Everybody Grab Your Board

Ok, so I'm going to try to illustrate socialism here. I hope I am able to articulate, well enough, my point.

Most of us on the more conservative end of the ideological spectrum believe that personal responsibility is a good first step towards smaller government and a stronger national morality. We believe that the individual should work to secure their own future. You will find a quote on the right side of my blog from Tecumseh. He was a great Shawnee warrior, and his story is legend. He said, "From my tribe I take nothing, I am the maker of my own fortune." He was brave, honorable, had integrity and principle; and was true to his beliefs. All things we espouse for ourselves.

On the other hand we have the liberals and progressives who believe that men (and women) of lesser drive, intelligence, resources, life experiences, character, will, honor, social standing or integrity should be "helped" (coddled) by a "compassionate" society. To do this, the left requires that all with "means" provide for those without. A direct opposite, and foreign, process of thinking from Tecumseh's. So let's take a look at that.

In a "conservative world" philosophy, individuals are expected to create their own wealth, and take responsibility for their own lives, by working hard, saving, investing, and making wise decisions. Through that process, they build a life. In many, many cases that includes the ownership of a house. And those that do not yet have a house, strive to attain one. In the conservative philosophy, no one would provide for your housing, though family would "take you in" until you got on your feet. Come the harsh climates of winter, many who had not yet created their own house would perish because they were unable to survive on their own and had no family to help them. You might say that lacks "compassion", but in the illustration of this environment you will notice that some survive.

A "liberal/progressive world" philosophy, is an enabling philosophy. It fosters an individuals perception of entitlement and those individuals look to the government for their sustenance. And that entitlement philosophy is self-perpetuating in nature. The more the government believes it is responsible for "taking care" of people, the more the people feel entitled to the programs being offered. Yet all the money required for those programs comes from the group living in the "conservative philosophy world".  So now it's time to provide some housing for the "entitlement class". Where's the incentive to "maintain" the property? Where's the sense of pride, of ownership?

This is exactly why socialism does not work - there is no "ownership" of the direction one takes; no "personal investment", no personal responsibility. Thus the system continues to erode and more and more money is required to maintain it.

In this illustration of  "conservative vs. liberal/progressive" philosophies I've used "living quarters" to illustrate my point. The conservatives expect you to be self-reliant enough to build your own house, while the Libs want to take from the conservatives and give to the entitlement class. The only problem is there are only so many houses being produced. So what the government will actually do, under the guise of "compassion" and the illusion of "helping" the underprivileged, is take a house form a conservative, tear it apart, and hand out boards to everyone! They think this makes the masses happy, because the "masses" are getting something for nothing, while, in the process, the government is only making one conservative "home-owner" unhappy - a political windfall! But what the entitlement class doesn't understand is that they can't build a house with the board they've been given. To do that, the government will have to allow conservatives to build more houses and then confiscate them, tear them down, and pass out more boards. Eventually the entitlement class will have enough boards to build their house; they just won't know how. And if they get antsy and impatient, maybe some of them will go out and steal some boards. But again, they won't know how to build their house. Will those who have those skills be required by the government to use them? And how is that living in the Land of the Free? How is any of this?

So now when the harsh elements of winter hit again, everyone will perish because no one will have a house - not the entitlement class people (who only have boards), and not the conservatives who had their houses confiscated by the government. And you call this compassion? Yep, I sure can see how socialism can work. Quick, everyone, grab your board!

God help us!

Stand With God, Stand For Liberty!