...with Liberty and social Justice for all?

I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and social justice for all? Wait, that's not right. That would never be acceptable to the leftist radicals who are attempting to "fundamentally transform" our nation, the phrase "one Nation under God" would definitely have to be removed. What? Oh, that is not the problem? Oh....okay, and social justice for all, that is where the mistake is. It seems these days you do not hear the word "justice" used in Washington D.C. unless it has a "social" in front of it. For those of you who probably have an idea what it means but are not completely sure, Wikipedia says of social justice: "The term "social justice" is often employed by the political left to describe a society with a greater degree of economic egalitarianism, which may be achieved through progressive taxation, income redistribution, or even property redistribution, policies aimed toward achieving that which developmental economists refer to as equality of opportunity and equality of outcome." Justice is the quality of being righteous or fair.

Compassion is a quality that most of us possess, generally in differing quantities. It is understandable how some believe that it is "just" for a government to take money from those who have a lot of money and distribute it to those who do not have a lot of money. What kind of greedy, compassion-less and selfish person would dare disagree with that? Well, actually, I do. The problem is, how do they decide the amount to take from the individual with money? At what point is the tax percentage fair? 50%? 60%? 70%? 80%? 90%? Also, how do we decide who is worthy to be the recipient of the redistribution? Do we redistribute based on race, as a form of reparations? Can you achieve Justice by being unjust to one group to satisfy another? Is that not contradictory? How many generations have to pass before we can stop blaming our shortcomings on our history?

As an example, I present to you Bill and Ted. Bill and Ted grew up next to each other in a lower income neighborhood, a ghetto or trailer park, I will let you choose the demographics. Bill stays in school and graduates, proceeds to college, graduates and gets a very good paying job, works hard and makes a nice life for himself after lifting himself up and out of poverty. Ted on the other hand, enjoys hanging with his friends(or gang), smoking pot, drops out of school, is in and out of prison, lives on welfare as his single mother unwittingly taught him, and fathers several illegitimate children to complete the poverty cycle that has been created by our government programs. Bill, through determination and hard work broke that cycle, as many people in our society have actually done. Bill, is a shining example of what can happen in a Free Market or Capitalist system. Ted is a glaring example of the fruits of "Social Justice," which the Obama administration is in the process of expanding with legislation such as the "stimulus" program, cap and trade, and health care reform. Is the government, by taking money from Bill to give to Ted, promoting justice? Really? Perhaps that should be the new curriculum for schools, stay in school, work hard, and get ahead so the government can take your money and give it to lazy people. Perhaps someone could put that on a teleprompter and President Obama could deliver it to school children.

Now, Barack Obama and his "advisers/Czars" believe strongly in "social justice." Therefore, Bill, who has lifted himself from poverty and is now wealthy, has a responsibility to pay more taxes to support Ted, who spends every dime he gets on dime bags and continues to father illegitimate children and expand the welfare rolls. What is "just" about this scenario? Not every wealthy person is born with a silver spoon in their mouth, but even if they are, someone in their family worked hard and made that fortune. The Obama administration believes that the wealthy built their fortunes on the backs of the poor, therefore they "owe" the poor. I believe that America is a land of opportunity, where if one has the ambition and puts forth the effort, they can do anything and should not be penalized for it and forced to support those who are unwilling to put forth any effort. We will always have the poor among us, many people are content to put forth little effort and live off of table scraps. If my hard work ever pays off, I will refuse to feel guilty about what I have worked so hard for. I would rather "go Galt" than to have the fruits of my labor stolen by an opressive Socialist Regime, especially in a Country that was once known for freedom and personal responsibility.