do or do not... there is no try

we (collectively) know the Golden Rule... "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." - Luke 6:31... but how do we really put this into action?... William Barclay's Parables of Jesus just enlightened me to something i did not see... the vast majority of us, myself included, actually think of this in the negative... that is to say "Don't do unto others that which you would not want done to you."... simply put, if you wouldn't want to be kicked, don't kick someone else... notice the negative... would not... do not... we practice the Golden Rule in the negative... almost, in the reverse... we may even say, "I don't want my money stolen, so I will not steal from others."... some may hide the directness of their selfishness in phraseology... using empathy to imply, "If I were in your place, I would not like that treatment," but that isn't what is meant.

practicing the Negative Golden Rule is simplicity, itself... all i have to do is not be a horrible person... i can justify my "goodness" by showing how much bad i did not do!... by my inaction, i'm a defacto great guy... the best part is, i didn't do anything to receive the self-bestowed title!... by this logic, my sitting at home on the couch watching television is the equivalent of Mother Theresa working with lepers... she went out and helped them, but i'm equally great because i didn't curse at them, steal from them, or murder them... all the things i didn't do, but could have.

salvation by inaction.

but that's not what the Golden Rule actually says... it takes the positive view, not negative... it says "Do"... that requires action... "Do not" is easy, but doing is hard... the Golden Rule is more than a suggestion; it's a command... it demands that we go out and "Do unto others"... but more than that, we must do things which we would want done for ourselves... if we were in need, would we want someone to give us help?... of course!... therefore, when we are not in need, we must seek out those in need and help them... would we feel better if someone paid us a compliment?... yes; so find something and someone to compliment.

today, right now, someone is cold, hungry, drug addicted, afraid, or lost... are we doing to others as we would have them do unto us?... or are we one of those who "Do not"?

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i don't care if you believe in God, Allah, Vishnu, or none-of-the-above... if you're atheist, you should still read these words and understand their meaning... this isn't religion... this is how you treat your fellow human... this is a moral understanding of the world... it also just happens to be recorded in the Christian Bible... Quid est veritas?

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Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.
- Luke 6:30-31

[W]hen you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.
- Matthew 6:2-3

Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get. But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'
- Luke 18:9-13

If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
- Romans 12:20-21

Unemployment -OR- Get a shovel!

i just read a post on FaceBook by someone i don't know who was apparently upset by other people he didn't know who were upset by people they didn't know who were taking advantage of unemployment benefits... (did you follow all that?... good.)

a portion of his rant follows:

I consider myself conservative and responsible, but I have never seen so many ill-informed and downright selfish people in one place in my life as I found at Freedomworks. I find some of your views on unemployment particularly vile, as many of you want to blame high unemployment numbers on the unemployed and many of you want to take away unemployment benefits...my sole source of income at the moment.
Let me make it perfectly clear, I did not choose to become unemployed, I do not enjoy being unemployed. I and no other unemployed person chose to send all of our manufacturing to China. Unemployment insurance is paid by our former employers on our behalf, it is not welfare, it is there precisely to help working people who have lost their jobs. Anyone who has a problem with that can kiss my butt, go straight to you know where and tell the Devil I sent you. That is all.

being the jerk that i am, i let him know how his response upset me...

i was recently laid off and went on unemployment... i couldn't find work in my field (architeture)... so i looked in related fields (marine arch., engineering, drafting)... no luck... i looked in similar fields (construction mgmt, etc.)... ...no dice... i looked in unrelated fields (store management, personnel, etc.)... some... i looked into menial fields (labor, manufacturing, fry cook)... lots... there's work out there... if you're willing.
i was unemployed for two whole weeks... i got one whole unemployment check... now, i recently got lucky and i got an offer in my field, which i start in two weeks... but, if able and willing, there is no reason to be unemployed for TWO YEARS... the people who are unwilling are the ones we complain about... and if that includes you, you can kiss mine right back... there's a ditch somewhere that needs digging... get a shovel.

the part that many people seem to overlook when discussing unemployment, welfare, or any other social program is that these are intended to HELP people in need... they are not lifestyles... the complaint many have is not the existence of the government program, but the abuse of the government program... i am (temporarily) working for someone who is deeply involved in public housing... he has experience in public office... he works with, and for, people who are unemployed, on welfare, receive food stamps, etc... he is an advocate for those in need... and even he says the government throws away money on them... for example, in one housing area, the people living there receive free homes, utility stipends (which are not required to be used for utilities), food allowances, and a dozen other government assistance programs, not to mention the regular building maintenance and support at the government's expense... each year, it would be financially cheaper to buy each of them a house, give it to them, and walk away than it is to continue to provide them the constant support they demand... and we're not talking one-room shacks... we're talking 2BR, 1-1/2 bath, 1000 square feet, A/C, full kitchen, washer/dryer hookups, each with all the amenities... not the Taj Mahal, but we are talking free, here!...

another example he cites is an elderly lady he once met... in all probability, she needed the government assistance... her husband had passed, children moved out, no savings to speak of, no applicable skill, health issues... she needs the assistance... however, her children that moved out, moved across the street into public housing... her grand-daughter moved in right next door (in public housing)... and the grand-mother just couldn't be prouder of her family... every single one of them were using the system to get that monthly check for doing nothing other than saying "i want it"...

anecdotal evidence for and against are everywhere... while it would be heartless and unfair to put people out onto the streets, it is equally unfair to take working people's earnings to pay for those who refuse to earn their own way... at some point, by providing a lifestyle without accountability, you have removed the impetus to be self-reliant and self-sufficient...

this, good sir, is what we desperately do not need!

Call me Mr. Negative, please

i planned on writing to this blog much more often... but since i was laid-off, though i have the time, i don't want to write what i really want to say... despite what many may say, i'm not a negative person... i don't LIKE saying things that are negative or hurtful... i like to think of it as honesty... and, like it or not, the truth is more often than not very, deeply painful... the classic "does this make me look fat?" usually ends up with "yes"... because if you have to ask, it probably does... if i tell someone that they said or did something stupid, it's not that they're stupid, themselves... it's a warning that they should reconsider their point-of-view, because there are bad consequenses that they should be aware of...

most would consider me negative because of this... i'm not negative... tactless, maybe... but sugar-coating a poison pill doesn't make it less poison... it just masks the warning signs... if someone is going to bathe a baby in scalding water, you don't explain the thermal transfer characteristics of the infant epidermis... you snatch the baby away from the idiot!... if you hurt their "feelings", that's just too bad... maybe they're the one with the thin skin...

so, i don't know if i will write on this blog as often as i had first hoped... my honesty will probably force me to say something along the lines of "i'm still jobless because i was stabbed in the back by people i thought were friends, or at least should have appreciated what i did for them"... but i might be accused of being "negative"... bite me.

i will still go back through old journals and see what i feel is worth posting... there's a few really good ones... there's a lot of juvenile crap, too... much of these old writings, while deep and thoughtful, were written by a college student who knew everything... youth is wasted on the young...

and i may give my commentary on current events... and i know i'll be accused of being negative on that... but i might as well be Nero while Rome burns, for all the good it does... every day i see idiots doing stupid things, and i want to shout from the roof-tops and warn them... but i'm just called names... often by people i thought were friends...

but i'm the negative one...