The Critic

What are we to make of the seemingly incessant left-wing chorus and their proclamations about how issues are being addressed by Sweden, or France, or some other country that they believe possess an enlightenment that is light-years beyond our own? If the subject is healthcare, then the Left will proclaim that there are surveys showing that 37 other countries provide better health care to their citizens than does the United States. If the issue is religion, there will be countless refrains about the benefits of secularism on display in Europe. When the subject of education is brought up, there are multitudes of tsk-tskers at the ready to tell anyone who will listen how great the educational system is in England, in Asia, or in Norway.

It doesn’t matter what the subject matter is, the stentorian Left are always there to dismiss American accomplishments, American leadership, and above all, American exceptionalism. And why not? Hasn’t it always been thus? Haven’t the weak always resented the strong? Aren’t the anti-American Americans really just parroting the sentiments of certain factions who have consistently found themselves in second place (or third place, or last place) when measured against American accomplishment? Ever since Farmer Cain slew Abel, the Hunter, there has existed a resentment, fomented by envy, among those who are weak against those who are strong. It exists today in many forms, in many quarters, just as it did one hundred years ago.

In 1910, at the Sorbonne, in Paris, Teddy Roosevelt gave a speech which has come to be known as “Citizenship in a Republic.” It is also known as “The Critic,” and I submit that this speech thoroughly highlights the difference between Left and Right:

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”

While America may not be ranked at the very top of the survey in infant mortality, or have the absolute highest life expectancy, or the lowest crime rate, if you were to categorize every single, measurable factor, including freedom, liberty, opportunity, charity, and general goodwill toward her neighbors, it is abundantly clear that she deserves the title of Greatest Nation on Earth. It is indisputable. Ask the millions and millions who have immigrated to America, and consider the scores who have died trying. Who continue to die trying.

Better still, perhaps, would be to ask those on the Left -- those who are extraordinarily lucky enough to call themselves Americans -- why they persist in actively working to transform America into something that resembles a socialist nation. Perhaps they can explain why they want the preeminent global superpower to stand down, to ignore her glorious past and dismiss her awe-inspiring potential in order to focus on...being more Euro-centric and embracing an ideology of abject failure.

Although she has occasionally stumbled along the way, overall there is no nation on earth that can lay claim to the depth and breadth of greatness that is America. In fact, no nation has yet existed which surpasses America insofar as the freedoms of her people and her contributions to mankind, as a whole. This is no sycophantic boast, no mere wish borne of blind allegiance; this is a studied, reasoned and objective statement of fact. It is, therefore, extraordinarily fascinating -- continually, perpetually, absolutely, really and truly fascinating -- how so many people can continue to believe that Socialism is the answer to any problem. I mean, how much evidence is needed that Socialism is, at best, immoral, and at worst, evil? Even the Soviets and the East Germans wised up, eventually. China -- CHINA!! -- is today dabbling in free-market capitalism. This from a nation that has long labored under Socialism’s “big brother,” Communism. They have lived under Socialism taken to its logical conclusion and found it wanting!

So, what is it that compels certain Americans in general, and most Liberals in particular, to have this deep, emotional attachment to Socialism? What are the common denominators? Have they been denied an education? Raised in a cave? Suffered a severe head injury? What is it, exactly, that makes a person continue to believe that Socialism is a good thing when overwhelming evidence exists to contradict that belief?

I do not know. I really have no idea. Maybe they just like to criticize.

Welfare

Assertion: Everyone needs a little help from time to time, and sometimes, when all else fails, that help may need to come from the government. When that happens, we mustn’t blindly throw money at people; we must educate them, or help them find job training or apprenticeships. We must also ensure accountability: Recipients of government assistance must demonstrate that they are serious about finding employment, and welfare agencies must also show a determination to help those who are willing to help themselves. As such, any person who receives money in any form from a welfare agency should be subject to random drug testing and/or alcohol screening. An inability to pass either of these tests will disqualify most people from any job that requires it; that failure should also result in the instant disqualification of eligibility for future welfare assistance. The government has no business enabling reckless and self-defeating behavior, however, anyone can make a mistake. Upon the successful completion of a drug or alcohol treatment program the former enrollee may petition for reinstatement, but only once: Any subsequent relapse will irrevocably disqualify them from all future participation in any government-funded assistance program of any kind. Welfare should be used as a hand up, not as a lifetime hand-out. It should in no way enable a permanent lifestyle choice.

Why This Is Important: America has long been called “The Land of Opportunity,” and rightly so. We do our citizens no favors by encouraging a perpetual reliance upon “the Government,” nor are we helping those who need assistance by ignoring the issues which contribute to the problem in the first place. Those who end up on welfare rolls often do so as a result of failures upstream, and most are typically related to two things: family strife or a failed education. Often, the two are interrelated. If we really want to help our fellow man, and we are determined to use public funds to do so, we must ensure that we are addressing the core problems and not burying them under money and bureaucracy.

Constitutional Basis: There is no constitutional basis for government assistance, although it does exist in many forms. Our position is that welfare should be a matter for State governments, not the Federal government, and that in any event assistance should be rendered judiciously.

Quote: "...[T]he government of the United States is a definite government, confined to specified objects. It is not like the state governments, whose powers are more general. Charity is no part of the legislative duty of the government.” – James Madison

Voting

Assertion: "Citizen" is defined as a person owing loyalty to a state or nation. A citizen is entitled, by birth or naturalization, to the protection of said state or nation, and is further defined as someone who is entitled to vote.

Only U.S. citizens should be allowed to participate in American elections. If you want to vote, you must be able to provide proof of U.S. citizenship, which may be accomplished by registering to vote and presenting a valid picture ID at the polling station.

Why This Is Important: When the voting process is compromised, a nation’s identity becomes diluted. In essence, shared values become corrupted when those who do not share those values are allowed to infiltrate and influence the election process. Therefore, only those who have an allegiance to America should have a say in deciding what is best for America. American citizens are uniquely prepared to make such decisions, as only they are fully and completely aware of the history and the traditions which have kept America free, safe and secure for over two hundred years.

Constitutional Basis: The Constitution contains numerous references to the rights of “citizens of the United States,” and four amendments deal directly with voting: The 15th, the 19th, the 24th, and the 26th Amendments declare that race, sex, wealth, or age will not be used to discriminate against “the right of citizens of the United States” to vote in U.S. elections. Visitors, tourists, temporary workers, migrant workers, guest workers and all other persons who are not U.S. citizens do not have the right to vote and may not vote in U.S. elections.

Quote: “Your every voter, as surely as your chief magistrate, exercises a public trust.” – Grover Cleveland

Social Security

Assertion: That we should all save some portion of our earnings for future needs is a fundamental tenet of financial freedom, and all U.S. citizens should have a mechanism through which they are able to do so. The funds supplied to Social Security via a tax on working Americans and their employers have been pillaged by Congress, redirected to other entitlement programs to the point where the Social Security program itself is in danger of collapse.

Why This Is Important: If we ignore the gathering storm we do so at our own risk. We must make plans, now, to begin to prepare for our own individual retirements, and transitioning a small part of what is currently being taken by the Government to individual retirement plans is vital to the financial independence of every American. We mustn’t let scare tactics and fear-mongering paralyze us from implementing common-sense solutions to our own financial security.

Constitutional Basis: There is no constitutional basis for Social Security; the Social Security Act itself is unconstitutional.

Quote: “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.” – Winston Churchill