As I look at the state of the nation today I am reminded of a true story of a young girl who resisted her mother’s attempts at a proper upbringing. The young girl was rebellious to the extreme in all aspects of life. The mother advised “get an education”; the daughter dropped out of school. The mother advised “don’t get pregnant”; the daughter was soon with child. The mother advised “get a job”; the daughter refused to hold a job. The mother advised “save your money”; the daughter spent her money- all of it- as she went. The mother advised “marry a good man”; the daughter married a habitual drug user. And the cycle repeated in many other areas.

When time came for the new family (daughter, habitual drug using husband and child) to set up housekeeping, the daughter turned to her mother to finance the transition to an apartment. When bills came past due, the daughter turned to her mother to clean up the mess. When the daughter and her new husband came to their differences, the daughter wanted to move back home. The mother would faithfully go over and help the daughter gather her things and move them back home. By the time the move was complete the daughter had mended the difference with her new husband and wanted to move back. This became a weekly event.

The story continued in this pattern until one day a life changing event took place. When the daughter came to ask the mother for help in another crisis, the mother said “no” and a funny thing happened. The daughter found another way. At the next crisis, the daughter attempted to persuade her mother to come to her aid and again the mother said “no.” The daughter found another way. This cycle repeated a number of times and the result was that the daughter found that she could in fact manage her life without a continued dependency on her mother. The daughter soon found that the way in which her mother tried to raise her was in fact proper and right. The daughter soon adopted the mothers’ value system and they are now the best of friends.

This tale is now being played out today on a national scale. The mother is the government; the daughter is the vast and continuously increasing number of people with an entitlement mentality. The government once said “work, save, invest, and provide for your family’s future” (at the founding of this nation), but the entitlement minded said “no” and soon they became homeless. The government then set up a “temporary” welfare system to help the entitlement minded over their “rough patch” and the entitlement minded recognized a new way of life sans the necessity of laboring for their reward. The ranks of the entitlement minded grew until they became the majority of citizens, thus voting themselves multiple increases in benefits at the expense of the government (read producing citizens since the government can provide nothing that it hasn’t taken from the producers).

The entitlement minded people are now demanding a health care benefit to help perpetuate their self destructive lifestyle at the expense of the young, the productive, and the elderly. The time is now long past due for the government to tell the entitlement minded “NO” so that they, like the daughter in the story, can find another way. Perhaps they’ll find that by working, saving, investing, and providing for their family’s future is indeed a better way in terms of financial stability, societal respect, and self esteem. Does the government have the “sand” to tell the entitlement minded “NO”; not in the progressive culture in which we now live. The government desires to perpetuate the dependency lifestyle of the entitlement minded; they feel it gives them great power to control the lives of a weak willed people.

We have gone to great lengths to reverse travel on the path our Founding Fathers have laid before us. They came from a domineering, powerful central government and gave to us a system of government rooted in liberty and opportunity for all. We are now destroying that freedom by placing our lives in the hands of an incompetent but powerful central government. We are now wasting all the shed blood of those who’ve fought for our freedom since our founding as a nation. We should all be ashamed.

By the way, the daughter has removed the habitual drug user from the role of husband. She is now working at a steady job and planning to continue her education. She is also now married to a military man who is voluntarily defending the liberty of the entitlement minded; will the entitlement minded make the most of that liberty or will they choose a slave-like dependency on the mother government?

The daughter and her family are now looking forward to the purchase of their first home.