■ head and demand to be paid for I “not planting” some crop. |\ You would not think of remov ing by force from the hands of another the fruits o f his labor! Yet you will let government take money from your neighbor by force to pay you for work you don’t do. Individually, “ Thou shalt not steal” means something. Collec tively, such moral considerations are somehow diluted. The moral disintegration which takes place is such, says Mr. Evans, that you may even come to consider your neighbor’s proper ty as yours “by right” ! Evans says, “Neither a society nor a group—not even a nation— can be possessed o f integrity, wis dom, justice, morality or a sense of responsibility. These charac teristics can only be the property of individuals, and the ability to acquire these qualities rest only within individuals. “ The only way to improve the bad omelet is first to improve the quality of the eggs.” The example cited here — the impersonal collection o f taxes — graphically demonstrates the de gree to which our American char acter has eroded away. Individually, we insist that we “ don’t want to be a burden on anybody else,” yet we demand old-age benefits, Medicare, unem ployment pay, free rent, free edu cation—which makes us a burden on everybody else. There are only two ways to get what you want: Earn it—or steal it. And when we condone stealing, however indirectly, there are a lot o f other hands in our pockets. BE
S ome A mericans are trying to alter the status quo by ram paging through the streets, steal ing what they want and burning what’s left. James Evans, in his new book, The Glorious Quest, details how many individuals will do in a mob what they would never consider doing in person. “Will you s in g a solo in church?” No. If everybody else does, you will. As individuals, where we must face the consequences o f our ac tions directly, we tend to think, talk and act like “ old-fashioned Americans,” moral, responsible, respectable. But we can stand on the fringe o f a lynch mob and feel little guilt. Example, cited by Mr. Evans: “ You are a farmer. From your government agency you have just received a letter advising that you have $1,140 coming for par ticipating in the soil bank pro gram. “ The letter says that govern ment has come up with a cost-cut ting device whereby you will col lect the subsidy directly. Enclosed is a list o f your neighbors. You are authorized to collect $49.50 from William Brown, 436 Maple Street; $62.20 from Henry Smith, 1429 N. Henderson Street; $54 from John Smith, 123 Main Street, and $65.50 from Robert Jones o f 2650 S. 4th Avenue. “You may utilize the services of your local police if necessary to collect the money.” Would you? Not one farmer in thousands would put a gun at his neighbor’s
WOULD YOU
Be
WILL
CHURCH ?
Warvey
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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