Mike Dougherty's Blog

Wondering about all those “anti-government” folks …

Whenever I see a group of protesters or just a lone loudmouth railing about how the guv’mint does this or that or how the big wigs in Washington or Little Rock are spending their tax dollars, I wonder …

They don’t want the government involved in so many things. They want their taxes cut. They rally against abortion. They don’t want gay people to have the same rights they do.

So, I wonder … if they do their part.

• Do they support programs that are endangered when taxes are cut, just so the so-called tea party people can earn Republican votes?

• Do they donate generously when groups like the Mothers [For] Education in Carlisle, Ark., are raising money to buy poor kids pencils, notebook paper erasers and backpacks?

• Do they line up to adopt a black baby because the child’s mother can’t afford to raise her?

* Do they give up their Medicare payments because they don’t want the government involved in their health care — reminding us all of the tea partier who shouted at a rally, “I don’t want the government involved in my Medicare!”

* Do they support the anti-gay marriage law when it prevents two aunts who live together from adopting a nephew when a parent dies?

• Are they the big donors when the city needs private donations to keep the public pool open after tax dollars run out on July 20 and the temperature is still 106?

Maybe there are answers to these questions, but they do cause me to wonder.