disorderlyvision
08-04-2009, 12:20 PM
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/op_ed/view.bg?articleid=1188964&srvc=rss
Last Friday marked the 200th anniversary of the letter from Gen. John Stark to his fellow soldiers of the American Revolution, a letter that gave New Hampshire its motto.
Unable to attend a reunion of his fellow soldiers, Stark sent this message: “Live free or die! Death is not the worst of evil.”
Two centuries ago, this was a call to honor. Today, it’s borderline hate speech.
Just ask the Governor’s Task Force for the Recruitment and Retention of a Young Workforce for the State of New Hampshire. Their report says the motto “doesn’t connect with this demographic.” It includes citizen complaints that the motto sends “an unfriendly message that every individual has to succeed on their own, rather than count on a support system for assistance (Live Free or Die is not a friendly, supporting message that appeals to young people).”
Ah, the poor things. Well, any college grad too scared by the motto should polish up his Obama/Biden bumper sticker, jump in his Toyota Yaris and move to Massachusetts.
Our motto: “Happily Collecting Sales And Income Taxes From Anyone Dumb Enough To Move Here.”
While few workers are making career decisions based on a state’s license plate art, the message that “every individual has to succeed on their own” is more than just unfriendly to the typical Obamafied 20-something. It’s terrifying.
Is there any value more antithetical to what President Obama is trying to achieve than self-reliance? From the biggest New York banks to the littlest town budgets, Obama has announced that nobody is free to fail (except, of course, Rush Limbaugh).
That’s the core premise of Obamacare: Nobody should “live free” to be responsible for his own medical care.
Instead, you’ll be forced to buy a medical plan of which Nancy Pelosi approves and you’ll also be responsible to chip in another $1.3 trillion for the guy across the street.
Isn’t that guy “free” to take care of his own medical bills? Sure - just like he’s always been free to trade in his clunker for a new car. But why should he have to rely on himself when Obama’s willing to send a check?
There was a time - only a year ago - when the American system was to leave automakers free to build cars people wanted to buy, and leave customers free to buy them. Back then, as John Fund of The Wall Street Journal points out, if a guy dumped his gas-guzzling Dodge for a 41 mpg Prius, all he got for his trouble was a smile from Al Gore and a tax bill from Massachusetts.
Today, if his neighbor trades out of a 19 mpg Ford for a 23 mpg Kia, he gets a government check out of the deal. Well he did until the entire program was faced with collapse after just four working days.
The Cash for Clunkers debacle has reportedly raised doubts about Washington’s ability to run the health care system. What we’re overlooking is how awful the Clunkers program is when it does succeed. It’s the government car-jacking the cash of one citizen to give to another, in a shameless bid to buy votes and reward special interests - in this case, the United Auto Workers.
Living free was once a cause worth dying for. Today, a nation of O-bots wants to live for free on someone else’s dime, and they’re waging political war to get it.
Last Friday marked the 200th anniversary of the letter from Gen. John Stark to his fellow soldiers of the American Revolution, a letter that gave New Hampshire its motto.
Unable to attend a reunion of his fellow soldiers, Stark sent this message: “Live free or die! Death is not the worst of evil.”
Two centuries ago, this was a call to honor. Today, it’s borderline hate speech.
Just ask the Governor’s Task Force for the Recruitment and Retention of a Young Workforce for the State of New Hampshire. Their report says the motto “doesn’t connect with this demographic.” It includes citizen complaints that the motto sends “an unfriendly message that every individual has to succeed on their own, rather than count on a support system for assistance (Live Free or Die is not a friendly, supporting message that appeals to young people).”
Ah, the poor things. Well, any college grad too scared by the motto should polish up his Obama/Biden bumper sticker, jump in his Toyota Yaris and move to Massachusetts.
Our motto: “Happily Collecting Sales And Income Taxes From Anyone Dumb Enough To Move Here.”
While few workers are making career decisions based on a state’s license plate art, the message that “every individual has to succeed on their own” is more than just unfriendly to the typical Obamafied 20-something. It’s terrifying.
Is there any value more antithetical to what President Obama is trying to achieve than self-reliance? From the biggest New York banks to the littlest town budgets, Obama has announced that nobody is free to fail (except, of course, Rush Limbaugh).
That’s the core premise of Obamacare: Nobody should “live free” to be responsible for his own medical care.
Instead, you’ll be forced to buy a medical plan of which Nancy Pelosi approves and you’ll also be responsible to chip in another $1.3 trillion for the guy across the street.
Isn’t that guy “free” to take care of his own medical bills? Sure - just like he’s always been free to trade in his clunker for a new car. But why should he have to rely on himself when Obama’s willing to send a check?
There was a time - only a year ago - when the American system was to leave automakers free to build cars people wanted to buy, and leave customers free to buy them. Back then, as John Fund of The Wall Street Journal points out, if a guy dumped his gas-guzzling Dodge for a 41 mpg Prius, all he got for his trouble was a smile from Al Gore and a tax bill from Massachusetts.
Today, if his neighbor trades out of a 19 mpg Ford for a 23 mpg Kia, he gets a government check out of the deal. Well he did until the entire program was faced with collapse after just four working days.
The Cash for Clunkers debacle has reportedly raised doubts about Washington’s ability to run the health care system. What we’re overlooking is how awful the Clunkers program is when it does succeed. It’s the government car-jacking the cash of one citizen to give to another, in a shameless bid to buy votes and reward special interests - in this case, the United Auto Workers.
Living free was once a cause worth dying for. Today, a nation of O-bots wants to live for free on someone else’s dime, and they’re waging political war to get it.