What would you do if you could not fail? If you had backers with enough money to correct any of your mistakes and teachers who would explain each failure to you to avoid future losses; what would you do?
Would you stay at home and collect food stamps and government welfare? Or would you get up and get to it? Strange as it may sound, not everybody would be attracted to working the long hours and dealing with multiple failures if they could avoid it all by staying home and watching television or playing on a computer. Everybody has a different definition of success and a comfortable life. Everybody has separate expectations for outcomes affecting their lives.
What would you do if you were guaranteed you would be successful at least 50 percent of the time? How about if you were successful 25% of the time?
For example, how many of you have a place you would like to visit or a sight you would like to see? Do you have a long term goal for visiting or seeing this place? Do you stand more of a chance of seeing this place if you have a plan or should you rely on hope for it to happen? If you have a plan, do you carry around a photo/description or a 3x5 card listing this location? Do you wake every morning thinking of this place?
I know a lady who for years wanted to see the Mona Lisa in Paris. She developed a plan and worked her plan. The day she stood in front of this famous painting she reports crying in joy at seeing this remarkable piece of art. Understand she was not an artist or an art connoisseur; she just wanted to see this painting. There is no additional money in seeing the art, her business did not grow from seeing the art, but she considers herself richer for having gone to Paris to see the Mona Lisa. She had a plan and she worked her plan to success.
By now you are wondering if I will ever get to the point. The point is we all have different needs, different goals and different abilities. We have different work ethics, different skill sets, and different levels of stamina. We all have a different “bucket list.” Thus, the problem many have with big government.
The problem we have is with bureaucrats determining what is best for us. The problem with conformity is most will be left unsatisfied. Our Founding fathers understood this concept when writing the Constitution. If the Government decides, then … what chance does a person have for developing his own goals, own lifestyle and own way of life?
By definition Government is too big, too inflexible and too organized to monitor every person’s dream. In a Socialist Society only the elite will visit museums in other countries. The working class needs to be at home working on projects decided by the central planners. A Government big enough to give you everything is big enough to take it all away.
The question might be as we go into this election period: who will control your dreams, who will control your goals, and who will control what is in your heart?
People come to the United States seeking freedom. Freedom is not a thing, a job
or a place. It is the ability to dream, to plan and then work your plan for your benefit. Sorry, Harry Reid, I don’t think you and your pals have a big enough heart to work my plan. Actually, I don’t think you or your friends can dream my dreams. Harry and his friends may think my dream is a waste of time. But Harry and friends cannot understand the joy of having a dream and working it to success. That is why our Constitution guarantees individual freedoms.
The Constitution protects our dreams.
If you have opposing views, perhaps you should start your own blog on this site. Also, if you don't want to read John Webb's blogs, I suggest you refrain from clicking on them.
Since it seems clear that you have some sort of need to denigrate and impugn others who happen to have views that differ from yours, I suppose it will be pointless for me to attempt to engage with you further. I think that's unfortunate, because I might have been able to learn something from you had you been willing to be just a bit more civil.
Here; I've given you all this box. I call it capitalism. Do what you can to live within it would ya!?
Family values is another thing that needs to be worked on. Negative politics and the politics of personal destruction (ruining marriages, ending careers, making people's lives hell), while already being unconstitutional its inhuman regardless of origin. There needs to be good to defeat the evil in this society. Opportunity shouldn't be a cliff for fools. President Harry Truman's phrase, "The Buck Stops Here." had meaning. Imagine that he were President today. How do you think he would handle the issues that face us?
Those men, as well as many who supported their efforts, paid very steep prices, indeed, for what, at the time, was considered high treason against the Crown. They certainly had much to gain, but they also had much to lose and some did lose quite a lot in supporting independence when the far safer, and more lucrative, course would have been to remain loyal the king. Still, whomever may have authored the Constitution, its primary purpose was (and remains) to deliniate limits on the general (federal) government and, in so doing, to ensure that the people retain the greatest control possible over that government and, thus, their lives. In my view, such a document is just as necessary today as it was at our founding...perhaps even more so. What has become more necessary still, is our understanding of the true role and purpose of the U.S. Constitution and our ability to perceive that a good deal of the challenges in our nation today are, I believe, directly related to our failure, as a people, to abide by the Constitution more rigidly than we have been. Were we to re-construct our federal government according to the limits currently specified in our Constitution, the federal government would be about half the size and about half as costly and about 3/4 less intrusive than we have allowed it to become. I think that is *very* important to understand.
So, Mr. Webb, Does having a plan to see a faraway place or ‘a thing’ include attractions in Iraq or Afghanistan? Or any of the other areas of the world ravaged in our defense of commerce? Is a Government that is ‘Too big’ the very same government that conservatives grew by 800K defense jobs since 2001? What if my goal was to sit on the beach every day in the neighborhood I grew up in? Can I put that on 3X5 card and carry it around with me? What successes do you that is likely to present in our modern society? Bah! The sooner you Baby-Boomers who’ve suckled the nipple of society by utilizing its public schools, driving on its roads, shipping their goods and traveling via its ports die, the better. Sorry for the bluntness but, by and large your generation has been a complete and utter disaster! Bucket lists, Ha!
You never answered this question. Your eloquent and historical analysis are nice to read, but I personally was looking for specifics in regards to modern times. Decentralization has always been a cherished item for Bob Dole lovers, "I carry a copy of the 10th Ammendment in my front pocket." The constitution does matter. I admire your historical reference of dissent from the throne and the punishment that was handed down as a result. That pain that was felt from our founding fathers is exactly the reason why they wrote the Bill of Rights. In my mind creating sustainable high quality jobs affords careers and validates a free market system. Energy when cultivated from American resources provides an avenue for that. That's my imaginary win! Whats yours?
