Spoiler alert for all my democratic friends out there, this probably won't make you happy :).
I bought this Halloween card...
Hazel was asking about it last night, so I briefly explained why I thought it was funny.
Today, Hazel was just in the kitchen showing it to City and goes, "This is our president. He's nice, but he takes money from people who earn it. He gives it to poor people that don't have money, but he shouldn't have taked it because we wanna uh, City's not listening! City, this is President Obama, he takes money from people and gives it to poor people and we wanna uh give money to poor people, but he takes it and we want to choose to give it to other poor people...tada! I'm in a bathtub, you're not in the bathtub, you're going to wash my hair..." and off to play "bathtub."
A minute later I asked her what he should do instead and she thought and goes, "He should earn it himself and give it to them." Who knew I'd be such a proud parent. And just to keep you all from getting in a tizzy, I explained a little more about how we just want to have the choice of who to give it to and how it's better for us to choose to give instead of having it taken. I was proud of my little sponge digesting so well!
And we wondered why all our neighbors took our candy from us in fist fulls last year when we moved to CA from TX. I couldn't resist. Alright, alright, I'll stop.
I had to post the cute pics of the bathtub play too, it became an airplane ride and Hazel is the stewardess. I love it! It just spilled and City jumped up and goes, "My tea! My tea!" Hazel tucked her back in and is cleaning up after her, she is so sweet! And smart:).
14 comments:
Wasn't there an email similiar to this card going around a couple years ago? :) That's awesome Hazel was trying to explain it to Felicity.
Cute pictures of the girls. It's so fun to see what kids come up with.
funny what kids absorb and how they think things really work. Cute pics.
thanks for sharing
Ha Ha Ha!! I love the pictures, too!
Love it! I love that Hazel is so eager to learn and I love their imaginations!
I think that's adorable how Hazel tried to explain the card. I showed the card to Glen and he thought it was hilarious.
Great post Afton!
Let's just have this help everyone remember to get out and vote!
Just curious how Hazel would explain Mosiah 4:16-26 to Hazel?
Hey Lindsay, no fear, I'm a firm believer in that scripture too! You may have missed it in the first part where she said that we want to give to poor people too, we just want to choose to do it and not have him take it from us and him do it, so no contradiction.
She really did get it and I was careful to explain to her that we want to give to poor people too, but explained agency to her and how Heavenly Father wants us to choose to do good things and not have people make us do good things and that's how we're blessed (did this in a few conversations over a couple of days to make sure she got it). We fully support giving to those in need, we just like to choose how that's done instead of having our money taken from high taxes, in ways we don't support or think are fair. We have ways, other than just tithing, that we give and donate to others, but it's much more personal when we choose how we do it and they've thankfully been able to be a part of how we choose to do that sometimes.
I hope your concerns are rested a bit that we're teaching her that it's not good to give to the poor! That certainly wasn't what I taught her and she knows quite well that we want to give to those in need. It wasn't just a one day topic either, we teach her that lesson as frequently in word and deed so it didn't seem to be conflicting in her mind.
I should also add that I've seen first hand and generally ways that the gov't spends there money in "charitable" ways that has been done really poorly. That's a topic for a whole different post of course, but thought I should mention one other reason why it bugs me in addition to just taking, but them choosing places where I think it's really ineffective.
First off, I wasn't trying to criticize your parenting skills...far from it. I sincerely apologize if you were offended.
I just think that if we were to cut taxes in the hope that people would then give that money freely to charitable organizations of their choice is a ridiculous idea. Don't get me wrong, I think our social programs are in need of reform (and I think President Obama would agree), but there is a serious need and we can't just assume that the general public will step in and fill those needs if given the choice/opportunity to do so with some of the money they save from a few tax cuts. I think the nation would be worse off than it already is. You're right that Heavenly Father wants us to choose to do good, but sometimes we need to be compelled to do so. Just like it would be nice if our children always chose to share with other children, but sometimes we have to force them to do so whether they like it or not because it's what is right.
I generally avoid online discussions on sensitive topics, but I can't resist the chance to try to clarify, as I think Afton and I are on the same page here. Lindsay, I'm glad you're willing to share a differing viewpoint. I sincerely respect your opinion, and the world could certainly use more people who are as caring and compassionate as you are.
I have more to say that I should put down in a blog post, so I'll try to limit myself to two thoughts: 1) I think the commandment to impart of our substance was, first and foremost, intended to be for our benefit, and only secondarily for those to whom we impart. If the alleviation of suffering were the ultimate goal, a loving God would address that suffering himself -- at least when we failed to do so. This is an uncomfortable thing for someone as unacquainted with want as I am to say, but I think it is true: the spiritual aspects of the commandment (i.e., the growth possible through a choice to give) are ultimately much more consequential than temporal suffering, as terrible as it may be. There is plenty of want to address even in a world where the government tries to assume the role of caretaker, but I think people have grown so accustomed to government's role in that arena that they rely on the government, begrudgingly or possibly unconsciously, as a proxy for personal charitable giving (and in any case, they have substantially less resources to allocate at their discretion). And they are deprived of the chance to grow by seeing suffering and affirmatively choosing to sacrifice in order to address it. Some virtues, such as a prohibition on murder, can effectively be legislated without unnecessarily encroaching on agency, but I think the command to love our fellow man (and express that love through temporal assistance) is so inextricably intertwined with personal agency that the most important aspect of the commandment dies if it is compelled (and note that homicide laws simply impose consequences on prohibited conduct, rather than actually depriving us of the choice to disobey, while taxing for welfare programs actually eliminates the choice to use those funds charitably ourselves).
2) While I certainly agree that scrapping welfare programs and returning the associated resources to the people that earned them would not result in a dollar-for-dollar increase in private charitable giving (especially in the short run), I think people are so fundamentally good that we would see a new flood of personal giving and associated private charitable organizations. And, of course, I think the funds would be better allocated (and MUCH more efficiently allocated) by the private sector than by the government. And I also think private organizations would be better equipped (and more motivated) to avoid the spiritual destruction associated with a continuous handout.
I hope that makes sense. I have great respect for people who care so much about others that they are happy to have the government care for others at their expense. I just worry that, in addition to being inefficient, that type of administration of charity has spiritual externalities both for the giver and the receiver.
(P.S. On the issue of not judging those who put up their petition to us, I agree that we should not stay our hand merely because we assume (or even know) that someone has brought their suffering on himself, but in a world of limited resources and virtually unlimited need, we have to use whatever discrimination we have in allocating our resources. Technology allows us to choose between alleviating needs in Sudan or giving money to someone in need on a street corner in Sunnyvale).
Noted.
Laura and I were inspired by this post and comments to have a family home evening discussing King Benjamin's words and how the money that goes to tithing, fast offerings, and taxes are used to help people and society progress. And, how the many things we have aren't really ours to keep. Instead, we can choose to be part of a civil society and loving Church that collects funds for the greater good. Though, we can't always choose where the money goes, it is often for the benefit of society.
We rounded up FHE tonight by buying a sheep:
http://www.heifer.org/site/c.edJRKQNiFiG/b.2664267/?msource=QTAK1020002
Great discussion!
I love the heifer project! My parents started doing it when I was younger, but I've forgotten about it since. What a good idea!
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