Propaganda

This is the Dictionary.com definition of "propaganda"

1.information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc.

2. the deliberate spreading of such information, rumors, etc.

3. the particular doctrines or principles propagated by an organization or movement.

That being said, obviously neither Republicans or Democrats are innocent of engaging in the spread of propaganda. I don't think it is right for either party to oversimplify the stance that the other party has. I am a Republican, there is no secret in that. In fact, I am practically Libertarian. If I were a Democrat, I would just as likely find this book offensive, because it takes the stances that real people treasure, and treats them as if they are cold-hearted, ignorant, and class-based.

Look at those pictures! For instance, the first one. "Democrats make sure we all share our toys, just like Mommy does." And the rich snobs behind are passing by a beggar on the street. I am a Christian. I try to view each person I meet as someone that Christ gave His life for, and I try to teach my children to do the same (and that includes Democrats as well as the poor and those with prison records). Republicans are big on giving to charity, not hoarding their "wealth" (ha...like I'm wealthy!). They just don't want the tax money that could be given to charities, to help the poor, or to purchase products that will create jobs --- to be given to finance huge bureaucracies and to help the poor in ways that really don't help the poor. We want to have more of the money that we earn back so that we can choose to help the poor in ways that we see that will truly help.

I've been a social worker working with families who have had their children taken from them by the state. I've worked with and found ways to give respect to people who were being treated by everyone else as though they were the scum of the earth (including their Democrat caseworkers). And they weren't scum. They were mostly people who didn't have the skills or the emotional health to figure out how to make healthy decisions and provide for the needs of those who needed them, despite the fact that they did love their children. Family values had eroded so badly that their families were a hodgepodge of kids with different fathers who were either abusive or not in the picture. This does effect a woman's functionality as a mother. God didn't make parenthood to be like this.

Most Republicans that I know are very concerned about the poor, and seek to find ways to help. But the government regulation often makes it difficult for people and groups to help. My husband's home congregation set up a food bank, and the amount of paperwork that is required to make sure that those who are already on government assistance don't get certain things (by regulation), is appalling. This same church bought a property next door to them to start a clinic. The local hospital was thrilled. They offered to send their interns and residents so that they could have practice treating people without being surrounded by high tech machinery. In the end, they couldn't do it, because the 1940's house could not have a 2nd bathroom added, because the government insisted there be a bathroom for both genders....regardless of the lock on the door.

I do believe that most often, it is the people in the communities who know the best way to help those that need help....and are the ones who are going to care the most about giving the proper help, complete with accountability from the person who is being helped. Republicans are not a group of snobs who are in their private clubs, wearing their name brands, and choosing to remain isolated from the world. Often, they care very deeply and act on that caring.

"Democrats make sure we are always safe, just like Mommy does." I'm going to ignore the implication that the danger is from stampeding Republicans. I do have an issue with some of the safety issues that are pushed. Car seats for instance. I am all for car seats. But I have actually seen times where it would be better for my child to be out of one. My son, when he fell asleep in his carseat, would slump over and was completely unsupported. If we were in an accident, he would've been safer laying down on the seat in a seat belt harness than he was in that position. His neck would've snapped in that carseat. Yet my ability to make decisions for the welfare of my children is taken away in this simple law. Driving across country when we moved was a miserable experience for them because they couldn't be comfortable, couldn't really play games with each other....oh yeah, that's what the DVD player is supposed to be for now.

Schools. I do not believe that our schools are a safe place for our children to be. I also believe that they settle for mediocrity in the name of equality, rather than pushing children to excel. They are often indoctrination stations for tolerance of things that the Bible teaches against, and I know teachers in schools who say that kids are told not to tell their parents about what was discussed in health classes and other situations. In Los Angeles, where we lived before this, the parent is required to sign a form that allows the school to seek ANY medical care without informing the parent. The role of the parent is completely disrespected, and more and more, the parents are viewed as if they are even harmful to the child, whereas the school is beneficial, despite the fact that bullying, drugs, and violence are all on the rise. As a homeschooler, I have often had the perspective addressed to me that I am harming my children by sheltering them, not socializing them, and even harming them by teaching them things that are above and beyond what the schools teach, because they will have superior thinking skills and the other kids won't like them or will feel inferior.

The third one addresses college...."Democrats make sure children can go to school, just like Mommy does." My kids won't be able to get my help to go to school. I'm far from rich. But I also don't think that it is wrong for them to work to go to school, to save to go to school. I also think that college is a privilege, not a right.

On the other side of it all....I don't believe that most people on welfare are on welfare because they don't want to work. I've worked with clients who take pride in the fact that they do a good job in the jobs that they've had, and that they are able to hold on to a job. With prison records or lack of education, they're not able to make ends meet or make as much as they could on welfare...and they definitely don't get health benefits. I know a family where the mother has needed $100,000 back surgery, and NO ONE was going to do it without insurance or the guarantee of that amount. So the husband quit working because as long as they were bringing in ANY income, they would not qualify for Medicaid. She got her surgery, and they both feel shame that they are living off of the government when he is perfectly capable of providing for their basic needs. I also know a mother whose husband lost his job, which led to their losing everything and their separation. Her teenage kids went berzerk, as teenage kids often do when their lives fall apart, and she had to quit her job just to keep an eye on them, or they would be taken away.

However, I also know that federal guidelines which list alcoholism and drug addiction as diseases that allow someone to get disability benefits for these diseases without requiring the person to be in a treatment program or submit to periodic drug tests. A church or private social organization could make someone accountable for the aid that they received. When someone comes to the church looking for gas, we give gas cards or fill up their tanks. We give Walmart cards or such things when someone needs groceries. The local pastors communicate with each other so that they know who is "making the church rounds." If someone calls saying they need this kind of help or their power is being cut off, we ask for two people, preferably in a professional setting (their case worker, doctor, etc.) who can verify their story. Sometimes, the most loving thing is to say "no" so the person learns that they have to be accountable for their actions, or at least that we will not be taken in by sociopaths, and these exist, too. We also try to be aware of organizations who might be able to help beyond what we can, so that we can refer them. The government honestly does not have the means to do this, so either they help people in means that don't help them, really, and they don't give them a community such as a church congregation where they can grow and be a part of. This is why Republicans are usually against the way Democrats want to help the poor.

The fact is....Democrats do want to help the disadvantaged. Republicans do, too. They just see different roads to doing it. Treating either side like they are heartless and misguided isn't going to help. Simplifying positions down to little insulting stereotypes doesn't help, on either side. Imagine if instead of Republican and Democrat, it were Hindus portraying Muslims, or White and Black, men and women, Armenian and Hispanic, Protestant and Catholic, Serb and Croat. It would be wrong. In fact, those tacts are what lead to war in many countries. It could eventually break down that far here, too.

Because really what is going on is that such propaganda violates the 8th Commandment. It is bearing false witness against our neighbor. It is not truly portraying things as they are, and it is making them look bad and creating a prejudice in children that should not be there and will not help them grow into people who can make the world better. It only creates an air of moral superiority and turns these children into people that hate anyone with different views. This is wrong from either side.