Dan Popp
The compassion monster
FacebookTwitter
By Dan Popp
August 22, 2016

May God bless and keep the Tsar...far away from us! – Rabbi, "Fiddler on the Roof"

There are a lot of conservatives carping at President Obama because he's been playing golf instead of visiting flood-stricken Louisiana. They think he should...something. Show up, I guess. You know, to show his "compassion." Because he's such an empathetic narcissist.

Oh, I understand that when you're down, it feels good to get a visit from someone important, whether that's a sports star or a movie star or a power star. It makes you feel like the rest of the country hasn't forgotten you, and maybe things will be all right.

But besides the symbolism, what would an Obama visit accomplish? Would he fill sandbags? Hardly. Would he make sandwiches? Let's hope not. Would he make a speech, surrounded on a makeshift stage by victims, promising that America (meaning taxpayers) would come to their rescue and make them whole again?

Certainly.

The federal government has no role in providing relief or aid or insurance. We've gotten used to it doing that, so now we expect it, but it's still wrong. Government has no business rebuilding private homes. And it certainly cannot feel compassion. These are truths that all conservatives should know, should feel, down to the core of our being. The pictures are gut-wrenching, but emotion is a very bad basis for law. It's the opposite of law, really. Government stepping in – unconstitutionally – to heal wounds after a disaster only prolongs the calamity, as it has time and time again.

Should the National Guard or other official entities rescue people and save lives? Of course – that's the legitimate function of government: to protect people and property. Should law enforcement stave off looters? Absolutely. And here's another thing government should do: it should ensure the free flow of goods at market prices. That's the opposite of what it usually does in these situations. The Governor or the Mayor will hold a press conference and declare that "price gougers" will be dealt with severely! (That's "compassion" holding a gun, you see.)

But when scarcity drives prices up, the high profits motivate other suppliers to move goods to the afflicted area quickly, and things soon return to normal. Government "compassion," combined with fundamental ignorance of economics, often prolongs the shortages and the suffering.

Government is a justice institution, not a mercy institution. It doesn't know how to help you, even if it could. Its role in disasters is to clear the roads for the Red Cross and other actual charities, so they can get through and actually help people.

Now I read that Obama has decided to visit Louisiana next week. Nice going, conservatives. You got what you wanted. He'll be posing for pics with newly-minted mascots of the all-benevolent socialist state. See? Government love. We'll gag to another speech from this Alinskyite about "our values." You couldn't just let him play a little harmless golf.

Americans can help and pray for our fellow Americans without Barack Obama's interference, and without more unlawful vote-buying with our great-grandchildren's money. Louisianans have suffered enough without being mauled by the clumsy paws of the Compassion Monster.

© Dan Popp

 

The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)

 

Stephen Stone
HAPPY EASTER: A message to all who love our country and want to help save it

Stephen Stone
The most egregious lies Evan McMullin and the media have told about Sen. Mike Lee

Siena Hoefling
Protect the Children: Update with VIDEO

Stephen Stone
FLASHBACK to 2020: Dems' fake claim that Trump and Utah congressional hopeful Burgess Owens want 'renewed nuclear testing' blows up when examined

Victor Sharpe
Any Israeli alliances should include the restoration of a just, moral, and enduring pact with the Kurdish people

Linda Kimball
Man as God: The primordial heresy and the evolutionary science of becoming God

Sylvia Thompson
Should the Village People be a part of Trump's Inauguration Ceremony? No—but I suspect they will be

Jerry Newcombe
Reflections on the Good Samaritan ethic

Pete Riehm
It’s not identities; it’s ideas!

Rev. Mark H. Creech
From ministry to need: Seeking help in my darkest hour

Jerry Newcombe
Bible sales increasing

Tom DeWeese
Change the debate and take back liberty locally

Steve A. Stone
Truth will out...maybe...someday

Curtis Dahlgren
On the need for noble mothers (and fathers)

Tom DeWeese
If you are illegal, come. We’ll give you $thousands and let you kill and rape. If you are legal, go to hell

Stanley Zir
The sky is not falling, Chicken Little, under Donald Trump
  More columns

Cartoons


Click for full cartoon
More cartoons

Columnists

Matt C. Abbott
Chris Adamo
Russ J. Alan
Bonnie Alba
Chuck Baldwin
Kevin J. Banet
J. Matt Barber
Fr. Tom Bartolomeo
. . .
[See more]

Sister sites