Thoughts From A Cheerful Socialist

[Pacifist Patriot]

Someone sent me this email last night. I'll tell you the funny part later.

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This morning I walked out to my mailbox, popped in a few outgoing letters and thought, “this is awfully convenient. I help make this possible when I pay taxes. I’m so grateful I can.”

As I was driving to work I saw a fender bender on the other side of the road and a police officer helping an elderly woman out of her car with the gentleness I usually see from hospital nursing staff and thought, “what a nice young man, I’m glad he’s there for her. Doesn’t look like they’ll need that fire truck, but at least they were around just in case. I help make this possible when I pay taxes. I’m so grateful I can.”

A short while later I called a family my congregation has helped in the past to see how they are doing. The woman was so excited. Their benefits application had finally gone through and she was going to be able to make her own family dinner for the first time in over a month rather than the family having to walk over to the soup kitchen and I thought, “that must be a great feeling. I help make this possible when I pay taxes. I’m so grateful I can.”

She also told me her husband had gotten a part-time job with help from a government program so he was feeling much better about himself and I thought, “he’s such a hard worker I know he’s been really depressed because of his inability to provide for his family, I hope this is a stepping stone to something bigger and better. I help make this possible when I pay taxes. I’m so grateful I can.”

At lunch I ran to the library to pick up a book I’d reserved from another branch. When I was there I saw a librarian reading to preschoolers and a young man helping some people with their tax forms and I thought, “what a nice community and thank goodness I don’t have to pay full price for this book required for my next class. How fabulous I don’t have to drive to the other end of the county to pick it up. I help make this possible when I pay taxes. I’m so grateful I can.”

My grandmother called that afternoon and as I filled her in on the exploits of her great-grandchildren I remembered she can afford to even have a phone at this stage of her life because of her social security benefits and I thought, “thank goodness the elderly have this income. I help make this possible when I pay taxes. I’m so grateful I can.”

When I picked up my nephew from the after school program at his local elementary school at 4:30, I passed several classrooms where I saw one teacher helping a student, another redesigning a bulletin board and a third who looked like he was probably grading papers. Every single one of them looked up at me and smiled and nodded and I thought, “wow, I’m not sure I would be that cheerful after a day spent in a classroom with so many kids, and what are they doing here two hours after school let out? I help make this possible when I pay taxes. I’m so grateful I can.”

I drove my son and nephew to soccer practice and noticed the construction was almost done on the new interchange to the highway and thought, “I can’t wait until that’s finished. It is really going to make a huge difference in alleviating all this traffic I’m sitting in now. I help make this possible when I pay taxes. I’m so grateful I can.”

While the boys were practicing with their team I put on my headphones and walked around the park listening to an audio book. I saw kids playing soccer, baseball and tennis. I watched a family set up for a picnic dinner and stopped to see another family…of ducks… splash in the pond. I took a deep breath and thought, “thank goodness we have these fabulous sports facilities and gorgeous green spaces to enjoy any time we want. I help make this possible when I pay taxes. I’m so grateful I can.”

As I made dinner I filled a pan with water from my sink and remembered a trip to rural Mexico a few years ago and thought, “I really take for granted that I have easy access to potable water. I help make this possible when I pay taxes. I’m so grateful I can.”

I tucked my kids in bed that night, kissed their foreheads and thought, “I hope they have the grace to accept help if they need it and never become bitter about the good fortune to be in a position to help others in need. I hope they understand the countless things they ‘buy’ when they pay taxes. I’m so grateful I can.”

[Common Sense Party]

1. We should all pay more in taxes.

Then we'll feel even better.

[Pacifist Patriot]

2. I can think of 1% of our population who need to feel a whole lot better.

[BeFree]

4. Heard they were flying out of Tokyo

So they would feel better. Better than everyone left in Tokyo.

[xchrom]

3. a cheerful recommend. nt

[Pacifist Patriot]

5. Okay, here's the funny part.

I got this last night from an old college friend who was one of my few fellow members of the Young Democrats on our hopelessly conservative campus twenty odd years ago. He didn't know where it came from, but a friend of his had sent it to him and he just wanted to pass it along because knowing me, he thought I'd like the piece. You might say that. I wrote it for a church newsletter a few years ago when the tea party was beginning to make noise about taxation. I guess he knows me really well. LOL!

[RainDog]

6. nice!

and kicked and rec'd