Refer to my inaugural post as to what a right is- A thing inherent to the human condition; The human condition is one of frailty. Those who seek the force of the state to ensure their health have abdicated their life to those who have no vested interest in keeping you alive.
But who does?
Many people nowadays from both sides of the aisle lament the loss of family values while seeking to entirely undermine them, to take the responsibilities of parents to their children, children to their ailing parents, the old from themselves.
How so? Look back a single century ago: Parents had to raise their children and pay for their education from their own pockets, instill their own system of values and beliefs in them, raise them to be responsible adults. The cost if they failed was enormous- when the parent became infirm the child would abandon them and they would most likely die a miserable, lonely death. A person had to be responsible enough to save part of their income if they wanted to be able to handle the rigors of old age and perhaps pass some of that on to their heirs. This fostered a steadiness and responsibility the likes of which are entirely foreign to most modern people, who look to others to pay for their retirement an average 17 years before they pass on.
People don't save, they risk everything on the roulette wheel of the stock market or depend upon the largess of their congresspeople so that they can hop in their Winnebago and head to Arizona. Don't get me wrong, some have earned this through careful management of their money and sacrificing today so they can have what they want tomorrow. Others have decided they can't be bothered with that kind of responsibility, that the government will fund their golden years and then whine when the money they get isn't enough. It's like people have forgotten Aesop's fairytale about the Grasshopper and the Ant: Labor long, save conscientiously, and you can live as you want- spend all you have on today and you will probably starve to death, and deserve it.
The responsibility was all on your shoulders, nobody made you buy that new car instead of a decent used one and pocket the rest of the money away. Nobody made you get the bigger house with a rec room, two living rooms and vaulted ceilings that drive your heating bills sky high, you did that all on your own, grasshopper, and now you wail to the high gods of the government that your check stayed the same this year and you can't afford food. Well, talk to your children.
Oh, wait, your children don't respect you? See you as a burden that someone else can take care of? That was all you, too. You raised your children how you saw fit and apparently forgot to teach them the value of family, that you sacrificed for them and now it is their turn.
I hate to break it to those business conservatives out there, but the truth is that actual conservatism requires a good dose of socialism. No, not on the marketplace, but in the basic family unit. From each according to their ability to each according to their need. Parents must provide for their children when they are young and strong, children must provide for their parents when they have become old and frail. The only place socialism works is in the family, since they actually know the people involved.
Yes, a century ago had poverty. We still do, so obviously that hasn't been solved. But the poverty of a century past was personal, we knew the risks of not having a family to take care of us, of burning bridges and severing ties.
When you take away a person's responsibility to their family a funny thing happens: they accept no responsibility for themselves. After all, when you know someone else will take care of Mom, and someone else will take care of dear old dad, then someone will take care of me, I don't have to do it myself. What nobility!
It's an infection that has destroyed our society, made someone else responsible for everything, and so has created our "victim culture".
Who is a victim: The person who took a mortgage out for $300,000 when they're on food stamps? The African American who refuses to pull his pants up for a job interview? The mid-level manager who has a Mercedes but no furniture and no retirement savings?
These people aren't victims, they're idiots. They knew what was necessary and decided not to do it, they knew what they could afford and decided to be irresponsible. Their parents would be ashamed, but they are too busy whining that Timmy never brings the grand-kids over because he has to work all the time and the government isn't giving them a raise on Timmy and his kids' money.
Look, everyone makes bad decisions, I myself thought I could afford a house and lost everything when I didn't do my homework. MY fault, I was an idiot, not some evil bank following regulations the State forced on it. And though I don't like hearing about million dollar bonuses when I'm broke, I look at the big picture and realize it's not my say. My say is not giving my money to the banks that do that, investing in a local credit union instead of feeding the beast.
The chain of responsibility has been broken by laziness, pure and simple. We don't wanna, let someone else pay for it with their time and money. Well, the bill is starting to come due on that, and it is crushing us. Time for America to man up and sacrifice, or die out.
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