Love and hate may be close, but compassion is most certainly different

Why should Americans feel guilty because our world is not perfect?

I was dumb enough to buy the line that all little children are basically ‘unisex” until later in life when environment and genes (and the doggone hormones) kick in. Later, after being a parent, I realized boys and girls are different from the day they are born. A rocket scientist might have known this, but I was not that smart in retrospect. I had bought the unisex theory, hook, line, and sinker, and was wrong.

Anyone who has been through divorce, or knows someone who has, probably accepts that love and hate are close. Enough said.

What seems to get so much attention, monies, and voting power both at churches and governments is compassion. For the downtrodden by society, and there may still be some in our vast land, compassion has a plate at the table in decisions. But the vast majority of the intended recipients are not downtrodden by society; they are ‘bad seeds” (or “born riff raff”), and no amount of compassion both in intent and applied will change things for the better. In this case, the majority of we citizens should discount compassion in favor of protecting our own families while we educate our own children. And we should do this without remorse. In other words, how about a little compassion for the majority.

Since few expect seismic shifts in public attitudes about our entire welfare system (though it is deserved and long due), let me propose we focus on adults and teenagers, and give their children the benefit of the doubt about the circumstances of their birth into our world. After all, if there is to be change, one must start somewhere. And what happened at the federal level in the late 1990’s was a good start.

For the politically motivated who fear “give and inch and they’ll take a mile”, that is not what is intended. Nor do the majority expect to take these same politically motivated to court for the consequences of their actions and policies. There is another course of action than what is failing today in too many places in our vast land.

About a lifetime ago the majority of Americans had heard of noblesse oblige and practiced it in churches and governments. Part of the idea was accepting that there are “bad seeds” in our world, and it is better to lock them away from the majority, without remorse, and keep a priority on the majority that are the engine of our country, local,state, and federal.

Let us use one practical example. Is local society obligated (morally or even legally) to spend inordinate amount of taxpayer school monies for “problem children” to gain a high school degree (not an education by the way, and discounted by employers), when the same public monies could go towards advancing the majority’s kids education. At what point does hurting our majority of kids exceed helping our “bad seed” kids? How much should compassion cost the majority? What payback, if any, does the majority get?

Not too long ago, maybe a lifetime, born losers dropped out (or were kicked out, yes that was a school principal's choice) of high school, and did many of the lower jobs our society still depends on. Those who could not fit that mold, went to jail all too often. (Some even fell throught the cracks, but that is not society’s problem, and certainly should not define society’s policies). And we were protected along the way. In the same not too long ago time, we Americans also practiced noblesse oblige, and those willing to work, even the kids of the “bad seeds”, had upward mobility. And they, all, even said "thank you".

For those who think this post is some kind of code word for Negroes, forget it. I live in Appalachia. And have served in the Marines. This post is about America.

This idea of noblesse oblige should come back because it worked, it was a winner, and it succeeded. Remorse and compassion should not be a factor for voters today. If and when our rich times come to an end, or slow down, and the majority has to decide between paying some kind of “guilty” payments to the government to help “bad seeds”, consider noblesse oblige as an alternative that has worked in our history. After all, we always have a majority to take care of, nuture, send to school, and promote.