Do you pay taxes?  More to the point, do you like paying taxes?  To the former, most of us might reply affirmatively.  But to the latter, well, probably not.  Few of us enjoy giving some of our money to the government under which we live.  On the other hand, if we live in a democracy, a democratic republic in the finest Roman tradition, we generally have some say in what the government does with our money.  Generally.  Unfortunately, multiple vested interests with more influence than we have too often succeed in persuading the officers in a given government to bend their actions to their advantage and not ours.

     Many of us fall through the cracks.  It's a tough balance.  Compounding this issue is the contention of many religious viewpoints that, in varying ways, insist that any government that does exist does so by the agency or purpose of God.  Even a dictatorship?  Even a totalitarian regime?

     All this underscores what little power, regardless of how much money we have, we in fact have over the bigger visions running through our lives.

     And maybe that's as it should be:  we live, as Paul wrote, in a "riddle."  We only have purpose to the extent that we acknowledge the metaphysical fact and limitations of our humanity.

     Enjoy Tax Day.