When the Rich Young Man (referred to in Luke as “a certain ruler”) met Jesus, he called Him, “Good master” (or “Good teacher” in some accounts), to which Jesus replied, “Why dost thou call me good? None is good but God alone.” The irony was lost on the young seeker. But I just stumbled upon a website called “Government is Good” and the irony was not lost on me. The site’s author is filled with evangelistic zeal, singing the praises of government as he declares that:

“Most government programs are working well and are actually improving the lives of all Americans in innumerable ways.”

I kid you not. See it for yourself at wwwDOTgovernmentisgoodDOTcom. I have to go find a tissue; when I read that line I laughed so hard I had a coughing fit and now my eyes are watering. Good grief.

Compare the above quote (and more at that site) with the below quote from President Ronald Reagan’s Inaugural Address back in 1981. (Really, there is no comparison.)

In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem. From time to time we’ve been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. Well, if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else? All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the burden. The solutions we seek must be equitable, with no one group singled out to pay a higher price.