By Roy Shockey
Health care legislation coming out of Washington these days proposes to provide cradle-to-grave sustenance for every man woman and child inhabiting these shores regardless of race creed or legal status. Disregard the fact that we know from history that no government including France has ever delivered on such promises. Like the idiots in the movies were willing to pick up the light grenade one more time thinking the next result will somehow be different.
Mom and Dad Save the World is the name of a 1992 movie in which a married couple from Earth is transported to a planet of idiots run by a maniacal emperor whos also an idiot. The problems they face in trying to escape are exacerbated because the planets inhabitants are either too stupid to realize theyre stupid or they know theyre dumb and cant figure out what to do about it.
In one scene an entire army is defeated by a solitary light grenade that causes anyone picking it up to vanish. Everyone knows thats what it does but cant resist picking it up because the words Pick Me Up are engraved on it.
That brings to mind the health care legislation coming out of Washington.
For an example of the light-grenade effect you neednt look far. This newspaper recently reported that Texas should receive close to $4 billion in stimulus money that primarily will maintain a status quo of services by offsetting budgetary shortfalls while producing virtually none of the much-ballyhooed jobs that the nearly $1 trillion bailout bill was designed to create or preserve.
It makes one wonder where and when this spending frenzy will end. When will hard-working citizens look around and realize that enough others are equally fed up that their combined voices will be loud enough to be heard all across this land when they yell Enough!
Enough siphoning money from the pockets of citizens who play by the rules pay their bills plan ahead and work hard just so government can support those who will forever have their hands out.
Enough of government granting rights unto itself that arent in the Constitution and are in opposition to the ones that we possess by virtue of divine endowment not because some politician decided to let us have them.
Enough trying the fill the shallow end of the pool with water from the deep end. The only way for everyone to swim is if we all swim together.
Enough of government trying to tell us how to care for our families. Its time for government to get its boot off our necks and let us keep enough of our own resources so we can care for ourselves. And that goes for our neighbors too. Lets let warm-hearted American men and women care for their fellow citizens in need not some inefficient faceless bureaucracy thousands of miles from home.
Enough of government rewarding failure. Lets encourage accomplishment instead of punishing it. Lets learn from history that human imagination oftentimes reaches beyond the ability to pay. Sometimes you just have to say no to more spending programs.
Lets remind government that we arent its children and that its not its money anyway. Lets elect officials who believe in the power of American commerce and ingenuity to create prosperity and not in the power of government to tax us into it.
Lets stop picking up the light grenade of broken promises and misguided government programs and tell government once and for all No! The time is now.
Mom and Dad please save the world!
Roy Shockey of Keller Texas can be reached at royshockey@aol.com
