There are lots of ways to steal from the children.

Speaking with a friend of mine, we got on the subject of social security, welfare, unbridled handouts and so on.

He was angry.

I didn’t disagree with him.  I still don’t.  People want and politicians want–they make deals to satisfy each other by taking a loan out in their children’s name.

Sleazy, dirty, dishonest, corrupt, foul–all are good adjectives.  And accurate.

But then he went on to say that we ought to be drilling oil wherever we can find it.  The North Slope.  Wilderness areas.  The Gulf.  Wherever.

“Do you think,” I asked him, “that maybe our children, our grandchildren and their children might want to have some oil?  Do you think they might find that handy?  Do you think they might possibly need a few gallons to ensure their own survival?’

He blinked, blinked just as if I’d tapped him between the eyes with a hammer.

And he didn’t answer.  For good reason.

He had no answer.  So far as I know, he still doesn’t.

Everyone likes to think that their variety of handout is the good kind.

It isn’t just the socialists who are stealing from the kids.

It is the handiest way for a politician to win some votes–and it doesn’t matter what side of the political spectrum that the politician is on.  The average politician reaches out into the future and takes a finger or a lung–or a job, or the oil, or the air to breathe–or their educations and the right to their own minds, from the children.

Next time you shake hands with a politician, remember to wash.

And if he gives you something, at least say a prayer for those who will pay.