We recognize greed in others, but we usually can’t see it in ourselves. It is true and I’ll bet there is pretty much total agreement so why is our thinking on this point so selective?
According to my Merriam-Webster (2715-06-12). Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition, “greed” and “greedy” are defined as follows:
“greed n [back-formation fr. greedy] (1609) : a selfish and excessive desire for more of something (as money) than is needed
“greedy adj, greed·i·er, -est [ME gredy, fr. OE grædig; akin to OHG grtac greedy] (bef. 12c) 1 : having a strong desire for food or drink 2 : marked by greed : having or showing a selfish desire for wealth and possessions 3 : eager, keen < for fame> Syn see covetous greed·i·ly adv greed·i·ness n”
Let’s focus our conversation on “an excessive desire for more of something than is needed” and see if we can learn something.
“An excessive desire…” – I know that my idea of excessive is probably different from yours simply because I probably have a different priority for the thing we might be talking about. My priority for food and drink changes by how hungry I am. My priority for money changes according to what I want to buy. If I don’t have something that is necessary for me to live my life, such as a car to get me to work, getting it is probably not greedy, but if I am trying to get a second car and I am the only driver, my desire is starting to look excessive.
It is about here that we should remember the biblical phrase from Matthew, 7:1 to “Judge not, that ye be not judged.”
That second car is certainly suspicious unless my first car is on its last legs or has some other dependability issue. I would know about that, but outsiders probably would not so where others might judge me as greedy, I might only see myself as needy. So, we should be ready to admit that our view of the world around us is certainly not an all-knowing view – we see what we see, but there is much we cannot know.
But wait a minute – while my example was clear, it is also pretty simple and life is much more complicated. As we move away from things we need and start to focus on things we want, we are definitely getting into the areas of conversation where greed could become the best description of a particular behavior. I need a house, but I want a big house on a big lot with a great view in a good neighborhood, etc.. At some point my wants are starting to get greedy as my desires start to become pure want for the sake of want.
We often hear about politicians wanting to reduce taxes so that we can keep more of our “hard earned money” for ourselves. We also hear politicians describing impoverished citizens as not wanting to work and using this justification to reduce aid programs – Paul Ryan got caught in this trap at the CPAC Conference a few weeks ago. “Judge not, that ye be not judged.”
It is true that we could probably find individuals who live in poverty and don’t want to work, but we are judgmental when we extend that characterization to an entire group of people and we are prejudicial when we extend that characterization to a particular ethnic group. Finally, we are definitely greedy when we use that prejudicial mischaracterization as an excuse not to offer aid when we have the means to do so.
I think we need to have a sort of national debate about what we believe the Constitution means by “general welfare.” If we could find a majority opinion coming out of such a debate, we would go a long way towards clarifying much of our governmental spending at all levels. We might even decide that the meaning of “general welfare” is different in the Federal context than it is at the State level. To my knowledge we have never had this conversation. Instead, we talk around it every time we see a need for some service that could be delivered by government.
Government services are a means of helping our citizens in need while attempting to let them maintain their dignity. The resources necessary to pay for these services all come from discretionary accounts controlled by more well-to-do persons in our society. I think the government has to step in because the need is too great for local organizations to handle alone and I think we can blame greed on the part of those who “have” for keeping the local organizations from adequately helping those who “have not.”
We should be thankful when we can provide for ourselves and our families. We should strive to make sure we are able to provide for these needs in our future. We should feel privileged if, having met these two conditions, we still have the means to help others who are not so fortunate. It really doesn’t matter why someone has less than we do, all that matters is that we have the means and desire to help. If we look inside ourselves and take steps to harness our greed, we will make it possible for our government to function as our founding fathers envisioned.
There is another famous quote that applies here – “all men are created equal.”
The Sausage Grinder is Broken – will you help to fix it?
Comment here or send an email: abrokensausagegrinder@comcast.net
More via Facebook: A Broken Sausage Grinder
More via Twitter: Hank Thomas
Watch on YouTube: A Broken Sausage Grinder