Voters, taxpayers need to see distinction between government and society
By
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To the editor:
This November the electorate of Highland, Fayette, Pike, Pickaway, and Ross counties are being asked to decide on a replacement levy for the Paint Valley ADAMH Board.
This levy replacement represents a 222% increase in funding for the Paint Valley ADAMH Board as a result of the 222% increase in revenues that this levy would produce for the board at the expense of the region’s property owners.
According to its website the “Paint Valley ADAMH Board provides HELP and offers HOPE for people recovering from substance abuse and/or mental health issues in Fayette, Highland, Pickaway, Pike and Ross counties of Ohio.”
These are noble endeavors, and our society has a responsibility in assisting those dealing with substance abuse and mental health issues as best we can. The key is that our society, and not our government, has this responsibility.
This country was founded upon, among other things, an understanding that government and society are not the same entity. Governments are created by men to maintain the rule of law among the governed, and provide for the common defense of a sovereign land.
In his landmark essay “Common Sense,” promoting the virtues of the American Revolution, Thomas Paine makes the distinction very succinctly: “Some writers have so confounded society with government, as to leave little or no distinction between them; whereas they are not only different, but have different origins. Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness POSITIVELY by uniting our affections, the latter NEGATIVELY by restraining our vices. The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions. The first a patron, the last a punisher.”
The ADAMH Board levy on the ballot this November is yet another example of the confounding of society and government. Some of the programs which have proven most effective in assisting those with substance abuse problems are those which are privately funded through charitable donations.
Alcoholics Anonymous, a privately funded organization from its inception during the Great Depression, and other community and faith based programs have proven incredibly successful in helping those hopelessly addicted to alcohol and drugs find hope and freedom from their addictions.
Privately funded organizations are able to base their treatment programs on spiritual elements which often is the key to an individual’s success in overcoming addictions. In contrast, a government funded program cannot espouse any spiritual guidance as this would be a violation of the concept of Separation of Church and State, therefore rendering government run treatment programs ineffective.
It is time that the people of Highland, Fayette, Pike, Pickaway, and Ross counties make the distinction between government and society. It is time that we take our society back from the government to promote “our happiness positively” through our charitable giving, which can only be done by lightening the burdens of taxation with a “No” vote on Nov. 8.
Sincerely,
Fred Boggess
New Vienna[[In-content Ad]]
This November the electorate of Highland, Fayette, Pike, Pickaway, and Ross counties are being asked to decide on a replacement levy for the Paint Valley ADAMH Board.
This levy replacement represents a 222% increase in funding for the Paint Valley ADAMH Board as a result of the 222% increase in revenues that this levy would produce for the board at the expense of the region’s property owners.
According to its website the “Paint Valley ADAMH Board provides HELP and offers HOPE for people recovering from substance abuse and/or mental health issues in Fayette, Highland, Pickaway, Pike and Ross counties of Ohio.”
These are noble endeavors, and our society has a responsibility in assisting those dealing with substance abuse and mental health issues as best we can. The key is that our society, and not our government, has this responsibility.
This country was founded upon, among other things, an understanding that government and society are not the same entity. Governments are created by men to maintain the rule of law among the governed, and provide for the common defense of a sovereign land.
In his landmark essay “Common Sense,” promoting the virtues of the American Revolution, Thomas Paine makes the distinction very succinctly: “Some writers have so confounded society with government, as to leave little or no distinction between them; whereas they are not only different, but have different origins. Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness POSITIVELY by uniting our affections, the latter NEGATIVELY by restraining our vices. The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions. The first a patron, the last a punisher.”
The ADAMH Board levy on the ballot this November is yet another example of the confounding of society and government. Some of the programs which have proven most effective in assisting those with substance abuse problems are those which are privately funded through charitable donations.
Alcoholics Anonymous, a privately funded organization from its inception during the Great Depression, and other community and faith based programs have proven incredibly successful in helping those hopelessly addicted to alcohol and drugs find hope and freedom from their addictions.
Privately funded organizations are able to base their treatment programs on spiritual elements which often is the key to an individual’s success in overcoming addictions. In contrast, a government funded program cannot espouse any spiritual guidance as this would be a violation of the concept of Separation of Church and State, therefore rendering government run treatment programs ineffective.
It is time that the people of Highland, Fayette, Pike, Pickaway, and Ross counties make the distinction between government and society. It is time that we take our society back from the government to promote “our happiness positively” through our charitable giving, which can only be done by lightening the burdens of taxation with a “No” vote on Nov. 8.
Sincerely,
Fred Boggess
New Vienna[[In-content Ad]]