[Vision2020] Melynda a Marxist? I'm shocked

[Ron Smith]

		Ms. Opyr: "Now, as for the government compelling people to believe and live by the teachings of Jesus, of course I would object."

 
But Ms. Opyr, this is precisely what you are advocating. Christ tells His people to care for the poor. They, for the most part, have refused, so the US government compels them to through taxation and redistribution.
 

		Ms. Opyr: "I am not, myself, a Christian, but I'm nonetheless familiar with (and a frequent admirer of) his work..."

 
Why? Did you admire the work of David Koresh? If Jesus Christ is not God as He claimed to be, then He was as wacko as the one from Waco.

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From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com on behalf of Joan Opyr
Sent: Fri 12/24/2004 1:47 PM
To: Vision2020 Moscow
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Melynda a Marxist? I'm shocked


Ron Smith opines:
 
"Thanks so much for quoting the words of Christ at length. I certainly enjoyed reading them. The part at the end troubled me, though. You know very little about me and yet you presume to call me a goat simply because I do not think that passage you quoted in any way refers to state sanctioned redistribution of wealth. Christ certainly calls His people to care for the poor and I will be the first to admit that they do not do it enough. As well, I doubt you are willing to argue that the state should compel each citizen to believe and live by the teachings of Christ. As for your comparison of US taxation to that of France, Germany, and Canada, I can only say that robbery is robbery and no kudos are due to the one who robs less.
 
Merry Christmas"
 
 
Dear Ron:
 
I called you Billy the Goat for my own amusement.  It was a cheap shot, but who ever said shooting fish in a barrel wasn't fun?  My goodness, it's better than Whack-A-Mole!  And easier, too.
 
Now, as for the government compelling people to believe and live by the teachings of Jesus, of course I would object.  I am not, myself, a Christian, but I'm nonetheless familiar with (and a frequent admirer of) his work, particularly the Sermon on the Mount.  But what does that have to do with taxation in the US of A?  How and why, exactly, do you equate taxation (for which, thanks to the American Revolution, you have representation) with robbery?  While I agree with Woody Guthrie that some men will rob you with a gun and others with a fountain pen, I fail to understand how this applies to the IRS, which simply determines, based on your annual income, what you must pay to the elected government of this fine nation to cover your fair share of the cost of our national defense, port security, the interstate highway system, food safety, drug safety, the federal prison and judicial system, agricultural subsidies, and the federally-insured deposit of that aforementioned annual income in U.S. bank?  These things don't pay for themselves, Matey, and it puzzles me what Libertarians imagine would happen if we were to abolish the income tax.  Call it a failure of imagination on my part, but I'm picturing pot-holes, ad hoc militias, and some really suspect hamburger on sale at the Piggly Wiggly
 
BTW, anyone who can read Matthew 25 and not think Jesus was in favor of the radical redistribution of wealth via the then-government of Jerusalem, i.e., the Sanhedrin, *is* a goat.  My Pet Goat, to be exact.  A kindergartner (or the President of the United States) should be able to read and understand this particular Biblical text without the aid of a fat preacher and the Merriam-Webster.   
 
Merry Christmas right back at ya and a happy belated Hanukah,
Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment    

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