All this talk about giving aid to the tsunami victims in Asia reminds me of a story about Col. David Crockett in the U.S. House of Representatives.
One day in the House of Representatives a bill was taken up appropriating money for the benefit of a widow of a distinguished naval officer. Several beautiful speeches had been made in its support. The speaker was just about to put the question when Crockett arose:
"Mr. Speaker--I have as much respect for the memory of the deceased, and as much sympathy for the suffering of the living, if there be, as any man in this House, but we must not permit our respect for the dead or our sympathy for part of the living to lead us into an act of injustice to the balance of the living. I will not go into an argument to prove that Congress has not the power to appropriate this money as an act of charity. Every member on this floor knows it."
He goes on to say that he's willing to personally "pass the hat" and take donations from the House members to help the poor widow. We need more men like Davey Crockett who will stand up and say the U.S. government is not a charitable organization.
We shouldn't be spending a penny of tax-payer money on disaster relief. If individual Americans want to give, that's fine. Let them give through the Red Cross or the Foreign Mission Board or whatever charity they want to support.
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