How Much Do You Have to Hate Someone Not to Proselytize?

Francis Schaeffer on the Origins of Relativism in the Church

Words to Remember

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

One of My Favorite Songs

An Inspiring Song

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Thursday, August 20, 2009

The Occasional Wisdom of Standing Pat

A phrase I heard on the radio the other day is the title of a recent Wall Street Journal editorial and also of a book: "Don't just do something. Stand there."

As soon as I heard it, I wished I could take credit for it. It is brief, to the point, and very expressive of a simple truth that is too often forgotten: In the mad rush to "do something," all too often anything, to solve some problem, real or perceived, we are prone to forget the all-too-real possibility that we might make things worse.

"Possibility" is too mild a word when "doing something" means "government doing something." When government does something, the probability of screw-ups and dangerous unintended consequences is so high as to be a virtual certainty.

The reality is that often, even in the midst of a very bad situation, the best course of action government can take is simply to "stand there," recognizing that it is simply not suited to be the agency by which the solution comes. Sometimes it really is best to just stand pat.
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2 comments:

  1. Patrick ParkerAugust 20, 2009 at 4:52 AM

    Bravo. You might like:
    http://www.mokurendojo.com/2006/12/progress-but-not-ballistic.html

    ReplyDelete
  2. Man of the WestAugust 21, 2009 at 12:24 PM

    T'weren't bad. I ain't a big poetry buff, but that weren't bad.

    ReplyDelete

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