Monday, October 17, 2011

Kos & the 53%

Another post on fb.   Yeah, from truce boy.

It just occurred to me what he's doing.  He posts these links to stories that promote bits of the "liberal" or progressive agenda, but he posts them as "interesting to think about".

Thus he gets to promote his ideology without taking responsibility for it.  "Hey, I didn't SAY I agreed with it, I just found it interesting".

Ooooo-kaaaayyyyy.

This one was a Daily Kos post (but no, he's not a radical liberal, he's been a life long Republican until he drove people to the polls to vote for Obama  in a state other than the one in which he lives ... but I digress ... and posts links to HuffPo and Kos)

It's a rant about one of the 53%'ers photos.  And a Kos ramble about "well you shouldn't have to work that hard in the greatest country on earth, and what if you need health care or lose your job..."  and how they didn't like his face.

Another guy commented that he did an analysis of the guy to figure out how he could easily be a part of the 47%, if such and such parameters he plugged into a spreadsheet were assumed.

The open letter starts out thus: "although I think you’ve made yourself clear and I think I understand you..."

Well, he doesn't. Understand him, that is. It occurred to me that this completely misses the point.

I commented:
Completely missing the point. The point is, he takes his life into his own hands, and neither asks nor expects anything from strangers.


Something else interesting to think about. $116 trillion and counting of unfunded liabilities in entitlement programs in addition to the glaring but comparatively "paltry" 15 trillion federal debt.


Of course, every one of us is free to help anyone we like. There are, and have always been individuals and organizations dedicated to this.


But big pots of Other People's Money are, always have been, and always will be magnets to those with power to misuse, abuse, and skim, for starters. And the negative social impacts have manifest themselves around us for decades. Liberals "solve" this by looking in ever-expanding circles for places to get more, because the answer to them is always more.


It is very easy to be Liberal with Other People's Money.
These people confuse the role of government and the role of society, and any attempt to separate the two means you're unfeeling or uncaring.

What's great about America is that you can put yourself out like this and reap the rewards ... the delayed gratification.  But what this Kos author doesn't seem to get is the lesson of The Little Red Hen.

And no, it's not that the Little Red Hen couldn't or shouldn't share with those she deems to be in need of her assistance.  It's the entitlement attitude of the other farm animals -- to dictate where the fruits of her labor should go to her ... that is the problem.   That's not America.

The difference between the 99'ers and the 53'ers (outside of general worldview and the glaring difference in the civility of the behavior) -- is that the 53'ers are specifically not complaining.   They're pretty much just pointing out to the 99'ers that they are, and to stop whinning.

3 comments:

Severian said...

Not to be crude, but...

Well, ok, to be kind of crude, I think most of life can be explained in four words: "Dude, what the fuck?"

I had a crusty old uncle use them on me once, and I'll never forget it.

You think other people should pay for your college? "Dude, what the fuck?"

You want something for nothing? "Dude, what the fuck?"

You feel you deserve something from me, based solely on the fact that you really, really want it?

"Dude, what the fuck?"

Etc. Etc. Used properly, this phrase can be devastating. It cured my youthful liberalism in a stroke.

The proper response to these people is mockery, and caustic laughter. You think you're so much smarter and more caring than me, Moonbeam, but I'm not out there arguing that I get your stuff because... well, just because.

This will not end well, especially as the weather turns colder.

Whitehawk said...

I recently had an epiphany.

The 47% (or a faction of them) say hey, you have no right to expect anything from me, i.e. drug testing for if I'm on public assistance, respect the property of others, get an education on your own dime, honestly pursue gainful employment...

Yet they have the greatest of expectations from the 53%er's, i.e. Get a job; create a great job for me, share the profits from your risk, sacrifice and hard work; pay your taxes so I can be taken care of if you let me go when times are lean; pay your taxes so I'll have a nice road to drive on because you know you didn't get where you are on your own; be honest with my money when I put it in your bank (respect my property); Don't ask any questions about my sexuality no matter how it affects society.

A bit hypocritical? Or am I expecting too much?

philmon said...

Nah, it's a pretty decent examination of the coin.