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The Ant and the Tsunami
Victims
USA/Nancy
Salvato |
January 10, 2005
- Bring on the hate mail. I know I’ll be receiving
plenty of it from the people who don’t want to hear what I’m going to say.
To begin with, I’m tired of the hard working people in the United States
playing Atlas to those who don’t plan beyond the moment or to those who
believe that the rest of the world exists to bail them out when they
encounter disaster.
Government spending of citizens’ hard earned tax dollars to bail out every
victim of disaster, poor business practice, or persons lacking in motive to
overcome adversity has led to a greatly expanded welfare state and
unnecessary regulation of private industry predicated on the idea that the
government knows the best way to spend our money and that we exist to take
care of those "deemed” unable to meet the demands of society as we know it.
Communism, which forces individuals to sacrifice their own interests for the
good of the state, was allegedly defeated at the close of the Cold War. Yet
our personal and intellectual freedoms are still under attack by many who
play on the collective guilt of those who have achieved wealth through hard
work and enterprise; suggesting that they be required to contribute a
greater share of their hard earned dollars to take care of those who are not
doing as well -without any expectation of return on their money.
Kerry Sieh, a professor of geology at California Institute of Technology,
"repeatedly warned Indonesian officials that an earthquake and tsunami would
soon strike their shores.” Because these officials weren’t acting on the
warnings, he and his teams began warning people directly. Unfortunately, he
couldn’t reach all of the people in time.
Now I have complete and utter sympathy for the people who have suffered and
lost loved ones due to this tragedy, but I also feel resentment that because
their government didn’t heed the warnings other countries have to bail them
out.
But this is just the tip of the iceberg. On any given day, you can be sure
that people are rebuilding their homes in areas of known mud slides,
hurricane force winds, and tornado alleys. People are eating fast foods, not
taking care of their bodies, and driving cars irresponsibly. While it is no
concern of mine that anyone should want to do such things, it becomes my
burden when the government pays the disaster relief or Medicaid Costs of
those who choose to put themselves in harms way or allows exorbitant
punitive damages to be awarded, raising everyone’s insurance rates.
We should not bail out individuals who do not use "common sense” or
corporations like Chrysler, who didn’t/don’t practice fiscal responsibility.
Who can say what might’ve happened to GM and Ford had we let events unfold
as a true Capitalist society mandates. We should not regulate some areas but
leave others up to chance. The government should not involve itself in areas
of private industry -period.
In a true free market, the cream rises to the top. Others will adjust to
succeed. Those willing to work will survive one way or another. Those truly
unable will be the beneficiaries of the generosity of a people driven to
success.
We are not a welfare state. We are a free country and freedom means that you
can build your house on a cliff or on the shore or even next to power lines.
But with that freedom comes responsibility –for your self. Buy more
insurance, find storage for your valuables on safer ground, but don’t expect
me to pay for your lack of concern or foresight. If I choose to contribute a
sum of money to a charity on your behalf, that is up to me. Not up to the
government.
Should a person be made to feel guilty for living like the Ant instead of
running around like the Grasshopper, who in the original fable dies because
he does not live in a collectivist society which exists to take care of him
no matter what? The moral of that fable is lost when those sworn to uphold
the Constitution no longer believe it protects a person’s individual right
to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Related Reading:
Geologist Gave Repeated Alerts
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,18690-1422669,00.html
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