Our Savior – The Free Enterprise System?
“(…) the free enterprise system, which, once and for all, as it always has, will be our savior (…).” This comment by Johnny Isakson, a Rebulican Senator from Georgia caught my ear. Isakson appeared with Democratic Senator Blanche Lincoln from Arkansas in an interview with Gwen Ifill on Tuesday’s NewsHour With Jim Lehrer on PBS. The purpose of the interview was to discuss the Senators’ views on President George Bush’s proposed $146 billion economic stimulus package that had recently been approved by the House of Representatives.
The Bible is filled with many similar phrases, except the prophets of old substituted “God” or “Lord” for “Free Enterprise System.” The King James Version of Second Samuel Chapter 22, Verse 3 is a good example: “The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, (…), and my refuge, my saviour (…).” So in which version should we place our faith?
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, faith in Free Enterprise is driven by: “the potential to earn a profit. (…). By allowing people to pursue their own interests, a free enterprise system can produce phenomenal results. Running shoes, walking shoes, mint toothpaste, gel toothpaste, skim milk, chocolate milk, cellular phones and fax modems are just a few of the millions of products created as a result of economic freedom.” It seems like Free Enterprise sure has much more to offer then the bland old "Land of Milk and Honey."
It is unfortunate that our politicians continue to be blinded by the glare of the “Golden Calf” and are unable to see what is really needed to serve our nation. Robert Greenleaf talked about this lack of vision in his essay “Toward A Gentle Revolution” from the book Seeker and Servant. Greenleaf wrote, “The strength of our nation today does not reside so much in our Congress, or in the vast apparatus of the executive branch, because all seem to be so lacking in vision, and we seem not to have resources to rebuild those visions.” Greenleaf goes on to quote Proverbs 29:18 from the King James Version of the Bible to make his point: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
Greenleaf doesn’t spell out which products we will find in the Promised Land, but he tells about the vision we need to get there. To lead the way he professed a need for, “awareness of what is there in good, able people, in a great potential to be realized in building optimally serving lives for people and optimally serving performance in institutions which these vision-inspired people will lead or influence. The stuff of vision has been there all along, and its emergence in conscious awareness is therefore a revelation.” Greenleaf was not talking about cranking out massive quantities of new shoes, more toothpaste, or milk flavors, or even new cell phones; he was talking about inspiring people to become human, once again.
The Bible is filled with many similar phrases, except the prophets of old substituted “God” or “Lord” for “Free Enterprise System.” The King James Version of Second Samuel Chapter 22, Verse 3 is a good example: “The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, (…), and my refuge, my saviour (…).” So in which version should we place our faith?
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, faith in Free Enterprise is driven by: “the potential to earn a profit. (…). By allowing people to pursue their own interests, a free enterprise system can produce phenomenal results. Running shoes, walking shoes, mint toothpaste, gel toothpaste, skim milk, chocolate milk, cellular phones and fax modems are just a few of the millions of products created as a result of economic freedom.” It seems like Free Enterprise sure has much more to offer then the bland old "Land of Milk and Honey."
It is unfortunate that our politicians continue to be blinded by the glare of the “Golden Calf” and are unable to see what is really needed to serve our nation. Robert Greenleaf talked about this lack of vision in his essay “Toward A Gentle Revolution” from the book Seeker and Servant. Greenleaf wrote, “The strength of our nation today does not reside so much in our Congress, or in the vast apparatus of the executive branch, because all seem to be so lacking in vision, and we seem not to have resources to rebuild those visions.” Greenleaf goes on to quote Proverbs 29:18 from the King James Version of the Bible to make his point: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
Greenleaf doesn’t spell out which products we will find in the Promised Land, but he tells about the vision we need to get there. To lead the way he professed a need for, “awareness of what is there in good, able people, in a great potential to be realized in building optimally serving lives for people and optimally serving performance in institutions which these vision-inspired people will lead or influence. The stuff of vision has been there all along, and its emergence in conscious awareness is therefore a revelation.” Greenleaf was not talking about cranking out massive quantities of new shoes, more toothpaste, or milk flavors, or even new cell phones; he was talking about inspiring people to become human, once again.
posted by Tom Jablonski at 9:38 PM
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