It's Growing Our Good -- in People, Places, and Things

Dear America,

"I think the best way 

of doing good to the poor, 

is not making them easy in poverty, 

but leading or driving them out of it." 

Benjamin Franklin 

found in  

On the Price of Corn and Management of the Poor  

 via this place:  

http://www.kevinstilley.com/benjamin-franklin-quotes/

Improvement of our experiences and conditions in life do not happen purely on their own; something deep inside us motivates us to change, aspire, and become something bigger and better than the day before.  Often it may come from a mentor, or family member, giving us encouragement and gingerly guiding us in the right direction; while sometimes, it comes from that inner voice... to head in the direction of our God-given talents and never look back; while sometimes, it comes down to a basic need to eat, to survive.

But wherever it comes, in the end, it has to be something we want for ourselves...we have to see that there is something in it for me.

Suffice it to say, Benjamin appreciated this aspect of human nature, to the extent of carving out for himself a platform calling attention to the price society pays by providing a life of ease in abject poverty -- the kind that does no service to anyone, especially for the one who is in it.... for in truth, according to Ben and many others, "the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer."    For a full read, go here.

"On the contrary, 

I affirm that there is no country 

in the world 

in which the poor 

are more idle, 

dissolute, 

drunken, 

and insolent." 

again, Ben, speaking of America
...way back when in 1766

Skipping stones across the choppy waters, let me offer you this from another angle -- just a wee bit of wisdom from yesterday's daily horoscope on Yahoo! --

"As uncomfortable as conflict can be, it is not an inherently bad thing.  The waters that rush over stones are literally running them the wrong way, but beauty is the result.  These polished, smooth stones are something more than they could be without a powerful force affecting them....This conflict will polish and improve you."

Mark Lerner @ astrology.com

The thing is, real life experiences -- conditions that rock our world, and sometimes not in a good way -- carry the magnitude and potential to make us better; or, bury us, of course.  It can go either way.

 

But only in a truly free market is it truly FAIR for all of us at the same time.  That is just a fact.

Cause and effect, reaping what we sow, building ourselves up or tearing ourselves down, is in our own hands as a gift from our Creator; government does nothing but interfere and make things worse.  

Maybe it would be helpful to recognize another fact of life from Ben: "our necessities never equal our wants."

Movies in the mail are not a necessity; and look how quickly the free market reminds us --

see Netflix news...having lost like, 800,000 customers, with it's stock dropping like a big fat polished red rock. Just like that, the marketplace adjusts and when customers are unhappy, uncomfortable in the relationship, they walk. Netflix will either adjust appropriately or go belly up.

Competition is the best natural formation of regulation in every way.

Here's a good interview, looking at this from yet another angle -- also featured via Yahoo!-- with Breakout guy, Jeff Macke interviewing Wayne Rogers:   go here.

Rogers explains the misguided Occupy Wall Street protestors in terms of cause and effect, returning us to the point government regulation forced changes upon the marketplace without thinking it entirely through, without looking a hop skip down the road; sometimes -- this impetus to change -- something wicked this way comes.  (Wall Street merely took advantage of the conditions legislated by Congress.)

And then other times -- it is all good:

"We hear of the conversion of water into wine at the marriage in Cana as of a miracle. But this conversion is, through the goodness of God, made every day before our eyes. Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards; there it enters the roots of the vines, to be changed into wine; a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy. The miracle in question was only performed to hasten the operation, under circumstances of present necessity, which required it."
~ in a letter to Abbé Morellet in 1779

"I’ve lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing Proofs I see of this Truth — That God governs in the Affairs of Men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his Notice, is it probable that an Empire can rise without his Aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings, that except the Lord build the House they labor in vain who build it. I firmly believe this, — and I also believe that without his concurring Aid, we shall succeed in this political Building no better than the Builders of Babel: We shall be divided by our little partial local interests; our Projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a Reproach and Bye word down to future Ages."
~ in a speech to the Constitutional Convention, 28 June 1787

With many thanks to "Kevin Stilley Dot Com" for making possible an easy encore presentation of Benjamin quotations for use @ poor G's american almanac...

A nation's true wealth is in it's people -- growing our good, inside and out.   

If our competitive spirit returns to the marketplace of creating good, virtuous, creative, industrious, able-bodied and busy people -- all will be just fine, and maybe, quite possibly, really really good for all of us at the same time.

Make it a Good Day... is what I say everyday

and it is no accident...

as a matter of fact, it is quite purposeful in every way

Make it a Good Day, G