95% in loss of industriousness or other means. It is disingenuous to pretend that something can happen to anyone in society and not affect society as a whole.

We desperately need to help our brothers who can't help themselves. We need better education programs. We need better health programs. We need better understanding that equality for all doesn't mean all are equal. It means all have equal worth and need a chance to succeed. What we desperately don't need is a big brother government that believes that wealth redistribution will of itself solve all our great countries problems.

I'll close with a bit of cheesiness and borrow from Mr. Donne.
Each man's tax increase diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the tax increases,
It increases for thee.

2 comments:

Melissa said...

Very well done, honey. You very eloquently expressed something I've been trying to figure out how to say.
While I think it's strange for us to be in such agreement on political issues for the first time in our relationship, I think I kinda like it! ;)

BBR said...

Love it! It rises for thee... good analogy.