Success demands
work of its recipients, while envy asks nothing for your patronage.
It is easy to see why envy is so much more prevalent. Being jealous
of the accomplished is much easier than it is to put in the time and
effort necessary to become accomplished. Over the past year we have
seen an increase in the cries of inequality and a demand for the
wealthy to do their fair share. Regardless of how this is spun by
politicians, support for these claims and grievances are fueled by
one thing - envy. There is a growing segment of American society
that believes their shot at success has somehow been stolen from them
by those who have already attained it. Many have foolishly bought
into the asinine notion that success is finite and once the pie is
divvied up, those who were not at the table have no hope. The masses
are condemned to a life of mediocrity and devoid of opportunity
without their sole chance at salvation - the benevolent, equalizing
hand of government intervention.
“Government
is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a
dangerous servant and a fearful master.” - George Washington
During
times of crisis it is mankind's tendency to do exactly the opposite
of what is truly in its best interest. Instead of looking for
logical and pragmatic solutions, we panic. This leads to fear which
brings out the worst in us by making us ever more susceptible to
manipulation. In a desperate search to satisfy our desire for someone
to make it all better, we will follow anyone that steps up to podium.
Though the same ineffectual strategies are used time and again, we
continually fall for them. We are given rhetoric about our impending
doom, handed a villain to blame, and then given the silver bullet of
a government solution - regulation and expansion. In the end,
government is the snake oil that will cure all the evils of the
world.
“I
predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the
government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense
of taking care of them.” - Thomas Jefferson
The
financial meltdown of 2008, a situation that government intervention
greatly contributed to, led to a series of detrimental decisions.
It justified the election of a totally unqualified president and one
party rule, condoned massive financial bailouts of corporations and
banks supposedly too big to fail, and fostered the introduction of
cumbersome and poorly conceived government financial regulation. The
need to punish someone for our bad behavior, resulted in the election
of an administration that routinely dismisses our foundation of law
as simply an obstacle to be ignored or circumvented in order to
properly address the crisis at hand. Combine this with the one party
rule that existed for two years, the outcome of our desire to
publicly flog the Republican Party, and we sanctioned a massive
increase in our national debt and socialization of our medical
system. How does the institutional pinnacle of fraud, waste, and
abuse, have the audacity to say they are qualified to create a
solution? They do it because we expect it, because we allow it. Our
actions betray our changing values. We no longer trust ourselves to
dictate the direction our lives and our nation take. To do so means
to be responsible when failure occurs. We no longer recognize the
gift of determining our own destinies, we are content to trade our
liberties for a false sense of security and government distributed
charity. We no longer believe the only constraints we face are the
limits of our aspirations and our fortitude to achieve them. Now the
success achieved by others has become an insurmountable challenge to
the dreams of the masses. Our choices are no longer the determining
factor in the direction our lives take, we are but pawns of the
wealthy and powerful with government our Robin Hood.
“America
will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our
freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.” - Abraham
Lincoln
The
effects of the 2008 financial bubble burst linger, but we now face an
even greater danger – ourselves. A powerful sense of entitlement
has replaced the once prevalent gratitude for opportunity, while
excuses have supplanted perseverance. A growing number willingly
accept government dictated subsistence over their God given right to
achieve their own greatness. The reason is simple, we have become
more content with taking a government handout and tolerating the
condescending limitations that are its inherent price, than we are to
embark on the trying journey that success demands. While the trek is
easier for some than it is for others, true success is only
attainable through a combination of skill, talent, and fortitude.
Those that have risen to legendary heights had to endure many
pitfalls along the way, but had the perseverance to continue the
fight. This is something to be celebrated, not held up as a great
scourge upon our society. The longer the road and the effort
required to conquer it, the deeper the appreciation once the final
destination is reached. The cause of our fall is that too many now
simply do not believe success is worth the effort, but are all too
willing to scream to the masses about how they still deserve it.
Success is their right, and it is being denied them due to
achievements of others. As we fade from a nation founded on the
principle of self-determination and naively morph into one that
increasingly embraces government determination, the greatness of the
United States diminishes and our foundation crumbles. Soon we will
simply be one of many, instead of the one the many aspire to be.
“One
of the consequences of such notions as "entitlements" is
that people who have contributed nothing to society feel that society
owes them something, apparently just for being nice enough to grace
us with their presence.” - Thomas Sowell
Again,
every great civilization falls. We attained our national prowess by
providing our citizens the opportunity to attain their personal
greatness. Here everyone had a chance at success, not a guarantee of
it. Here we were measured by our ability to achieve, not by the
circumstances of our birth. Unfortunately, opportunity is no longer
enough, we demand the spoils of victory without having to bear the
struggle to earn it. The sole justification is that we are entitled
to it, we are owed it. An arrogant selfishness created by a society
that has forgotten the price and struggle endured by those that came
before us to provide us with and preserve the amazing gift that
America is. We are not yet at the point of no return, but it is
rapidly approaching. “The price of greatness is responsibility.”
- Winston Churchill
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