Sometimes even a 24/7 news cycle can get so heavily dominated by a handful of stories that everything else seems to disappear. Just as we started to wind down from the tale of a future 1 percenter complaining that a religious-affiliated school should pay for her birth control, we’ve jumped into the Trevon Martin case becoming the focal point of the left’s "Keep Hate Alive" campaign for 2012, along with leftist leadership starting to launch pre-emptive attacks against the Supreme Court for potentially committing that horrific act of judicial activism known as striking down an unconstitutional law. In this hurricane one story sadly got buried in the mix.
Thanks to the boys at Trifecta (sorry, subscription required) I learned that both Mayor Bloomberg of New York recently informed government-run area homeless shelters that his task force on healthy eating would begin enforcing an old law stating that said shelters could not accept food donations from private citizens because their nutritional content (salt, fat, calories) could not be verified. Meanwhile, keeping the Garden State Turnpike rivalry alive (Although I prefer when it’s Eagles vs. Giants as opposed to Dumb vs. Dumber), Mayor Nutter of Philadelphia decided that food could no longer be distributed to homeless people in parks. Yes, you read that correctly. These compassionate leftists would rather see people starve to death than to see their edicts over how their subjects are fed be violated.
One question that is sadly missed by both mayors is "Shouldn’t the homeless be allowed to choose between going hungry and getting a meal that might violate the Mayor’s preference as to what is consumed and how it is received?" Even more bewildering is the fact that we keep hearing about how governments at every level are struggling financially – why on earth would a government not be grateful and encouraging something as simple as this that helps with a problem while helping their own budget?
This sidebar that is sadly falling under the radar is a perfect embodiment of what I always say about leftist philosophy – it’s not about helping people; it’s about controlling them. Obamacare? It’s a perfect way to turn an entire population into wards of the state. Never mind that there are many who would prefer to choose a system that won’t assure spiraling costs, far longer wait times to see a doctor and rationing of service. Global Warming Climate Change and green energy? Questionable scientific methodology allows leftists to dictate how the unwashed masses are to live their lives, since the higher costs incurred won’t have that much of an impact on their energy-guzzling palaces and jet-set lifestyles. Of course, said actions would have minimal impact on the environment, but that’s not the objective of green policies. As I’ve noted before, leftists love to call themselves Pro-Choice, provided that choice involves inserting something into your body for pleasure. The pro-choice stance stops when it involves accepting responsibility for said actions – making choices over your own health care, funding your retirement, being able to defend yourself, or choosing where your children are educated.
This food argument is nothing different. Leftists love to sneer at conservatives for their lack of compassion, but this episode also sums up where both sides stand in who is responsible for helping others. Conservatives favor individuals and charity, while the left feels that this must be achieved through the government. Look at the stats – conservatives are more generous than leftists in terms of charitable giving in terms of both time and money. Or the philosophy can be summed up as a general philosophy of "Who is responsible?" The conservative view will be themselves, while leftists prefer to point to someone else. If you don’t believe me look no further than the man who embodies the saying, "Am I my brother’s keeper?"
I have no problem with state-run soup kitchens, homeless shelters, etc. But when the state starts discouraging the private citizen from participating in the process, we have a much bigger problem as a society than leaving a few people hungry waiting for their fair trade vegan soup made only from free range bean sprouts.
Cross posted from Brother Bob’s Blog
