AWAD's Thought for the Day, 10/26/2012

The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life -- the sick, the needy and the handicapped. -Hubert Horatio Humphrey, US Vice President (1911-1978)

The quote about the “moral test of government” makes perfect sense coming from so notorious a welfare-warfare statist as H. H. Humphrey. The wonder is that any decent or reasoning human being puts any stock in it.

That the State in fact does anything to ameliorate the plight of the young, the poor, the weak, the elderly or infirm is debatable enough, given the gaping chasm separating its stated aims and realized ends. “Close enough for government work” has become a truism for a reason. More to the point, no moral test worth its salt would so studiously ignore the means employed.

For the State is an extortion racket, impure and simple. It relies on force or threats of force to bring its goals—however noble (or base!)—to fruition. Ultimately, it will kill you. Don’t believe it? Resist the State’s attempt to collect “its” taxes every step of the way. Eventually, the brigands will appear.