Weekend Roundup...
Here we are once again...we've made it to another weekend, and after THIS week, I'm sure I'm not alone in welcoming it.
Many of us braved snow-covered roads, shoveled what seems to have been several tons of that stuff (and have the assorted aches to prove it), listened to countless stories from other cities that were hammered worse than we might have been, but we survived...
There's a real lesson to be learned here.
Whether it was seeing neighbors band together to shovel one another out from over 30 inches of snow, to helping move vehicles down streets, to checking on seniors that have no way of getting out in such weather, many people answered the call to help.
Wish I could say that was so in my neighborhood, but such was not the case.
We took care of ourselves...and we did damn well.
But in the larger picture here, we see that real Americans are survivors, and we survive by doing WHAT needs to be done WHEN it needs to be done for no other reason than to ensure that survival.
Okay, so maybe it wasn't the blizzard of 1888, or even the storm of 1979, but ANY event such as this brings similar problems, especially when the electricity goes out, or the risk of injury is magnified.
And yet, we make due and we move forward in life.
Now, I said all that to say this:
I watched John Stossel last night on FBN (8 PM), and there was a riveting discussion on something that seems to be always at the forefront of debate in SO many aspects of our lives these days, namely EQUALITY.
See, I'm from the old school which holds that (Biblically-speaking) ALL MEN are CREATED equal (Lincoln knew this, too).
But being CREATED equal is one thing. We're all "built" the same way, pretty much, and it's served us very well across the millenia.
As each of us progresses in life, another type of "equality" becomes evident.
Actually, it's more an INEQUALITY that becomes equal among us.
We find out that although we are created equal, we are ALL unique, and that pretty much kills the whole "equal" thing, doesn't it?
We are all afforded the exact SAME equality by law regarding the law.
Everything else, we're pretty much as UN-equal as you're going to find...and maybe that's not such a bad thing.
It's this inequality that allows certain people to become doctors...or lawyers...or business owners, or pilots, or even street vendors.
We were never designed to all be the "the same" in that regard.
Some are meant to become great thinkers, while others become great "doers".
ALL of us have to find our OWN way, however unequal that might seem.
We were never designed to be "made" equal. You simply cannot take mankind (or any part of it) and start mass-producing some "cookie-cutter" drones that are equal in every single way.
But the manner in which our governments are running the show, they are forcing people to BE equal, and in as many ways as possible.
Trouble with that is...it costs MONEY...serious money...YOUR money.
Look at the voucher programs, HUD housing, dumbing down student tests, classroom "racial balancing", affirmative action, quota systems, and the like.
ALL of these are designed to level the playing field.
But, what if the field was never designed to BE level?
What if some people are just NOT meant to "rise to the top"?
Well, for one thing, if we ALL were that fortunate, it would get pretty damn CROWDED at that top, don'cha think?
And having things "misbalanced" in such a manner would lead to some interesting issues.
If everyone is at "the top" (and equal), who is UNDER all of us, doing that which is "beneath us"?
If we never have any "losers", how can any of us proclaim that we're all "winners"?
How could any of us that HAVE lost, learn from the experience and turn ourselves around to become winners?
Now, consider this...
If we're all "equal", but at a LOWER station in life, having a group of people OVER us, making sure we remain equal, what have WE (the newly equaled) become?
Sounds a lot like the old serfdoms of the Middle Ages.
Indentured servitude...for the "rulers" of the castle aka the "elites".
If we all strive for a COMMON GOAL, do we not become a bit more equal in the process?
Not really, because we all strive at DIFFERENT degrees and speeds, each according to his or her abilities (or the lack thereof).
Can forcing a type of "equality" make a portion of the populace "better"?
Perhaps, in a few, select cases...it can, but not for the masses.
Case in point...our WELFARE SYSTEM.
It was never designed as a LONG-TERM solution to anything, especially a "lifestyle".
It was a "stop-gap" measured to ensure that survivability for people UNTIL they could get back to work.
But look around you today. Multi-generational entitlements that do nothing to make anyone more "equal"...quite the reverse, actually.
The way the system is designed today, it's meant to KEEP that portion of our populace docile, malleable, and pliable to whatever propaganda is shoved at them (as long as they get that check).
There is little evidence to the contrary.
You cannot impose an "equality by condition" on people, because we are all NOT equal in that regard.
For example, you cannot take an individual that has no capacity for law-enforcement, and by some legalised mandate suddenly make them "perfect for the job".
You cannot take someone with absolutely no ability to teach the young minds of America, and suddenly "make" them an educator.
Some people are just NOT cut out for certain positions in life...that's just the way it is.
And that is why we have diverse occupations...for the diversely talented.
Face it, you can't turn a house cat into a hunting dog, and proclaim you're doing it in the name of EQUALITY...LOL!
But that's what our government has been attempting to do over the decades, just so we can "all be equal".
Imagine a world where everyone WINS...and no one loses...
Makes betting on the Super Bowl or the Kentucky Derby pretty damn boring, right?
If we never acknowledge those who DO achieve in life, how can we ever measure where the bar needs to be set, so we can help those wanting to do better?
Why lower the bar to make those LESS equal appear to be MORE equal?
On a much larger scale, this false "equality" is EXACTLY what this "bailout" fiasco with car companies, lending firms, and the housing market was all about....NO MORE LOSERS. We ALL "win".
How's THAT working out for everyone, hmm?
Where ARE all these "winners", anyway?
And how EQUAL has that made everyone, as a result?
Time has come to either play the cards you're dealt in life, or get up from the table and cut your losses.
You can't do BOTH, although the government would LOVE to do just that...with YOUR money (and has been doing it for some time).
We all have our own UNIQUE talents and abilities.
And thanks to those facets of our lives, we sometimes succeed...and sometimes fail.
But having the courage to stand back up after a failure, or taking our success and passing it along to others by helping THEM succeed is what makes Americans survivors...not some government handout, freebie program.
America IS a unique country, in concept unequaled in the entire world, and her people consist of unique individuals, unequaled in their equality when it comes to standing TOGETHER for a common cause.
Each to their OWN abilities...as they have been able to learn.
THAT is the way it is meant to be.
Have yourselves a great weekend, drive with care, keep warm, and as always...
Stay safe out there, America.