The Lincoln Memorial

June 12th, 2004 by cherith

As I mentioned in a previous entry, my husband and I recently took a trip to D.C. and while visiting the Lincoln Memorial I was struck with a revelation. Over a hundred years ago when Abraham Lincoln was president, his party � the Republicans � made a stand. They said, a man should not be forced to work without being allowed to receive the fruits of his labor. And what did this do? It launched the civil rights movement. Well here we are today- except that over time it has become the Democrats who are seen as the civil rights activists. And that�s fine because the way I see it, the Republicans have not budged one bit on the real issue. Furthermore, it is my humble opinion that we are still on the right side of the issue. The difference? The issue itself has done a 180. A hundred and forty some years ago the Republicans said, �Man should get what he works for.� Today we are saying, �Man should work for what he gets.� Over the past century and a half an entitlement attitude has taken over the civil rights movement. It is assumed that if you don�t support handouts and the programs that give the handouts, you don�t support civil rights. All we are saying is what is a thing worth to a person if he didn�t work for it? Nothing. My father-in-law always says, �It�s the difference between renting and owning.� If something is mine because I earned it, I am much more likely to make wise decisions when putting it to use. Whether the thing is money, a home, or even groceries. If I earn it – I respect it. It is not the job of government to make sure everyone has a job or a place to live or enough food to eat. That is the job of the individual. We have to take responsibility for ourselves. It�s what makes capitalism work. If I am driven to succeed then not only do I benefit myself but society as a whole. If I sit on my butt and wait for someone to take care of me then not only do I harm society as a whole but I also harm myself. And so Republicans remain unchanged in their stand � Man should get what he works for and work for what he gets