Winning at the Race of Life
by Phil LiberatoreNow that elections are over many people are going to jump straight into analyzing the races, who did what right/wrong and what we can expect from this new House and Senate. There will be plenty of time for that in the next weeks and months, but I want to take a quick time-out to talk about something very close to my heart.
Last weekend at the UCLA-Arizona football game, I had the opportunity as a sponsor to speak to 600 children in the Lift Up America program. For those of you not familiar with LUA, it is a non-profit humanitarian organization that encourages and educates underprivileged youth while providing them opportunities with leading corporations, sports teams, media groups and other non-profits. The whole idea behind LUA is turning these amazing kids into ‘ambassadors of compassion,’ who go back into their neighborhoods and share the things that they have learned with their peers.
The kids were at the game to celebrate their completion of the first level of training, during which they helped clean up city parks, remove graffiti, created a recreation center out of an abandoned building and some of them even returned to school after dropping out. To celebrate their accomplishments, as Ambassadors of Compassion, they were awarded diplomas at pre-game tailgate party and got to run across the field before taking their seats and enjoying the game.
I was personally so encouraged to see so many people going out of their way to help others and it just reinforced in my mind what a great country we live in. After the last few months of political wrangling, I am exhausted from the negativity that surrounds us at election time. I know for some, the result of these elections will bring great joy; for others, dismay. I think we can all agree that regardless of how we lean politically, we can certainly do better as human beings.
I speak only for myself when I say that it is all too easy to expect others to get involved. All too often, the “others” is the government. I can guarantee you that as a community, we can be far more efficient and caring than any government bureaucracy could ever be.
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29 Comments
We, as a society, need to learn that no government can or should try to protect us from all of life’s risks. IT DOESN’T WORK! It only leads to the loss of our freedom, and of our rights. We don’t need our government telling us what kind of light bulbs we can use, or that we must use gasoline mixed with ethanol, or that we must pay taxes to subsidize costly and inefficient solar and wind energy projects, or telling us the right to work is not our right, or what kind of health service we can have, and certainly not who can produce and sell food to us. Less government means more freedom and prosperity for everyone. It is encouraging to see these kids act responsibly and I'm sure it's going to pay off for them in the future. Great job!
The last sentence of this article plays into a theory I have about Socialism in general:
I can guarantee you that as a community, we can be far more efficient and caring than any government bureaucracy could ever be.
The appeal of Socialism to many people is the appeasment of guilt. The homeless get fed, the poor get plasma TV's, everyone gets health care, and the whole world is a happy utopia. We all know this is pure fantasy and can never work – I won't go into the reasons here.
But my theory is this: If corporate profits were not taxed as heavily (more dividends to us), if people didn't have to be taxed so high to pay for all the entitlements our government gives to people – we would be free to be generous to help out the unfortunate. I know that this has problems, too – because there will always be greed, and selfishness – but I do think that today's Socialists do not recognize the greatness of Americans and their capacity to help others and be generous. Indeed, our very president has the lowest opinion of America than any of the previous 44 presidents ever had.
Well, I hate to repeat what Sirpigsalot just said, but again, if we are going to get out of this mess or ANY mess, we need to rely on each other, not the government.
What the Dems did wrong in the last 2 years…..everything.
What the Repubs did wrong in the last 2 years…
1 Not to take the rinos on.
2 They are not vocal enough
3 They are almost as progressive as the Dems.
4 They do not have the balls enough to stand and fight.
And many more.
Corollary: Socialism appeals to the unfortunate because of Pride. Pride prevents them from asking for help, so all the better when a system of goverment provides handouts with no questions asked.
Obama strategy: Make at least 50% of Americans pay no taxes so that they will re-elect him.
Great work Phil.
The theme of this article has come up before, over the years- People helping those in need vs. Government carrying those in need, through dictates and programs.
We already do the prior, so there is no need for the Government to do the latter. We're the most generous Country in the world; to a fault.
Government, especially a socialistic one like the Obama Administration, needs to stay out of it, or we will push them out of it…right, like we just did!
THEY came, WE saw, THEY lost.
There is no mystery here, the people of America have rejected the DNC communists yet again.
I watched Brit Hume's program today about communism. What an eye opener! We have had communism openly infiltrate us for decades! Our own politicians. I just don't get it. Maybe I'm not smart enough and maybe I don't understand the love affair with this totalitarian regime. Why would people want to be controlled by a government? So controlled that they have no freedoms whatsoever.
All I know is our Founding Fathers are rolling in their graves. All their hard work and sacrifices to see these imbeciles join a party like lemmings because of some payola down the road. It makes me want to puke. What is wrong with these people? My relatives where prosecuted, tortured and put to death in a communistic country because they believed in freedom and this country is courting this evil?
My God, wake up America. I found this video to be so powerful and moving: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KGlBHyVeYU
Hey obama… We Won.
