Give Me Liberty

As we wake up on Election Day, most of us are probably thinking “Thank goodness, it’s almost over”. But what has happened to us? Throughout history, we have always been threatened by barbarians, people willing to use force to disrupt society, take the property and control the lives of others. To defend ourselves, we formed societies, built defenses, and fought back. At some point, we apparently concluded that we had defeated them. But they are still amongst us. Yes, they have put on expensive suits, and learned to speak eloquently, but they are still barbarians. They still use force take our property and control our lives. And they have completely fooled us. Now we call them “politicians” and “public servants”, “great men and women”, and consider it our civic duty to go out and vote to choose which ones will be our masters. They are still barbarians, and our future looks bleak.

We are voting in the midst of an “economic crisis”, brought on by years of misguided government manipulation of the economy. Yet the chattering classes shout out that it’s a “market failure”, and the barbarians promise to save us with a bailout. I have trouble believing that free markets somehow “failed”, when we haven’t had a free market in this country for at least a hundred years, but we seem to be falling for that nonsense yet again. Already we have narrowed the field to two candidates promising bigger government, more regulation, and less freedom. One candidate is unquestionably a socialist, the other is simply the pot calling the kettle black. (He is, after all, the co-author of the “McCain-Feingold Incumbent Protection Act”.)

So when we awake tomorrow, we will have “chosen” our new masters, but what will we have accomplished? We have already allowed the current administration to nationalize the banks. Is there anything we won’t let the incoming barbarians do to have their ways with us? Will we ever again stand up to them and proclaim that each of us was “created equal”, endowed with the “inalienable rights” of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”? If not, then the barbarians have truly won, and our best days are indeed behind us.

I personally don’t believe that our best days are behind us, but today is a hard day to be optimistic. So skip the lines at the polls, have a second cup of coffee, and think about the things that really matter.

Give Me Liberty

Here’s a simple quiz that might be a real eye-opener for those of us who don’t often consider the question.

1. Do you believe that education is extremely important, both for our children and for “society”?

I certainly do (and in the interest of full disclosure, I attended government schools exclusively, including several state universities).

2. Do you believe that socialism/communism/facism offers a viable economic system for any society?

Some folks apparently do, although the 20th century (or as I like to call it, the Century of Socialism) certainly saw such systems fail categorically, across cultures, nationalities and socio-economic circumstances. And that’s not to mention the over 100 million souls murdered for the “greater good”.

3. Finally, based on your answers to 1. and 2. above, please explain (in 2 words or less) how it is that the largest and most successful economy in the world, based on free market capitalism, insists on educating its children in schools owned by the government (pure socialism), funded on the basis of “from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs” (pure communism), and enforced by compulsory attendance (pure facism).

I can’t.