On Government, Budgets, and Priorities

Somewhere in the National Security Act of 1947 that created the Air Force there is a fine print addendum that requires Air Force bases to put the golf course in first and if there is money left put in a runway. That's why the Air Force doesn't have aircraft carriers.

The problem with that joke is in the current government budget crisis it's not funny because there is about as much nonsense flying (and sticking) around the halls of Congress and various statehouses around the country. It seems pork, not priorities, is driving the decisions of our government.

"We also need priorities. Our priorities determine what we seek in life. " - Dallin H. Oaks

Elder Oaks gave a masterful talk in 2001 on priorities and expectations the Lord has for his Saints as it pertains to time and property. He said: "The ultimate Latter-day Saint priorities are twofold: First, we seek to understand our relationship to God the Eternal Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, and to secure that relationship by obtaining their saving ordinances and by keeping our personal covenants. Second, we seek to understand our relationship to our family members and to secure those relationships by the ordinances of the temple and by keeping the covenants we make in that holy place. These relationships, secured in the way I have explained, provide eternal blessings available in no other way. No combination of science, success, property, pride, prominence, or power can provide these eternal blessings!"
As Latter Day Saint voters and citizens we need to make sure that the decisions we make as voters and citizens reflect the priorities the Lord has made known through His Apostles. We need to ask "is this government decision/program going to facilitate or at least not inhibit any action I might take to align my priorities with the Lord's?" Is the government accurately reflecting my priorities of public safety and the widest possible benefit to the citizenry or does it merely redirect/redistribute revenue towards special interests, some of which may hold views in direct opposition to morals we hold as eternally significant? (ie same sex marriage).

We seem to be awash as a country and as a government in a sea of competing priorities, and instead of making the prioritization decisions we continue to count all government activities as equal. If we don't/won't come to our collective senses we run the very real risk of not having the resources we need for those core government functions for which we are organized.

As one who genuinely embraces technology solutions that help to do things I enjoy and free up time so I can do other things that need to be done (or that I also enjoy) I'm constantly baffled by the technophobes out there that continue to rail against technology, specifically social networking applications like Facebook and Twitter. I made a comment this morning in seminary about how nice one of my student's hair looked and when I turned around to write something on the blackboard she "twittered" to all of her friends that her seminary teacher wished her a "happy hair day." The story within the story is that we have a no cell phone/no texting policy in class (a stake rule) but I know she did it in class because we "follow" each other on Twitter (a microblog application). I get texts and emails almost daily, and often throughout the day from my students, each an opportunity to be a force for good in their lives. My opportunities to influence start at 5am and don't stop until after 10pm every night (usually the last time I check Facebook or my Blackberry). I believe strongly that the Lord expects us to use all of the knowledge and capabilities we have (technological and otherwise) to magnify our callings and build the Kingdom. Take a minute an ponder whether or not there isn't some instrument you use, or might use more of to magnify your callings. You may be be surprised!