From: "Richard Hong" 

>> I'm not going to sacrifice myself in spite of the idiocy and opposition
to constructive change evinced by so many others. <<

Randall,

So what you're actually saying is that all else constant, YOU are unwilling
to do ANYTHING requiring any personal sacrifice in order to make things
better.  Nice.  And your aside about smaller government is a meaningless
distraction; I haven't been talking about government at all.

You have the skill set to be a part of constructive change in at least some
peoples' lives, and you gladly pass up on the chance.  It's one thing to
fail to help absolutely as many people as we can; that's human.  It's
another thing to refuse to help anyone at all.

I have to admit that your messages caused a change in my personal behavior.
I've been on a business trip, staying in a downtown area where there are
many homeless.  Previously, I always believed in giving to homeless shelter
programs rather than to people on the streets.  Thanks to your messages, I
will no longer do just that anymore.  I decided that I can't just walk past
a homeless person and ignore them, not with so many people sharing your
cavalier attitude toward the plight of the poor.  So I took a Biblical
principle of tithing and extended it again: whatever I spent on meals
during the day, I made sure I gave at least 10% of that amount to homeless
people I passed on the streets.  I'm not giving it all away, but at least
I'll use a Biblical principle to establish some sort of proportionality
between what I spend on me and what I spend on the poor.

So you see absolutely no reason to ask yourself: did I help a fellow human
being today?

Rich

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