If they want more stuff from government, tell them to go vote for the other guy – more free stuff.
– Gov. Mitt Romney
They did. They did want more free stuff. They did vote for the other guy.
And that, in short, is my analysis of the 2012 presidential election. But to get the full import of what over half of Americans fail to understand, read Romney’s full statement:
But I hope people understand this, your friends who like ObamaCare, you remind them of this: If they want more stuff from government, tell them to go vote for the other guy – more free stuff. But don’t forget, nothing is really free. It has to paid for by people in the private sector creating goods and services, and if people want jobs more than they want free stuff from government, then they are going to have to get government to be smaller. And if they don’t want to repeal ObamaCare, they are going to have to give me some other stuff they are thinking about cutting. But my list takes ObamaCare off first, and I have a lot of other things I am thinking of cutting. [Emphasis added.]
As I sat down to write this column, I thought of an alternate title: “A Nation of Flukes.” Remember Sandra Fluke? The 30-year-old law student testified before Congress on national TV, complaining that she had to pay for her contraceptive pills. She went on to campaign for President Obama’s reelection and spoke at the Democratic National Convention.
But Ms. Fluke is just a symptom. As a 30-year-old, she still feels herself to be a teenager – she feels adult enough to do as she pleases, but childlike enough to have Mommy and Daddy pay for it. But on further reflection, I realized that Barack Obama himself is a symptom.
The disease is thinking we can get free stuff. The disease is thinking the government has a “stash” and can go on indefinitely handing stuff out. The disease is believing that we can go on indefinitely spending more than we produce.
But we ignored this disease until it reached a stage when it can no longer be ignored, but may no longer be curable. Only now do we realize that things have been going wrong for years:
● Things went wrong when we stopped electing people like us to carry out our wishes, and began electing self-anointed elitists who believe they are entitled to rule us ignorant “common” people − because we just can’t appreciate their brilliance.
● Things went wrong when we stopped rewarding entrepreneurs and innovators, and began rewarding paper shufflers and theorizers.
● Things went wrong when we lost interest in wealth creation, and became obsessed with wealth redistribution.
● Things went wrong when the number of takers increased faster than the number of contributors, and the number of lawyers exceeded the number of doctors.
● Things went wrong when “intellectuals” proclaimed that there are no permanent ethical principles, and many people began acting as if this were true.
●Things went wrong when “legal scholars” proclaimed that the Constitution has no fixed meaning, and many politicians began acting as if this were true.
● Things went wrong when we became so afraid of intolerance that we tolerated anything − even the intolerable.
● Things went wrong when we became so afraid of super-patriots that we tried to produce no patriots at all.
● Things went wrong when a generation grew up watching movies that showed our leaders as evil schemers, our military as bloodthirsty lunatics, and our veterans as unstable losers. Then we were shocked − shocked! − when we produced “Taliban” John Walker Lindh and “Al Queda” Adam Gadahn.
● Things went wrong when a university replaced its Minuteman mascot as “too violent.” The Minutemen fought for freedom, which is now considered less important than political correctness.
● Things went wrong when school kids were shown pictures of the Blue Angels, the Navy’s exhibition aviators, and were told that they “kill children.”
● Things went wrong when San Francisco refused a gift of the battleship USS Iowa as a museum. The ship had carried President Roosevelt, but it was “too warlike.”
● Things went wrong when some liberals claim to “support our troops,” but hold them in contempt and despise what they do.
● Things went wrong when positive aspects of our history were downplayed in schools, and teachers belittled our country and its founders.
● Things went wrong when many schools of education and journalism were taken over by leftists. The teachers and journalists the schools turned out spread these leftist ideas.
● Things went wrong when we indoctrinated a generation to view their country with shame and their flag with disrespect.
● Things went wrong when our justice system degenerated into a legal system, and we obsessed over the rights of the accused but ignored the rights of victims.
● Things went wrong when we taught young people to think not what was right, but what was legal – that is, what they could get away with.
● Things went wrong when we told kids to think of themselves not as Americans, but as members of racial, ethnic, gender, or economic groups. We forgot “E Pluribus Unum” and replaced it with “multiculturalism.” Then we were shocked – shocked! – when social cohesion broke down.
● Things went wrong when liberals began calling conservatives “Nazis.” They forgot what real Nazis did, so they don’t recognize Nazi-like policies when they see them.
● Things went wrong when “pro-child” people ignore the million American babies aborted every year, and even voted for a man who three times approved killing babies who survived “failed” abortions.
● Things went wrong when a judge ordered that brain-damaged Terri Schiavo be put to death by dehydration and starvation, and 300 million Americans stood by for 13 days and did nothing.
● Things went wrong when many people see nothing wrong with cutting off care for the elderly and the disabled − even veterans. They view the elderly and the disabled as “useless eaters.”
● Things went wrong when we exaggerate the number of returning veterans who have mental disorders. The alleged purpose is to increase awareness of PTSD, but this may subject veterans to suspicion and job discrimination.
● Things went wrong when we taught a generation to have self-esteem not because they are unique individuals created in God’s image, not because they are proud bearers of America’s heritage of freedom, and not because of their own accomplishments − but merely for breathing. We forgot that unearned self-esteem is called narcissism.
● Things went wrong when people became so accustomed to living on credit cards that they see nothing wrong with the government running gigantic deficits.
● Things went wrong when astronomical numbers like “trillion” are no longer associated with our space program, and are now associated with our deficit.
● Things went wrong when people stopped thinking of themselves as independent adults, responsible for themselves and their loved ones. Instead, they see themselves as teenagers, using their earnings as they please, then running home for Mom to take care of them when they get sick, and for Dad to bail them out when they overspend. They see the government not as their employees, but as their parents.
● Things went wrong when we forgot that government programs and handouts are addicting. Like drugs, they reduce recipients to passive users, increasingly dependent on the drug dealer − the government.
● Things went wrong when we forgot that the federal government has only the powers that the Constitution gives it, and certainly not the power to control our health care − and even tell us what talk radio to listen to, and what light bulbs and toilets to use.
● Things went wrong when global capitalists became indistinguishable from global socialists in their lust to increase their power by reducing our freedoms.
● Things went really wrong when then-Speaker Pelosi was asked whether nationalized health care is constitutional, and she replied, “Are you serious?” − while giggling. The Constitution survived the Civil War, two World Wars, and 9/11, but it cannot survive the contempt of our high officials.
● Things went terribly wrong when the majority of Americans forgot John Kennedy. Instead of asking what they can do for their country, they ask what the country can do for them. So they vote for the guy who promises the most free stuff.
No one can say how much centralized control it will take to cause irreparable damage to a nation. The answer becomes clear only in retrospect. But once control of large segments of the economy becomes solidified, and once control of our health care − and therefore our lives − becomes entrenched, it will be difficult or impossible to reverse the trend. The time to act is now, before the addiction to big government becomes too deep-rooted. We need rehab for government addiction.
The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.
– Alexis de Tocqueville (attributed)
Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it; no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it.
− Judge Learned Hand
Freedom is never an achieved state. Like electricity, we’ve got to keep generating it, or the lights go out.
− Wayne LaPierre
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Dr. Stolinsky writes on political and social issues. Contact: dstol@prodigy.net. You are welcome to publish or post these articles, provided that you cite the author and website.
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