Thou Shalt Not Steal.....Thou Shalt Not Covet - Granite Grok

Thou Shalt Not Steal…..Thou Shalt Not Covet

The examples we hear from people with narrowed minds  try to make us believe that only the ones who have made it are entitled to what they earn (and all of it).”

“[F]reedom, if it is to work well, requires not only strong moral standards but moral standards of a particular kind, and that it is possible in a free society for moral standards to grow up which, if they become general, will destroy freedom and with it the basis of all moral values.”  – F.A. Hayek    (H/T: Cafe Hayek)

The title, obviously, are two of the Ten Commandments.  The second is from a Letter to the Editor from a well known Leftist in my local area (Laconia Daily Sun, 10/22/56, after the jump).  The third was a cautionary note by Hayek from 1961.  Unfortunately, it seems that the last has been ignored, the first has been mightly scorned, and all we have left is is a willingness to steal from others.

Such old notions of morality – don’t steal, don’t covet –

Sidenote:  I do wonder how many of the unchurched would even know the true meaning of the word “covet”?

nowadays, we are told over and over that their time has passed.  The Militant Atheists and the ACLU work hand in hand to erase all semblance of religion in the Public Square under the rubric of the non-existent words in the Constitution of “separation of church and State”.  Who knew that ANY mention of the Bible, even sideways (except if you are Rev. Wright saying “G****mn America!”), was a full-throated attempt of establishing a State religion.

Progressives, too, as I said here, have been actively undermining these tenets of traditional morality for decades – they can’t give anything to anyone without first using the force of Government to take from others.  What else can you call the excessive taxation necessary to fuel the Socialist utopia Welfare State except Theft by Legislation.  Crack-money from the State – addiction created by Government.  Bread and Circus by another other name – give you something here and don’t worry about the theft of your soul and Freedom on the other (“Don’t worry”, say the Progressives, “we’ll just take that Freedom and put it, safe and sound, into our lockbox.  See, we just put our lock on it so it won’t ever escape.  Ever”.

Thou Shalt not Steal – what is missing from your wallet?  What is missing from your soul?

Uber-Progressive Obama is a master of the second – no, not shutting it down but whipping the crowd up into a frenzy: “How DARE you have more than I do!” (think Occupy Wall Street , see here too).  After decades of Welfare the the transformation of “thank you for your charity” to a “I’m owed that entitlement”, we see that covetousness transformed into a new normality of morality.  “I want what I want, and it doesn’t matter that I didn’t earn it – I deserve it anyways”. The Community Organizer’s sole job is to enrage a “community” that they deserve something that they don’t have by pointing out someone who does have “it” – and that it is just the case to take it from them and all their problems will be solved.  Over and over again – until we hit that breaking / tipping point when it is well accepted that the old saw of Karl Rove’s (which was limited to the political realm) is acceptable in all aspects of life and society: “What’s mine is mine; what’s your’s we’ll discuss”.    Occupy Wall Street was ALL about taking what they wanted from the 1% – covetousness to the max and justify it as “they stole it from me”

DailySun_Bernadette Loesch 2013-10-22And with this sob story wrapped in the new social gospel of “you have no right to what you have earned” (or another definition: you are entitled to keep what I say you can – shut up and fork it over”).

Sadly, this type of thinking and lack of reasoning has led to the over bloated Welfare State administrated by a sclerotic bureaucracy as being normal, as being needed, and as being moral.  No more individual charity, as the message is that the Rich hate the poor and NEVER, EVER do the right thing (and she’s proven wrong by the studies by Dr. Arthur Brooks).

This new morality demands that we accept that ONLY Government can meet anyone’s needs and that anyone who disagrees hates the rest of us.  Compassion is not measured by the content of one’s heart but by the number of social workers that can be deployed.  Only the Group’s action has meaning – the Individual is unimportant in the grand scheme of caring.

Which is exactly what Obama and his coterie of Collectivists want you to think and believe.  After all, if you accept that, you must, by definition, accept anything that comes down from on High.

Yes, from on High, but I’m believing that her version of “from on High” is a lot different than mine – that *I* am still responsible individually for what I do.  Her “High” may judge her now – my Judgement will come later (and be a whole lot more important and lasting).

Besides, Government cannot be compassionate – it’s just taxes and laws.

 

 

 

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