The Asheville Citizen-Times printed a conversation starter. It raises questions common to those in the parable of the Prodigal Son: Who is worse, the spendthrift runaway or the indignant, dependable, responsible son? After all, Kahlil Gibran argued if one’s brother stumbled it was the fault of the person who left the stumbling block in his path. I am currently serving out a term of sitting duckness because our society teaches that he who doesn’t double-check his car doors should be processed for enticing another to a life of crime.
Contrary to commentary I posted yesterday, the multimillion HUD funding received by the City of Asheville will go toward revamping the existing community center on Livingston Street, and not toward the new performing arts center. Highlighted in the renovations of the building, which is much more solid than the digs affordable by folks working three jobs, is future tenant Green Opportunities. For those into collectivist mission statements, theirs reads:
Green Opportunities (GO) is an Asheville-based, community-based development organization dedicated to improving lives, communities and the health of the planet through innovative green collar job training and placement programs.
GO targets dropouts and ex-cons.
“Great!” cry the bleeding-heart liberals. “The program reduces tipping fees incurred from sending perfectly good people to the landfill!”
“Unfair!” cry the fiscally-conservative prudes. “I’ve been saving the last thirty years, my honors student has been working since he was sixteen, and we still don’t have enough to send him to college – and here we are paying taxes so we can teach people that crime does not pay!”
“Crazy!” cry the geeky libertarians. “What scientific data indicates government buildings create a discerning and responsible society?”
