Fairness

I vowed to avoid political stuff and post only stupid jokes and photos for a while, but I've had some thoughts that I wanted to put in writing, so here ya go.
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What does "fairness" mean? The way Senator Obama explains it, it's ensuring a fair outcome. That's not what they used to say. The civil rights leaders wanted a "level playing field". That means a fair opportunity. That's different!

As far as I can tell, in the United States today, every person is given a free education to 12th grade. You do have to pay for college, but there are numerous financing options available. In fact, the poorer your parents are, the more grants you get. That's not fair, is it? It doesn't bother me. I think it's generous and helps families succeed in the long run. But I digress.

No college can discriminate based on race or gender. No employer can discriminate based on race or gender. I'm not claiming that there is no racism, sexism, class-ism in people's hearts. That will never be completely gone. But can anyone deny that every person who works hard has all the opportunity in the world to succeed in this country?

I don't begrudge people with more money and bigger houses. Their superior wealth is due to many things:
-hard work
-two incomes (working mom)
-inherited family money
-career choices
-they're smarter than I am

I'll add that some people actually don't want a lot of money. They think it will only bring problems. They want enough to pay their bills and have fun now and then, but they choose to live simply, and to not pursue the next big promotion.

We won't all end up in the same place with the same income and the same amount in our retirement accounts. You can't eliminate these natural variations among people. All we need the government to do is to be a fair referree.

For the most part in this great nation in the 21st century, the OPPORTUNITY is equal. However, the OUTCOME is up to you. And what you get belongs to you. You ought to recognize it as a blessing from God and be generous to those less fortunate. But when the government interferes to "spread the wealth", that is the exact opposite of "fairness".

Of course, we will give to Ceasar what beongs to him, and give to God what belongs to Him. I am not going to hole up in my bunker with my shotgun and refuse to pay taxes and claim that Texas is still an Independent Republic (some people believe that!). But I do hope that the government will recognize its limited role.