Cracking
the Chocolate Covered Nut
Deborah
Venable
1/09/03
With a little in-depth thought, confusion about what is wrong in
America today melts away like the chocolate surrounding a nut. All you gotta do is hold it your mouth for a
little while and the chocolate/confusion is all gone. What you have left to deal with is the nut in the center, or
problem/reward, however you choose to view it.
One thing is sure, though.
Dealing with the nut takes sinking your teeth into it and enjoying the
rewards of finishing off the problem.
Now, any nut can be covered in chocolate, just as any problem can
be confused to the point that finding a solution for it seems impossible. Something else comes to mind also. Generally speaking, the smaller the
nut/problem, the more chocolate/confusion we find surrounding it. The really big nuts/problems will be obvious
and easy to identify. (Who can’t
recognize a chocolate covered Brazil nut for instance?) So, believe it or not, the big problem of
big government is very easy to identify.
Big government is a big problem because we, the people, are over-funding
it! See how simple that is? Let it sit there in your mouth awhile and
soon that thin coat of chocolate will melt away to expose the nut that you
really have to get your teeth into.
The government does not have any money of its own. All it has is a coerced, never ending
funding source – us! It grows bigger as
we grow ever smaller in importance to it.
As more and more of the people place themselves on the receiving end of
government benefits, they cease to pose any threat to a gluttonous entity that
feeds on people’s perceived needs – whatever those might be. Meanwhile the only real needs or rightful
expectations of American citizens get ignored.
In a free and self-governing society, the people need and have a right
to proper representation, justice from a sensible set of laws, and protection
from being invaded and taken over by a foreign government. That’s all, folks! Those things do not exist in America today. We are not properly represented, we are not
guaranteed justice because too many laws are not sensible, and we are being
invaded daily and taken over by foreign governments and their un-American
cultures. The kicker in all this is
that we are continuing to pay for our own assault.
Okay, now that the chocolate is all gone, can we begin to sink
our teeth into the nut? To answer this
question, imagine yourself in the situation of having to explain how America
works as opposed to how it was originally designed to work to someone who knows
absolutely nothing about the philosophy of a self-governing society. Where would you begin? Perhaps more importantly, what goals would
you hope to attain in your explanation?
Would you wish to convey to this person the moral supremacy of limited
government and individual sovereignty, or would you rather extol the
“wonderful” benefits of America’s current entitlement programs? You can’t have it both ways. I think, when you really sink your teeth
into this problem, you can’t help but reach the honest conclusion that the
American people have, for the most part, exactly what we thought we wanted, but
it sticks in the craw of everyone eventually that it came with a huge price; a
price that many of us are no longer willing to pay – if we ever were. The nut is hard. It makes our teeth hurt, and what’s more, the taste is very
bitter. Is it any wonder that it was
fed to us with a sweet chocolate coating?
April is just around the corner.
Americans have been programmed for years to turn their attentions to
their “personal tax liabilities” at the beginning of each new year. How timely that our government officials
begin the arduous process of battling among themselves over the government
budgets, and any proposed “tax cuts” designed to stimulate America’s economy. Simultaneously we are expected to consider
our own tax liabilities and the “needs” of government to handle a growing list
of domestic problems and provide the oil for the machinery of war. How dare we consider our own needs first! And, just what are those “needs” folks? Do we need to make sure that our banks won’t
fail, our poor won’t suffer, and our country won’t falter in the world
markets? Do we need to make sure that
our property will be secure from own government, our own children won’t starve,
and that they can expect to have a future in a country that respects individual
sovereignty? How can we possibly fit
all these concerns into our busy, everyday lives of pursuing happiness? We don’t have to concern ourselves with any
of it if we just let the government do it for us – for a price of course. Isn’t that what we have done for
decades? We pay the price in liberty
and money, don’t we? April is just
around the corner. A great majority of
folks look forward to “tax time” as the time that the government sends out
refund checks. Hot dog!
Yummy! Taste that sweet,
chocolate coating? We are putty in the
hands of bureaucrats everywhere. New
year – new license requirements. New
year – get those tax returns sent off early.
New year – new laws. New year –
new bureaucrats elected and appointed to fill old and new positions in big
brother government. Tax cuts? What’s that? We don’t need no steenkin’ tax cuts man – just keep those
government programs coming and add my name to the list of entitlement
seekers. Oh, and by the way, go kick
ass somewhere and show the world that America don’t take no crap, man! See why the problem has grown into such a
tough nut to crack?
Solving this problem within the current system seems impossible –
especially since everyone does not see the problem the same way – much less the
solution. Those who are saying that the
income tax system has to go are definitely on the right track. Those who hail tax cuts as the answer are not
being honest. They are the ones who
want it both ways. Those who believe
the problem won’t get worse are dreaming.
The fate of America, including the security of her citizens, the health
of her economy, and the future of her children, hinges on slaying the monster
of big government and accepting nothing more or less from the morally superior
limited government outlined in our Constitution. Solving the problem requires that we expect nothing more than
proper representation, justice from a sensible set of laws, and protection from
being invaded and taken over by a foreign government. If you think that you are entitled to anything else, then you are
part of the problem, and the problem will be impossible to solve.
Has the chocolate melted yet?