I strongly believe, as the motto for the former "United States Magazine and Democratic Review" suggested, that the best government is that which governs least. This, I feel, is particularly true of the federal government, which was only and always intended to have the power and authorites that we specifically enumerate for it in the Constitution and not one single power or authority beyond those. If government is to be involved in anything else, it should, indeed, must, occur at the State and local levels, or not at all. If we want the federal government to have powers or authorities outside of those currently enumerated, we must do the political heavy lifting necessary to amend the Constitution to confer them.
Former President Bill Clinton spoke in his autobiography My Life about deficit reduction. "That deficit reduction is not an end in itself, but the means to achieve the real objectives - economic growth, more jobs, and higher incomes." That was when the deficit was much less and manufacturing was more. It's not that I don't agree with you it's that I don't know how you could responsibily get there. Is it possible to govern least with so many reaching out?
Some States will continue to regulate business (including manufacturing) to the excessive degree that the Fed currently does, but most States will not. Business, including manufacturing, will increase in the States which tax and regulate less. As the business climate improves, expansion will occur and this will, in turn, stimulate job growth, getting more people back to work and off unemployment and other social safety net programs. As more people become employed, overall economic activity will improve across all sectors...housing...finance...agricultural...transportation, etc. As tax revenues increase in the States with lower taxes and less regulation (recall that the Fed will not need more because we have shrunk it back to its proper size and scope) real prosperity in the U.S. can begin anew. Some States will try to continue to strangle business through excessive taxes and regulations. They will begin to suffer economically without the Fed there to prop them up and will quickly come to change their ways so as to join in on the new prosperity. Those in need will still find help, but within their own States and localities as is appropriate.
Steve F'n G: I think you are wrong. A bucket list and a 3x5 card removed me from the farm labor camp in which I was born. The United States Marine Corps gave me an opportunity to own more than one shirt, one pair of Levi's and one pair of shoes. They also paid for my trip to Vietnam, I had never been there. The CHP gave me an opportunity to attend school during the day while I served the community at night. The number of small businesses I owned gave me a chance to understand what success and failure feel like; sometimes in the same day. My days as a Robbery/Homicide detective gave me insights as to what drives people. It also gave me a strong understanding of self justification for acts not in the public good. My days as a Corporate Executive gave me a view from 35,000 ft. where I could look down and see what the efforts of a single person could have on an organization. I am always amazed at some person who comes up with a new idea and improves the lives/businesses of thousands. Now I'm back to running a small business. I think you may be right about my generation. Out of space, see next box for where we went wrong.
While your personal list of accomplishments might be impressive in your own mind, our society does not fit into a tidy little box. What drove you or made you feel the steps you decided to take in your own life are the steps that must be traced by the remainder of society to be look at as successful. While it's easy to say thing like 'The United States Marine Corps gave me an opportunity to own more than one shirt' that is not the case. The taxpaying citizens of the US 'gave you the opportunity to own more than one shirt'. Your benevolent view our system of capitalism which repeats itself over and over in your posts is incredibly one sided. Saying things like “The number of small businesses I owned gave me a chance to understand what success and failure feel like” without mentioning most small business are attended to with some type of government assistance, whether it be a straightforward subsidy or via tax breaks and incentives. All of which you systematically seem to overlook. Continuing, “My days as a Corporate Executive gave me a view from 35,000 ft.” as to refer to those on the ground in terms of size and influence as an ant farm, with you’ as the ‘master organizer’. You have to dig a little deeper my friend, from where I stand, you’re incredibly one dimensional.
My generation is looking at yours (and has for some time) with under disbelief, for what an astronomical clusterfu-Q you’ve made out of modern society. Top to bottom, the services that were available to you as a child aren’t available to mine or to my sons. Or if they were available to us, they were provided at a diminished capacity. Most of this is mainly due to the lack of regular maintenance of your beloved ‘constitution’. The disposable generation you’ve created in your absence of parenting on your quest to look over the minion from 35,000 feet. John, do you look at the ‘opportunity’ that the Marines provided for the people of Vietnam to have their villages carpet bombed from 35,000 feet (total coincidence) as an opportunity, because it wasn’t available to them prior? Kind of a twisted view of yours that it bore mention that going to Vietnam for a war created by western capitalism “paid for my trip to Vietnam, I had never been there” (Oh joy, should I pack my good shoes the Marines bought for me?). I’m just guessing that the children that are there making your Jeans and T-shirts now, would have taken up a collection to get you that fancy pair of jeans you always wanted!
It’s only ironic that the US is now taking action to clean up the Agent Orange we sprayed all over the country (of course starting with the air surrounding a major airfield). As the Military Industrial Complex is now asserting itself in the ‘theater’ of East Asia as the separation left by you and your ‘colleagues’ last trip to the continent seems to be narrowing. But this is a conversation for another thread… Regards, Stevie
My own bio and columns, here, should help you get a handle on where I am coming from in the realms of both politics and government. If, after having read those, you remain uncertain, feel free to ask for clarification.
Perhaps if you would find a way to modify your tone when addressing people with whom you disagree, others might be willing to do the same where you are concerned.
Webb article word count: 650 Marc's whining word count in response: 1161 Perhaps Marc would be more content writing his *own* column, than spending so much time bashing the sincere efforts of others.