You know, I just don’t get it. I thought I did, but I guess
I really don’t. I thought that I had a feel for this country; its moods, its
political leanings, its desires and dreams. I thought that this country, a
country I love dearly, had a natural pendulum that would swing back and forth
socially, culturally and politically. Every few years there would be a massive,
noticeable and shocking swing to one side, then, a few years later, the
pendulum would swing back. Sometimes it would swing back just as noticeably as
the previous swing, but eventually, things would go back to a sense of balanced
normalcy, you know? The country would always find its true north and be set on
a stable course to prosperity, or at least something that resembled it. You can
all think of examples, I’m not trying to give a history lesson here. The heated
rhetoric during the second Bush term was a point where the pendulum swung
pretty drastically and people wanted something different. So, we got it; and
the pendulum swung almost 180 degrees the other way. Fine. That’s how things
go. But now that it had swung that far, I thought it would swing back and
center itself. It. Did. Not.
I don’t understand why. I have some theories tied together
with thoughts from some pretty smart people I know as to why the country
re-elected Barack Obama (I have to admit though, that last part was really
difficult to write). I, like so many others were convinced the country would
right itself and elect Mitt Romney (though he wasn’t the end-all and be-all to
our country’s problems, but he presented a reasoned, moderate approach that
would address some of the fiscal problems we face). Though the election was
close (popular vote), it was a drubbing in the Electoral College. It was a
devastating repudiation of common sense and the ability of the American people
to confront a problem head-on. But the damage wasn’t done simply on the
presidential level. Democrats increased their number of seats in both the U.S.
Senate and the U.S. House. The Republican governor of Puerto Rico was defeated
and the residents of that country voted overwhelmingly for statehood in a (thankfully)
non-binding referendum. Two black House Republicans were defeated (though Allen
West is still contesting the results), potentially leaving only Tim Scott of
South Carolina. Don’t misunderstand me, the Republican party is NOT the savior
of this country, but considering the problems we face, electing more
Republicans nationally would have gone a long way towards righting this ship.
There are viable policy positions from some of the third parties, but as of now
we function under a two-party system so that’s what we have to work with.
In a previous blog entry, I had speculated that there would
be a transformational shift towards a solid center-right populace at the end of
this election. Romney, as a former (?) progressive Republican was well suited
to mount a strong, aggressive campaign that would take the fight to the leftist
progressives. Obama’s policies would be rejected and “balance would be restored
to the force”. I was half-right. The country has been almost solidly consumed
by the consumer-taker mentality,
which, as of this election, makes up 50% of the electorate. Producer-givers
make up only 48%. There is the transformation. President Obama made that same
promise in 2008, but I didn’t believe him (at least not in the way he thought
it would happen). That 48% is a large number no doubt, but still the fact that
it is not a majority is highly disturbing. We have now become a nation divided,
not along party lines, but along attitudinal ones. This will come as no
surprise to many, but now, the future of the country will be fought between consumer-takers and producer-givers. No, these terms are not original, but it will be therapeutic
for me to explain them.
The producer-givers
are the people that Romney represents and who he seems to embody. He seems to
be a caring, giving man who had a great deal of success in his life. Yes, he
had advantages, but everyone has different types of advantages and it comes
down to how you exploit them. He was successful in many things that he did and
was rewarded for it. There is nothing wrong with that. He also seems like a
noble man who loves his country and wanted to help make it better. The 48% who
supported him have similar stories: hardworking people who don’t look to
strangers (in government) to give them something for nothing. Now, Romney
miscalculated about the 47% figure he quoted in that undercover “gotcha” video.
He pegged the number three percentage points too low. There are, and we have
seen it in stark relief, 50% of people, not 47%, who want something for
nothing. It’s as simple as that. Fifty percent said “no” to self-reliance,
personal responsibility, selflessness, and dare I say it: honor and love of
country. That 50% were doing nothing but thinking about THEIR next meal, THEIR
next bill payment, THEIR feelings of “hope” and “change” and how THEY are going
to move “forward”. Not one single second was spent thinking about the trillions
of dollars (can you even contemplate how much that really is??) our posterity
is on the hook for; not one second thinking about the massive yearly deficits
that are due NOW; not one second about increased inflation, taxes and gas
prices; not a single second on the almost constant violations of civil
liberties; and, most disturbing (at least to me as a military veteran), not a
single solitary second on the lives lost by people in the service of this great
country: service members, federal law enforcement officers, contractors and
diplomats. Whether on the Mexican border, in Benghazi, at Ft. Hood, Texas, at
recruiting stations in Arkansas, in Iraq or in Afghanistan (please forgive me
if I’ve neglected to include any other incidences, I’m doing this from memory),
their service has come to naught.
People have died due to the negligence of this
administration and their worldview. People have died. Apparently that does not
mean anything to the 50%.
But I digress.
Those 50% that voted to continue on the same path are the consumer-takers. This term is pretty
self-explanatory. They are focused on and dedicated to enriching themselves
with the least effort possible. They are no better than the fat-cats they rail
against. The only difference is they won’t put in the hard work to one day
become a CEO, CFO or COO. They simply want what they want and expect everyone
to give it to them. They had a candidate who promised to do just that. The
shift has taken place in such a resounding way I am still in a bit of shock. I
was shocked when Obama was elected, but chalked it up to Bush fatigue.
Re-elected? No way in hell. Never happen. The American people can throw a fit
every once in a while, but they are balanced, common sense people. When
Americans see a problem or something not working, they will try to fix it. Not
this time. There’s no way they didn’t see it. They FEEL it everyday for crying
out loud! Then what was it? The country has shifted. It’s not a pendulum swing
thing anymore. It’s a honest-to-God shift. The fundamentals of this country
have shifted from producer-givers to consumer-takers. Of course, there are
still people who are willing to give of their time and work hard, but I have to
say, this must be the first time in the history of this country where the consumer-takers have out-numbered the producer-givers. That is a devastating
realization.
If faced with the fiscal, cultural and political problems
that we have confronted over the past few years hasn’t awoken a spirit of basic
common sense to stop the train while we still can, I’m afraid their may be no
turning back. Maybe we can chip away at the edges and hope for the best, but
the fears of turning into France or Greece may actually be realized soon. I’m
not trying to be tin-foil hat guy and scream about the end of the republic, but
France, to Greece, to Venezuela to Go-knows-what is not an impossible thing to
happen. Americans have a special type of outlook, but, considering this past
election, they are increasingly susceptible to falling down the civilizational
cliff towards a totally statist society. Some may argue we are already there. I
don’t think it is complete, but much of the evidence points in that direction.
Maybe it will be a “new” brand of statism, a sort of “socialism
American-style”. Regardless, it will still be a system that has never worked
and has led to the deaths of countless millions of people and the subjugation
of those still living. That is a truly scary thing, but the foundation has been
laid. The 48%, like me, loves this country and wants the best for it. It is so
demoralizing to see it go in a direction that most reasonable and rational
people see as dangerous. Forget ideology and just look at the numbers:
trillions here, trillions there. We can’t sustain this. Then, look at history,
and not just ours. Finally, look around the world. Where do financial crises
lead? These problems are not solely ideological, though there are “Democratic”
and “Republican” economists (which makes no sense), but the numbers are the
numbers. I would only tell the new 50%: Be careful what you wish for…
God save the Republic.
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