How does paying your taxes make you a lawful, well-mannered citizen?
Then I read the remainder of the passage about protecting your country, speaking well of your country and fostering friendships with those who are new to your country. It was a passage about conformity on the one hand and about hypocrisy on the other. Just because someone pays taxes does not mean he or she is a good citizen. Not to mention that we, as a country, do not welcome foreigners with open arms. In fact, much of the time people from other countries immigrate here legally and are still given a list of dos and don'ts without much outreach. Their rights are limited and after much hoop jumping and conforming they might be granted citizenship.
Maybe there should be a passage about public service, volunteerism and camaraderie instead. Since there is already a push in the schools to be "the same," I think I will teach Zach how to be an individual, how to care about the planet and others, about placing others above himself. I want him to be able to think critically about things and make informed decisions based on his own analysis and not something that has been pounded into his tiny, impressionable head.
I agree that paying taxes does not nessesarly make you a good citizen, but you can't be a good citizen if you don't pay your taxes. If you fail to pay you taxes you deprive your fellow countrymen of services and benefits. You enjoy the fruits of other's labor, yet fail to do your part you are a leach on society. This goes for corporations that use loopholes and off shore accounts to circumvent taxes while making record profits. If we all paid our fair share, everyones fair share would undoubtedly be much smaller.
ReplyDeleteBecause I do not like the current tax system, because I do not believe that one can be graded by the amount of money they pony up, then I am a leach. I work as hard, if not harder than most, and I would have no problem paying taxes it they were reasonable, and I was not taxed by every city, state and federal agency on top of tax per item and etc. Make me a system where we are all really treated equal, the common working man and the corporate elite, and I might start to feel it is necessary. But for now, it goes in the same gripe bucket as social security. Both systems established for one purpose and not to be continued by people who were given a little too much power. I do not want my son just accepting everything he is told. I want him to be a thinker.
ReplyDeleteWe pay taxes to federal, state and local goverments, because we use federal, state and local services. The system might be broken but until we fix it, it is the best we have. Maybe you should think about joining the tea party, they seem to have all the answers to the tax problem.
ReplyDeleteThe Tea Party! I am not talking about taking from the middle class. I AM the low to middle class. And don't talk to me about city, state and federal services either. There are businesses first and foremost. What services are you referring to? Police, yes, pay them more. Fireman, hell ya, pay them more. I could keep going, but those services are not where much of the money goes. If I could get an itemized list please showing where all of my tax dollars go then that would be a start. I would also like to the ability to allocate where I see fit. The Tea Party! Your very liberal Democrat Demon is showing!
ReplyDeleteAllocate, really!! 200 million people allocating, that would not be a cluster F***, would it. How about roads, safe drinking water, indoor plumbing. Think about Mexico or India.
ReplyDeleteYou are definitely partaking of the Koolaid for sure. Really, Mexico and India. You are going to parallel our antiquated and broken system with two countries. One is riddled with drug trade and the other cannot even manage its own traffic problems much less create a system where the demand meets the population. Let's at least discuss countries that can measure up.
ReplyDeleteWe could solve all our problems if we would just stop hireing white people and let the Germans run things. ;)
ReplyDeleteThat is such an overgeneralized statement. German efficiency is renowned, but seriously, all white males have a bad work ethic? You mean stop hiring people who do shoddy work, I think. The nation needs a re-write for sure. There needs to be a real shake up in the government and all its agencies. Less is more in terms of the hierarchy of the government.
ReplyDeleteNo you misunderstood, I said white people, that includes the women as well. No white people, male, female, young, old, pasty, or tanned.
ReplyDeleteSeriously? You are: a) going to lump women in with men? (1st mistake) b) write off an entire race based on your individual observations?
ReplyDeleteWomen are statistically harder workers. I won't go down the whole Betty Friedan or woman's lib line, but I think you might want to reconsider your scale for measuring work ethic when start getting into gender.
As far as the whole Caucasian race, well, perhaps, again, you might have left out many people who work continuously. White people are lazy? really? Get a grip. There are lazy people in every race.
I am sorry that I may have made a overgeneralization about women and men of certian races and colors. I truley believe we are all equal and can all serve to better society.
ReplyDeleteDid you know that the human's body provides "more electricity than a 120 volt battery and over 25k BTUs in body heat" If we harnes all that power humans could be the ultimate power source for the next generation of supior beings. Black, white, brown and yellow, male and female could all provide the foundation for the ultimate race. Rule built on logic and scientific calculations, where everyone is treated equally and is judged purely on their "output".
Welcome to the Matrix. Please sit back and relax and take the blue pill.
The good part about being a energy source we all get cool names.
Well, I see we have come full circle here. You have now offered a great example of what I have been saying from the start. We, as a society, have been spoon fed all this non-sense about conformity and homogeneity when really diversity and individuality should be valued.
ReplyDeleteI never needed a colored pill to see the errors of the very flawed system we have now. Perhaps you want to be some drone in the cultural hive, but not me buddy. I am going to be that one radical "worker bee" who bucks the system at every move. It is difficult to maintain this need to rebel with a kid now, but I am going to teach him to analyze and then judge for himself.
You may want to carry a flag with you in case you need some rescuing. You can flag me down.