Benjamin Franklin was supposed to have made a comment about how you could not have both security and liberty. We tend to want both. We want the liberty to do our own thing. We don’t want anyone telling us what to do. At the same time we want the government to keep us safe. Safe from hunger, terrorists, boredom and any other thing that we feel should be far away.
On the broad field that is part of the government’s responsibility. Article IV, Section 4 reads,
The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened), against domestic violence.That means kicking out any would-be kings, defending our borders against invasion and slapping down insurrection. That does not mean defending my front door against local thugs. It does not mean requiring nutrition labels on the cans I buy. It does not mean forcing a restaurant to post calorie content on their signs. It does not mean having safe spaces for people who are emotionally unstable. It means protecting us from the big things we cannot be expected to deal with. Invasion by China, sure. Invasion by bed bugs, not so much.
I am getting old and looking at retirement. Do I expect the government to take care of me? No, not really. I will take whatever they are giving out, after all I am being taxed to pay for it, but if I am too cheap to buy insurance it is not the governments job to give me Cadillac health care. At the same time I don’t expect them to bump me off because I am past my prime. Have you ever asked yourself why seniors get the discounts when they have most of the money?
Give me a gun and let me lock my doors and windows. If I leave my windows open for some criminal to climb in why should I expect the police to come bail me out. Get the laws changed that put me in jail for defending my sanctuary and family. And no, what they guy stole from my home was not just stuff. Some of it was heirloom items that I received from my dead ancestors. It can’t be replaced. Some is heart items given to me by my children. Some of it is things that cannot be replaced in the modern market. He has taken a part of my life so he can buy drugs to ruin his.
Every time the government moves to protect you they chip away at the latitude you have for freedom of movement. We need to learn to stand on our own two feet and earn our own bread.
homo unius libri
"Have you ever asked yourself why seniors get the discounts when they have most of the money?" - Once upon a time, maybe, but I doubt if it's true for most Americans anymore.
ReplyDeleteIt may not be true for many but who do you think is driving all those motorhomes? Part of it is planning and frugality. I think you own your own home. That is because you did not blow it trying to live the high life earlier. You don't run your credit cards up buying designer labels. I am guessing you don't have a lot in the bank but the bank isn't about to take our home either. That is not so true for many of the young.
DeleteGrace and peace.