St. Paul and I Agree...
Taxation is not theft: "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves." -- Romans 13 The key idea implicit here, and the one that turned me on the subject of whether or not taxation is theft, is that "every soul" owes obedience to the "governing authorities." Now, if that is a debt I truly owe , then, when those authorities levy the taxes they need to do the job of governing, I owe them those taxes, and attempts to collect them certainly do not constitute acts of theft. And obviously it doesn't matter at all, from this point of view, whether or not I "signed" any sort of "social contract." (In fact, the history of political thought since the Reformation can be read as an attempt to find a secular rep...
Oh wait don't tell me, I remember this one. It means that the recipient needs a diaper change, right?
ReplyDeleteRight now, it's a very trendy parenting thing to teach infants sign language so that they can communicate before they can speak. This photo shows a mother and child doing a sign that I can assure is not in any Baby Signs book. Make more sense now?
ReplyDeleteAustralopithecenes cannot reasonably expect to insert themselves into the flow of time far from where they were conceived.
ReplyDeleteTrendy? Where?
ReplyDeleteAnon:
ReplyDeleteI know of at least 3 separate books demonstrating different methods and signs for parents to use with their babies. Mainstream parenting and pregnancy magazines carry articles favorably describing the practice. If you ask new or expecting parents, chances are they've heard of it, and chances are they know someone who does it/did it with their kids. It's a relatively recent thing. I'd call it trendy, although I doubt it will fade from popularity.
Earlier today my kid asked if he could have a sip from my can of Dr Pepper. I let him take have some.
ReplyDeleteHe looked up as he handed the can back to me and said, "I know how to make the sign for friends." He made an interlocking gesture with his index fingers.
I thought this was pretty cool, but I don't know anything about signing. It wasn't trendy when I was a kid.
That was not anonymous, the last quote came from Woody with keyboard butterfingers.
ReplyDelete