Letter to the editor by Sherrill Dolezilek - analysis

This letter appeared in a recent Bozeman Chronicle. My analysis interspersed in bold:

“I know some believe that government should take from some to give to others. I think that’s an entirely foreign concept.” A quote from Mitt Romney. Wow! What America does Mr. Romney live in? I live in an America that takes money from some (most of us) and sends it as relief money for horrible devastation done by nature-Tsunamis, earthquakes, floods. (I believe that this is the issue, the forced compassion coerced by government. This may be the author's America, but that is the point. America should not force people to part with their money so that others benefit.) My America sends Doctors Without Borders to many countries, teachers as volunteers in countries to build school systems, engineers who give time and effort to help struggling countries. (Doctors without Borders is a charity, which means that donations are voluntary. Neither government nor the charity forces you to part with your money to support this organization)

Mr. Romney’s church, by his own words, requires tithing (Romney's participation in his church is voluntary. He belongs to the church knowing its policies. If he decides he doesn't like those policies, he is free to opt out, unlike government) — which takes money from some and uses it for the charitable activities this church does for its members and the communities in which they are based. (No, it does not take money. People donate money, by their own choice, in order to benefit causes they agree with. Government, however, offers no choice on the transaction, nor any choice regarding the beneficiaries) Does that make it a foreign institution? People in Bozeman give to Family Promise, the Food Bank, the Community Café — all of this is money from the some to “the others.” (Precisely. People give. It is not taken.) When most of us send money overseas, it isn’t for investment, it’s for charitable and healing purposes. (Again, our choice, no one elses') If we go back to the former economic policies, the “others” will be left out of the America that Romney wants to build.

(You can plainly see the author is confusing two concepts, charitable giving and government redistribution. They are not the same. Americans are generous people, apart from what government does. They do so largely because of Judeo-Christian morality. However, government is inserting itself into the transaction, interrupting and usurping the chain of compassion. Government removes choice, which negates the concept of compassion completely and substitutes coercion.)