What about the people who are not being served by special interest groups, charities, lobbies, or the like? As in, what about the average American? You titled your post "Winning at the Race of Life" and yet you've described a rigged race. It's like how we have so much compassion for people because they have low income, or they're a minority, and in the dogmatic drive to compassion, it's the regular middle-of-the-road kids that get tossed by the wayside. To illustrate this point, look no further than the No Child Left Behind education disaster. That's where bleeding heart compassion gets you. The very idea that society can lift itself up by the bootstraps is nonsense. Communities should serve their own interests, and that means nurturing talent everywhere talent exists, to equilibrium. And of course, it should always be the initiative of the communities themselves, rather than the initiative of "community organizers."
Scans, hands or fines…..I guess I wont fly. The TSA and Big Moma can shove it !
http://johnnyedge.blogspot.com/2010/11/these-even...
…Indeed, our very president has the lowest opinion of America than any of the previous 44 presidents ever had.
…and a pretty low charitable deductions total on his tax returns, if memory serves (as do most lefties, for that matter).
Speaking of which, whatever happened to the $1,000,000 he "won" with his Nobel Prize?
I could be wrong, but I don't recall ever hearing which worthy cause was the recipient of our president's largesse…er, generosity.
Aren't our elected leaders required to give back or donate cash prizes?
I think she is hoping you do it is the only way she can get any
LOL
I guess the corrupt do not know any other way except corruption, even when they are going to be the subject of congressional hearings.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/11/14/rangel...
Way to go Charlie, show everyone just how stupid and corrupt you really are.
Here is a quick analysis of the races: Most of the country voted correctly except in my home state of MA where voter fraud was rampant thanks to Neighbor 2 Neighbor and the rest of the morons who voted on their own volition still voted "D". So much for Scott Brown's win…
Individual Liberty, Personal Responsibility and Self Determination saw this nation prosper more than any civilization in human history.
Progressive politics as the front organization for Communism and Socialism has almost destroyed it in less than a century. An awakening is in action and progressive politics took a heavy blow in 2010 as a result. As we palm our eyes to remove the sleep, the next two years are going to be our morning exercises. Events like this article describes are the jumping jacks that get the blood flowing.
In about 700 days this nation will choose – The Constitution and the principles contained within it either matter, or they don't.
Copper – If you liked that, you might read Ann Coulter's book called "Treason". Great read it is.
When folks argue in Communism's favor, I ask them if they ever watched the show 'Survivor'.
Therein is Communism in action. The strong talented and ambitious are deemed threats and the weak band together to pick them off one by one – and then wonder why they are hungry and cold………..
Great program from what I can tell. We all need to be our own program. Lead by example.
They had better demonstrate some fine tuned vocals at high decibels replaying the sentiment sent to them by grassroots efforts all over this nation over the last two years.
If they do not, they risk actually being finished as a party of anything more than wishy washy, corrupt, career politicians.
Either they stand for the Republic now or they get kicked in the balls in 2012.
Try living in Illinois, where the winning governor only won 3 counties out of 102.
At least you got Scott Brown. Mark Kirk was considered a "win" here. UGH!
Liberals will never enter the race.
Liberals say it is against the law to force them to enter the race….. until age 26 that is, when they have to get off their parents medical.
He actually did announce that he was donating that to a charity or some program somewhere … after 4 or 5 months. You might have missed it; it was easy to do.
I dislike Obama, but he did at least say he was donating that money. Now, whether or not he actually did … well, he told us all we could keep our doctors and health care plans, too.
People want to abdicate all the yucky sides of taking full responsibility. They're happy to cede ever more of those unpleasant burdens to the government. The problem is that they never have a full accounting of what they're giving up until it's too late. The other problem is that we as a society have been living too fat and sassy for too long. There are plenty of people who think we're living in the next Great Depression when it really hasn't gotten anywhere near that bad for them, yet. Wait until the government collapses financially, but by then it will be too late, for all of us.
It's hard to articulate the idea of "infiltrate back" as a rallying cry for the Right.
Since we are in a post-Christian culture that used to organize around its churches and their ministry to close-knit communities, it will be hard to imitate the Left's success in community organizing based on a common misery or outrage (which successfully integrated many community churches.)
Communal promotion of positive ideas and success that calls for actually creating things instead of tearing down things may be more than a mentally and spiritually flabby populace can muster.
I recall him saying that, too. From a political standpoint, he virtually had to donate that money. Here's Obama, after only a few months in office – having accomplished virtually NOTHING – and he is awarded the Nobel Prize. Keeping the money for himself would be the same as agreeing that he deserved it, when it was clear to even the most obtuse vegetable citizens that he did not.
Now, pardon me – I need to get an Oil Change for my car today. They're running a special: Free Nobel Prize with Oil & Lube Service!
FOCUS!!! Democrats and their insane, evil enablers have broken the model. Time to delete and restore…two ICBMs off our shores is reason enough. No detection, no prevention, no response, no old media, non sequitor…fix what is broken or die under our enemies' jack boots. Fair WARNING!
Yeah…he said he was donating it.
I was asking whether he actually has donated it.
Google it – there are no news reports of his actually having made good on his promise.
And how long's it been now?
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