Free Stuff

Free Stuff

By: David S. Petolicchio

4/25/19

The upcoming presidential election in 2020 promises to be a unique experience as every democrat in history decides it’s their turn to run for president.

As the field for Democrat presidential hopefuls grows, it seems that the socialist agenda is becoming increasingly radical and apparent. We are hearing calls for free college education, Medicaid for all, and open borders. Some candidates are even preparing to make moves to pass sweeping gun regulations if elected. It is easy to discern what is completely unconstitutional and what isn’t. But the greater issue we face is the growing number of Americans who don’t CARE if something is Constitutional or not.

Granted, the issue of government officials disregarding the constitution is nothing new. Politicians are humans, and humans are naturally inclined to seek their own enhanced power. What is changing in the current political climate, is more of an overt disregard for the law and liberty itself. Things that should have at one time, taken us aback, are now common place proposals. The concept that the government should tax the population at a greater rate in order to pay for another portion of the population’s college debt (or any debt, for that matter) should be taboo to even suggest. The principle of individual choice and liberty immediately dies with this proposed change. Why? Because not only would this cause a plummet in educational value, it would burden people with a debt they themselves did not accrue. In other words, one portion of society is stealing from another portion for services that exclusively benefit the former.

Government provided educational services would allow unlimited government interference with regards to curriculum and opens the door to inevitable censorship. It would also create a social entitlement that certain fields of work are a “right”. It would teach society to view the work of someone else as a commodity that society deserves. It would, without a doubt, lead to a form of enslavement of the working class. This principle flows into most issues the democrat party is promoting, the principle that what you do or what you make is not “yours”. It’s a product that is collectively owned and distributed according to the will of the state.

State controlled and rationed Health services, College tuition, and financial support, are in no way aspects of an independent and free society. Instead, it is the rapid devolution into totalitarianism and enslavement of all industries and their employees. It’s a communist style of government that’s ultimately being suggested and, in such systems, there is no compatibility with human rights or liberty. The more government safety nets and regulation you burden on the taxpayer, the less and less individual liberty matters to the collective society. Removing all risks inevitably removed all rewards as well. If something is no longer rewarding or financially productive, who do you think will pursue new and challenging businesses and technology? If there are no rewards for innovations, innovations are unlikely to flourish. These forms of economy create government enslavement and cost the nation countless amounts of technological progress in every sphere of life.

You have a right to your work, you have a right to determine where your money goes, you have a right to choose your destiny, and you have a right to determine who you help. You do NOT have a right to someone else’s work, someone else’s money, or someone else’s rights. We have the honor and privilege of being a society of liberty and risk taking. We have the greatest opportunity to fail, and fail catastrophically in many cases. But we also have the unprecedented opportunity to succeed, advance, innovate, and build a future the likes of which most generations could never achieve. Our country was never designed to be an experiment of enforced equality of outcomes. Our nation was founded on the principle of making your life whatever you wish and happily accepting all the risks that go along with it. Liberty is an adventure.

“I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery.” – Thomas Jefferson