Rounding The Corner, I’m just wondering - 11/7/2012
In the aftermath of yesterday’s election, could it be that
our country has just rounded a significant corner in our history. Previously, the seminal predictor of
election results was summed up in the phrase “it’s the economy, stupid”. Whenever an incumbent presided over a
floundering economy, he was bound to lose. “People vote their pocketbook” was a quote made time and
time again.
Why then, when we have been experiencing the worst economy
since the Great Depression, has the incumbent been returned to office,
particularly when he faced a strong and formidable opponent? Perhaps it’s because we have, in fact,
passed a significant point in our history.
What might that point be? Could it be that the percentage of those who are dependent
on the government has reached a critical level and they will forever vote to
retain their benefactors? Have we
truly become a welfare state under the control of politicians who willingly use
taxpayer dollars to buy votes in an environment that all but guarantees that
pathway to power? Have we rounded
the corner?
When
buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought
and sold are legislators.
P. J. O'Rourke
P. J. O'Rourke
Politicians
also have no leisure, because they are always aiming at something beyond
political life itself, power and glory, or happiness.
Aristotle
Aristotle
Nothing underscored this more for me than an interview
response heard at a recent political rally - “Obama give me a free phone, Obama should be President, look
here, Obama give me phone”, and a viewpoint expressed during an interview with
a welfare recipient – “I don’t want to find a job, I’ll lose my benefits”.
My
fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do
for your country.
John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
Also
distressing was the nearly total lack of knowledge shown by a variety of
respondents asked simple questions about our government and basic
economics. These people were often
unable to name a prominent government official such as the vice president or one
of their own state senators. In
fact they frequently could not even identify that person when given a list of
three or four choices. With
respect to the economy, people were often unable to provide a definition of
some of the most basic terms. One
person defined the Gross Domestic Product as absolutely the worst product made
by our country and these are people who are judging who is best qualified to be
elected to office. It’s been said that the most dangerous thing in the world is
not nuclear arms or terrorism but ignorance.
Nothing
in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious
stupidity.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
I also wonder why the Democrats are so opposed to tightening
our election laws. What’s wrong
with prospective voters needing to prove their identity and authority to vote
at a specific location? Is it a
good idea for a man to hear that his wife has voted in the past four elections
although she has been dead for many years? Most if not all other developed nations require photo ids in
order to vote. Why would anyone
want to oppose fair elections?
If you
have always believed that everyone should play by the same rules and be judged
by the same standards, that would have gotten you labeled a radical 60 years
ago, a liberal 30 years ago and a racist today.
Thomas Sowell
Thomas Sowell
Finally, here is another quote that I just couldn’t pass up.
If you
put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there'd
be a shortage of sand.
Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman
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