No One Asked Me But…
by Dr. Larry Moses
Published March 11, 2009
No one asked me but… A great number of people are upset about a comment made by Rush Limbaugh when he stated he hoped the President’s economic program fails. While I am no great fan of the “mouth that roars”, I do believe his statement is an honest assessment of the sentiment of the Republican Party.
If the Democrat Program, as designed, brings this country to economic recovery, the GOP can hang up their hats. They will no longer have the status of the loyal opposition; they will become the loyal insignificant. We have seen parties come and go in America, and the Republican Party as we have known it is in danger of becoming extinct. One must wonder about the strength of a political party whose National Chairman must genuflect at the throne of an egomaniacal talk show host. In the immortal words of Vince Lombardi, “What the h.. is going on out there?”
President Obama has returned a number of animals to the endangered species act to protect them from extinction. Maybe the Republican Party should ask to be put on that list. Now before all you rabid “ditto heads” storm the office of The Progress, let me clarify that I am not advocating the policy being set forth by the Democrats who now control the country. I am merely observing that a majority of the American people seem to have fallen into the trap of having the government solve all of their problems.
We are now seeing an example of a political reality that I have come to accept. Man does not seek freedom; he seeks comfort. If freedom interferes with comfort, man will give up freedom before he gives up comfort. The fact that we are rapidly moving to a point where the government will take more than half of everything we earn seems to be of little concern as we dream of universal health care, homes protected by government bailouts and incomes guaranteed by federal mandate.
I can remember my father, who survived the depression, stating that one should never take money from the government. There was some merit to my father’s stand as he paid very little to the government and was allowed for the most part to use his income as he saw fit. He donated heavily to charities and took the Biblical charge to take care of widows and orphans literally. He believed it was the role of the prosperous to take care of those who suffered misfortune and had no means to help themselves. Likewise, he had no concern for those who could, but would not help themselves.
The government makes no such distinction and has over the years created a segment of the American population that while they could help themselves have neither the will not incentive to do so. What was started as government assistance until a person can stand on their own have become “entitlements”. Under the American government today, a person has a right to welfare for life. This philosophy has killed the ambition of generations of Americans. The new government programs will only increase this segment of the American population.
The greatest example of this entitlement mentality is the contrasting reaction to disaster in the Ninth Ward, New Orleans and towns like Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
The Ninth Ward was generally populated by a second and third generation welfare recipients who had grown up on the dole and saw the government as the answer to all their problems. When disaster struck, they did what they had been taught. They waited for the federal government to take care of them and they are still waiting.
Those in Cedar Rapids realized that if they were to recover from the floods, they would have to do as they always have done and rely on themselves.
I don’t fault the Ninth Ward people; they could only do that which they knew. But I do worry that we will soon find a whole nation that will believe they are “entitled”.
As the government continues to increase the tax burden on the American people, the American people will have more of an excuse to allow the government to intrude in their private life. If indeed governments are going to take half of what you make, maybe they should supply your every need. The question becomes, “Would the seven thousand dollars I now spend each year on medical insurance be better spent as a tax to the government and let them decide what medical care I need and deserve?” We could discontinue all tax deductions for charitable giving and have the government take over the role of the Red Cross and such organizations. There would no longer be a need to raise funds for the widow or orphans. If a person had a medical problem, there would be no need for the neighbors to join together to help with the financial burdens, the government would take care of this. No more bell ringers outside the stores.
Or better yet maybe, just maybe, America will wake up and remember the individualism that was at the heart of the American experiment. We are presently at a cross roads to determine if Americans are really more interested in freedom or in comfort. We have seen a group of corrupt men take advantage of the free enterprise system. One must understand the system did not fail the people, the people who were entrusted with the system failed both the systems and people of America. The greed of the CEO’s, other executives and trusted politicians has endangered the entire way of American life.
One must wonder what shape the American economy would be in if these men had allowed the economy to function as it should have instead of taking obscene salaries and benefits. What would have happened if the money had been allowed to flow down into American society?
This was not just poor business, this reached the level of criminal acts perpetrated on the American people. These men have defrauded the American public by giving the appearance of solvent organizations enticing 401K holders into investing into businesses they were gutting from the inside. Had these men robbed a convenience store of a few hundred dollars at gun point, they would be in prison. The fact that they robbed million of Americans of billions of dollars seems to be of little concern.
But the worst part is this disaster will very likely lead to the very type of nanny government so many Americans profess to abhor. If indeed you do not wish to see the extinction of freedom, while it will be uncomfortable for awhile, you to must hope that this socializing of America fails.
But then again, Americans could just go ahead and sell their birthright for a bowl of porridge.
Thought for the week…The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.
– Winston Churchill.
