“Free stuff” is an aphrodisiac; it is like honey to a bear – who can forget the image of Pooh stuck head-first into a tree, bees swarming about him. It was why Odysseus had his men lash him to the mast as they approached the island of the Sirens. It appeals to the emotions, not the intellect. Listening to Bernie Sanders speak after trouncing Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire last week, it was easy to be swept away with his promises of free stuff – healthcare and college – all with the illusion this would solve unfairness and inequality. No discussion of the cost or how it would be financed, other than to raise taxes on Wall Street moguls. No mention of the decline in cultural and moral habits, like marriage, religion and work habits, that accompanied the rise in entitlements. It is not just the words; it is the way they are said.
Those who are duped with promises of “free stuff” ignore the simple fact that everything has a cost. Mr. Sanders’ admirers are asked to reject the critical concept underlying our history, which is the opportunity to succeed. No government can guarantee individual success, but ours does provide equality of opportunity and equality before the law, without regard to class, race or religion. Our government was created to protect us from the threat of kings and oppressors. It was based on the notion that our rights are God, not man, given. The Constitution provided us the freedom to think, speak, assemble and pray as we like. It enacted laws that protect us and our property from unlawful imprisonment and seizure. It promised that we would be judged by juries of our peers. America’s democracy recognizes inherent differences in individuals, as well as culture and heritages – that we are (and always have been and always will be) a nation of immigrants tossed in a cauldron, but maintaining our individual identities. American culture was based on pluralism, not multiculturalism. We are individuals, not cattle to be placed in pens convenient for politicians focused on group solutions to group problems. We are meant to be unified, not divided. The American meaning of liberty was never based on the promise of equality of outcomes – something that can never be delivered.
