So then, if the three of you haven't figured it our yet, I'm a bit of an odd duck. For further proof please keep reading.
I don't order items off the "Senior Menu" in restaurants, not because I'm pretending not to be old when I am, but because I don't want others subsidizing my purchases. If I get a break, someone else gets a "non-break" as it were. Maybe when I'm on a fixed income and things are truly tight financially, but not now while I'm gainfully employed and can afford to buy my own lunch. While trying to figure out a way to retire ASAP I noticed that, on a retirement income, my wife and I could get insurance for $33 a month. That's thirty three dollars. not $330.00. This would make retirement close to doable but it ain't gonna happen. There is a movement afoot to grab all the freebies you can and just play the system for all it's worth. Why keep fighting when giving up is so easy and so lucrative. Just relax and let the government take care of you like so many of our countrymen have done. The problem is I'm smart enough to see that letting the government take care of me means asking them to take money from others and give it to me. In the case of health care it's pretty much milking the young folks to subsidize the older. A tempting proposition if one isn't particularly concerned about the loss of individual freedoms and liberty in general. As it turns out, I am interested in these things and I refuse to hand the government more power than it already has by playing along with their power grabbing ways. Sure, I could let others pay for my insurance and use that "extra income" to buy nicer cars and bigger TV sets. A kind of personal bait and switch if you will. Get help with the insurance from other hard-working Americans, then shift the money that I would have had to spend on health care over to a miscellaneous fund to buy electronic gadgets and such. What a deal. Except for the ones paying for my insurance. But then they don't really have a choice since the Supreme Court decided the government can force you to play the game. This is a game I refuse to participate in. I can afford health insurance if I sacrifice certain other luxuries. And that will lighten the tax load on the younger generation which, it appears, will be drowning in their elders' debts as they try to build their futures. There are better ways to improve the health care situation than single payer socialized approaches. And for a moment let's pretend there aren't; still, our Constitution is too valuable to the survival of our free and prosperous nation to trample it underfoot for the sake of someone's idea of what's fair. If someone who is driving a beater and only has one 32" flat screen in their house, a house that is sufficient but not exorbitant, and who is not refusing to work when they are capable, needs some help with their insurance premiums then, by all means, society should have a mechanism to help them. But offering someone with sufficient means a subsidized plan for $33 dollars a month by way of taking money from other people is simply stupid and self-destructive. Self-destructive to a free nation, but empowering to the ruling class.
Do you remember back to times in your life when someone said something to you that reflected poorly on you and it hurt your feelings to hear it. You know, when someone pointed out a behavior or action you had taken that was inappropriate or rude. Maybe you just didn't recognize the hurtful nature of your words because you had grown used to hearing them sent your way as you were growing up and you had drained them of any real meaning long ago. So here you are, embarrassed by a friend who has confronted you about your hurtful actions and you are feeling very defensive all of a sudden and blurt out a long wordy sentence that when boiled down means simply, "Oh ya, well uh-uh" For some reason this seems to move you past the uncomfortable confrontation for the moment and your day continues on. Over the next few days, as the emotion evaporated from the situation and you are left with just the facts of what was said you realize your friend was not only right, but also courageous when he approached you about this. You see that you were in fact in the wrong and that there is an apology waiting to be delivered. You are faced with the fact that you have acted poorly and it hurts but the hurt leaves in its wake a better, more compassionate person who is more ably equipped to deal with people in a more appropriate manner. What has just been described is a normal part of the maturing process. If you've never experienced this, you are either a product of an incredible upbringing or you don't have any real friends.
Now, let's say that when you cross that line that your parents or a friend should challenge you on, instead of being met with a challenge you are given an excuse. Instead of that knot in your stomach that will only go away when you have apologized you are told that your behavior is completely understandable and is, in fact, appropriate because of some past situation and some real or perceived injustice that you have endured; although the person you have truly offended and hurt was not directly involved or even aware of this past wrong that has occurred. Instead of maturing into a thoughtful, compassionate and loving individual who is an asset to your family, community and society at large, you become a special case. You are part of a family of "special cases" who are immune from the scrutiny that others are subject to because of your special status. Any attempt to hold you accountable as an equal is quickly attacked by the media due to years of indoctrination by most of society. Think of the incredible athletes who are identified at a young age and who grow up in a very different world than the majority of us due to people's reaction to their abilities. While not precisely the same it is a similar situation. In the interest of brevity I will not explore to what extent the whole of our current society may in fact be less than fully matured, but will leave my comments focused on our precious group of victims who will never have the opportunity to mature because of their value to the ruling class in our country.
Thanks, and have a great day. I mean, if you want to. I'm not trying to tell you what to do because I hate women or anything. No really. Oh well, think what you must.
