'Feeling the Bern’ of Socialism
In the 239 year-old wake of a revolutionary declaration to ensure the rights of mankind over the historical dangers of excessive and immoral government, the global beacon of hope and opportunity that once defined America – that indelible spirit of independence and innovation that has transcended the world on numerous occasions – is fading, or more succinctly dying, from the self-inflicted wound known as socialism. Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are zealously pursuing our fiscal demise by suffocating private enterprise, the heartbeat of our revered way of life, with endless regulation, taxation and rogue redistribution. And for what; because all banks and corporations – those “soulless” creations that never donated to medical research, endowed education, financed family homes and small businesses, pioneered watershed technologies or created one decent paying job – are irrefutably evil? Apparently so. Feeding societal discontent, while starving responsibility and perspective, turns grown adults into helpless children needlessly suffering in the coldhearted soup lines of capitalism. Thank God perpetual “victims” still have the strength to vote Democrat every four years. After all, codependency hates competition.
Because activists love to defy or mock conventional avenues, but love the vague cliches of literature, I suggest the art of taking the road less traveled in a Constitutional republic predicated upon choice. If you don’t like the prevailing interest rates of national financial institutions, don’t take out a loan, open an account or agree to their banking fees. Ever hear of credit unions? If you despise a corporation’s practices, file a lawsuit, work elsewhere or refuse to buy their products and stock. Or God forbid, start your own enterprise with like-minded consumers. Competition, economic Darwinism and the law of demand, will eventually weed out the parasites in both industries. Regardless, how does either complaint validate Washington’s crusade to punish hard-working Americans and business owners, siphon their wealth and property, by attempting to legislate economic equality in the name of social justice? It doesn’t. If we're marinating "fate" in the melancholy of “fairness”, minimum wage was never intended as a living wage. Rather, it represents the baseline compensation for unskilled labor performing menial jobs; such as students seeking extra pocket change. Just don’t tell me fast food workers deserve $15 an hour and free health care, only to claim the privilege and benefits of higher education, learning a trade, doesn’t outweigh the cost or personal sacrifice required to forge a bridge to a better life. True financial stability requires establishing a means to a means, not by relying on and depleting an exhaustible end: i.e., public assistance or handouts. The best social program is, and always has been, a job; one that utilizes your unique and acquired attributes.
There is no shame in needing help time to time, we all do, but welfare is not a career opportunity and charity is never an executive order. Although Americans are a compassionate and extremely generous people, all able-bodied citizens owe it to themselves and their families to find work. A monthly government check doesn’t liberate the poor, it merely ensures their depravity for generations to come. This is why socialism is nothing more than the equal division of misery and the legalized theft of success. Why is it a travesty when an immigrant or discouraged minority is struggling, but karma when an entrepreneur, one who could have hired these individuals and improved their quality of life, goes broke and loses everything? In other words, welcome to the dawn of envy and entitlements, or the dusk of hard work and accountability. Here in the land of the fleeced, the home of the bankrupt, you personally owe your neighbor a free ride, lunch money and an apology for daring to achieve; where big government is God, liberty is flawed, and capitalism – acquired wealth and job creation – is pure greed…unless, that is, you’re a multimillionaire liberal politician, athlete or entertainer who believes in global warming.
Whereas confused collectivists love to point out how roads, schools, and emergency services are sterling examples of socialism’s success – the “you didn’t build that” Marxist guide to self-loathing – these necessities are basic stalwarts of any functioning, civilized society. So yes, according to leftist logic and your tax dollars, you built that bridge too. Yet, by some miracle of competence, free enterprise & public works coexisted and thrived in this country long before 60’s radicals – today’s Democratic leadership – waged class warfare, excessively taxed prosperity and redistributed wealth, in order to incite voter discontent, justify dependence and erect their socialist utopia. In fact, up until 1913 Americans kept 100% of their earnings. And despite adhering to this “unfathomable” economic principle, i.e., keeping your hard-earned money, our hallowed way of life somehow benefited from a vast network of educational institutions, extensive roadways and railways, hospitals, police and fire departments, as well as a fully functioning military in the form of the Army, Navy and Marine Corps: those fabled military branches that still managed to win eight wars without the duplicitous dealings of Big Brother.
As for the official “police” report of statism, public education is actually based on a capitalistic theory of individuality and self-worth. By teaching a child the necessary skills to become a productive and well-adjusted member of society, research indicates they’re much less likely to struggle, break the law or become dependent, an undue fiscal burden, upon the state. The universal goal of a market driven economy is sustainability, or more succinctly, self-sufficiency: to empower commerce with diversified labor so everyday people can buy their own home, provide for their family and afford “quality” health care independent of government control. The more disposable income each family possesses, the more likely they are to purchase the products and services of those businesses that pay our salaries and hire new employees. A means to a means, my comrade.
In America, unlike so many other countries, there are countless paths to success – regardless of one’s personal struggles, attributes or disposition. Don’t breed spite and contempt for others because you have less; be angry you forgot “the pursuit of happiness” is ultimately incumbent upon your own choices and resolve. Yes, life is not fair, bad things happen to good people, but how much of that is due to our own accord? How does hating or taking from the more fortunate, many who earned the fruits of their labor, justify or change anything? A menial or “average” life in America is still much better than the everyday lives defining most other nations. Why else would entire families abandon their native countries, risking their very lives in the process, to come to the supposed capitalist lair of “greed”? Better yet, why are American politicians endeavoring to become more like those bankrupt and corrupt leftist regimes these immigrants are fleeing? The blessing of liberty does not dictate equal outcomes because free will is far more valuable than rationed rights or ransomed dependence. It infers that no one owes you but yourself because your potential is inherently limitless. Unfortunately that’s far too inconvenient of a concept for those socialists attempting to demonize dissenting speech and bribe the electorate with other people’s money solely to win an election. Since when did hope require an enemy or success a notary of guilt?
The question pundits should be asking isn’t whether or not capitalism – that which is most synonymous with freedom and upward mobility – is flawed, for all ideologies innately are; rather, where would a country sporting the size and populace of America be today without its unparalleled penchant for growth, independence and prosperity? How else did a newfound republic become the most affluent, revered and powerful nation in the world, without sacrificing individual rights or the people’s quality of life, in less than two centuries? One only needs to look at Greece, Communist Cuba, most of the Middle East or any third world nation to witness the devastating effects caused by a lack of commerce, capital and/or infrastructure. Considering welfare recipients have jumped from 27 to 47 million since 2008, nearly 100 million are absent from the U.S. workforce, our national debt has almost doubled to a record 20 trillion in only seven years despite collecting record tax revenue, all while household income and home ownership continue to plummet, I missed the part where more entitlements and fewer of those evil, profitable businesses would help the American people. Yes, who in their right mind wouldn’t elect a career contrarian who praised the murderous legacy of totalitarianism, religiously demonized his native country, and didn’t earn a steady paycheck until he was 40 years of age? Perhaps ‘We the People’ are just beginning to ‘Feel the Bern’ of socialism, or better yet, the crass exploitation of victimization politics. When limited government becomes a radical idea, personal responsibility is racist and individual liberty stands as an obstacle to “hope” and “change”, perhaps it no longer matters in the electoral quest to bribe the spoon-fed masses. In other words, apathy has become our greatest export and the most likely candidate to sign America’s death certificate. The cleanest hands are often the dirtiest.
“If socialists understood economics…they wouldn’t be socialists.” ~F.A. Hayek
Look at What those libtards have done now. You can bet they won't let them pray to JESUS!