This past week, our local newspaper posted a question on
Facebook related to defunding Obamacare.
On Saturday, they printed some of the responses. This one (unedited) got my attention:
“I don’t use any government ‘services’ anyway. I found this wonderful thing I call
self-responsibility. I highly suggest
it.”
How remarkable!
Here is a person who does not drive on streets and highways paid for by
tax dollars, will let his house burn to the ground rather than call the
government-run fire department, and would not call the tax-paid police force if
he were the victim of crime. Probably
did not attend the “government schools,” either. Must be a very lonely and difficult life.
Sarcasm aside, the reality is that surviving in any society
without both helping others and depending upon others would be very difficult
if not impossible. By living in a nation
state, we enter into a social contract with our fellow citizens and share the responsibility
of maintaining a reasonably civilized society for everyone.
Within that society, people have the freedom to
organize. You might think that I am
going to apply this to churches, but on this Labor Day I am reflecting on the
labor movement in the United States.
Labor unions have been guilty of abuse and deceit (like any other human entity)
but the ability to organize and negotiate (and sometimes demand) benefits from
employers has shaped our nation and improved conditions for millions of people.
Unions are not as significant or influential as they once
were, but they made a difference in the lives of many workers and their
families. My father was a member of a
union. When I was growing up, the union
would sometimes choose to strike—stop work--to get a better “deal” from the
company. Those were not pleasant times
in our home, but we understood that it was necessary in order to improve our
circumstances.
On this Labor Day, I am grateful that we have the freedom
to work alongside others, share the burdens of life, and make a better place
for everyone. It is not always easy but
it is not lonely.
Comments