Hi All, I hope this finds you in good health and an optimistic attitude. Today I’d like to dive into a subject that most consider politics… They couldn’t be more wrong! The use of political office is just an expedient tool used by today’s neo-progressives. Wow, I just shut some folks off but please give me a chance to explain. The original progressive ideology wasn’t a bad thing, provide for the needy within society. Sounds great to me. Where it goes wrong is when the ideology becomes corrupted. When under screams of fairness, equality or tolerance the presumptive liberators of the downtrodden do not lift them from their misfortune. No, instead they focus on dragging an unsuspecting public down to the lowest common denominator. After all what could be fairer.
Let’s break the true progressive concept into its parts, should be easy there are only two parts, the needy and the providers. Each has a responsibility to achieve the progressive goal, no more needy within the society. The providers, just as it sounds provides, provides food, clothing, shelter and opportunity, the basics of life as needed. You can accept that but you may be asking yourself “What responsibility could the needy have?” Very simple, use this opportunity or gift (yes I said gift) to better themselves, to educate themselves to work towards becoming provider themselves.
Who are the providers? Who are the needy? A provider can be a family member helping a relative, a neighborhood group helping someone within the neighborhood, a religious or community origination's providing services within the local vicinity such as a shelter, food/dry goods bank or trade school. The needy could be a family who lost everything in a fire, a young single parent, someone who fell into substance abuse problems or poor decisions that got them into trouble with the legal system. At the extreme ends needy persons could have medical, physical, mental issues that may require extended or more personalized attention.
Did you notice, I never once mentioned a government role. The reason for leaving government out is when you add them you’ve added a whole new layer to the equation, actually two layers, the collectors and the distributers… The more layers the more opportunity for distortion, perversion, the more opportunity for corruption. The collectors and distributors by their vary nature must maintain a continuous level of needy to validate their existence, the easiest way to maintain these levels is by converting the needy into dependents (distortion). The next effect is the perversion of what should be a charitable act. With collectors and distributors rather than seeking to get the most bang for the buck (as when spending their own money or resources) they seek the most money for the bang. The more monies controlled the larger the base of dependence they can build. Finally corruption sneaks in as the collectors and distributors seek rewards, pay and compensation for their roles, skimming money from pool that had been collected (after all its hard work building and maintaining a base of dependents).
Each year counting pay and compensation (i.e. insurance and pension) for every government bureaucrat filling the role as collector or distributor five families could be fed, clothed and housed for a year while they worked towards a better life.
Would they be eating steak and lobster every night? No.
Would they be wearing designer clothing or Air
Jordan shoes?
I wouldn’t think so.
Would a family of four be living in a four bedroom three bath condominium on the beach?
I doubt it.
Be honest, do the dependent have that now?
What they have is what they are given and that could be taken away in a moment, after all they are “DEPENDENT”.
The same old arguments pops up from neo-progressives as soon as they hear talk like this, they say either “You just lack compassion and want the poor to starve.” or “Your selfish, intolerant and don’t want the poor to succeed”. What they are really protecting is their hold on power and money. A truly concerned and compassionate society would seek to aid the needy/dependent in becoming independent, self-reliant, productive members of the society, sharing in its benefits’ and opportunities, an equal partner.
For far too long we have turned a blind eye to the assembly line production of a dependent class. At least three (more likely four to five) generations of people have been mislead into believing they could never succeed in life by a self-serving system full of self-serving individuals. The dependent class has been conditioned to accept that food is purchased with a booklet of coupons they are given each month, clothing and other dry goods are covered by an allowance issued by the local welfare office, housing is subsidized but no training in life skills, no incentive to reach for a better life. Actually the dependent are given an incentive to not succeed, if the home is broken-up larger payments are given to the recipient. Children raised in this environment get the misguided view that the way to succeed is to not succeed. Boys grow up having children but not knowing how to be fathers. They never had the relationship with a dedicated male figure in their lives giving them the opportunity to learn devotion to family, respect (for self and others) or responsibility inherited and searched out. Girls growing up in the dependent environment don’t know how to seek out a devoted life partner, they hope their needs are somewhat met by a faceless agency and they see their self-worth diminished as they become objectified and used by others. All this leads to a self perpetuating dependent class ultimately used by what has become a corrupted politically based system.
Some may think that I’ve written this out of anger or disgust. Just another old man complaining about the “Welfare State”. Actually I’ve written this with a bit of sadness and a lot of thankfulness because I easily could have been amongst the ranks of the dependent. At age 18 I was a high school dropout, washing dishes in a restaurant and had a drinking problem. I had made many poor decisions as a teenager and was headed nowhere fast. I didn’t really think I could succeed at anything of importance but through a twist of fait I was given an opportunity to enlist in the military (Thanks Your Honor). In the military I learned self-discipline, many valued skills, I furthered my education (associate degree in maintenance technology) but above all I learned to be self-reliant and have the freedom that came with it!
Yes I’m a bit saddened. Saddened for those who have been trained to believe they can’t succeed. Saddened for those who have been conditioned to live a life in the binding chains of dependency. Saddened for those who may never know freedom. I’m saddened for all those who cower down to the divisive political rhetoric aimed at blinding them to the true goals of the “Enlightened Left”, a two class system them being the ruling class and then the rest of us…
Have you ever read the book or seen the old movie Animal Farm? I recommend you take the time if you haven’t. It always turns out the same “All Are Equal” just some end up being more equal than others.
You think about it, you decide for yourself.
Till next time, make one thing better than when you found it…
The TOMCAT
