LT. COLONEL ALLEN WEST: EMPOWERMENT TO ENSLAVEMENT
Lt Colonel Allen West: Empowerment or Enslavement
NOVEMBER COLUMN
Washingtoons
16 October 2009
Lieutenant Colonel Allen B West (US Army, Retired)
“One Year Awayâ€
Greetings fellow South Florida riders, South Floridians, and Americans, here we are for another monthly installment of our Wheels on the Road (WOTR) political assessment. By the time this piece goes into print WOTR will have celebrated 10 years being the definitive voice of the South Florida biker community. However, more importantly, we will be one year from what will be the most critical mid-term election in our Nation’s history.
In the national elections of 2008 we experienced a repudiation of the Bush administration, clear, got it, and can actually understand why it happened. I also realize that America experienced a “Momentary Lapse of Reasonâ€, to borrow the title from a Pink Floyd song. We were so angered from the previous 8 years that we forgot what Leadership looks like. We became so enthralled with a tele-prompted speech giver that we fell head over heels in affection, adoration, and blind admiration.
What is it that we have actually fallen for in this short period of time?
There are clear lines of separation being drawn in America. These are lines which define our “Principles of Governanceâ€. Everyone that knows me realizes that I am a Conservative first and foremost, but what does that mean?
My definition of Conservatism is the interaction between life, society, and governance which promotes the advancement of the individual by adhering to the foundational Constitutional principle of Liberty. That philosophy, ideology, drives how I examine any issue which confronts our Republic.
The opposing perspective is a post-modern liberalism which has truly morphed into a socialist ideology. It is a philosophy that centers not on the individual, but rather the collective. It is a principle of governance which seeks to gather us together as a horde dictating what we shall eat, drive, consume, and even think. It is rooted in an intellectual elitism which believes they know what is best for everyone else, an American politburo.
The Conservative believes in the empowerment of the individual. They believe that the constitutional mandate of “promote the general welfare†means setting the conditions for the success of the American citizen. It means unleashing the indomitable entrepreneurial spirit which made this great Nation what it is, in just 233 years.
When one reads the US Constitution it becomes clear that this is a document which outlines what the federal government should not do…..however, it does set forth its mandates, “establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of libertyâ€. The Liberal, on the other hand, misreads “promote†to mean “provide welfareâ€, which after nationalizing production is a socialistic tenet, expansion of the welfare state. The Liberal does not believe in an American spirit but rather that we are victims.
Liberals want to create despondency and dependency because they see government as the “nanny-state†and to have individuals successful is the anti-thesis to their goals and objectives. They see groups, the collective, defined as victims, and have them dependent upon an outside entity, government. This enables them to enslave, not empower, and the result is the 21st century plantation….leading to their consolidation of political power.
The Conservative sees America truly as a land of equal opportunity. It is a place where a young fella from inner city Atlanta can be the Captain of the High School Football and Track teams. He can be the student body President and JROTC Battalion Commander. He can go onto college and earn a degree and Commission as an Officer in the US Army. He can further his education by earning two Master’s degrees. He can lead Americans in combat and retire as a Lieutenant Colonel and run for US Congress.
That is an opportunity that exists for anyone having the determination and drive to excel, regardless of the group from which one emanates. Yes, Conservatives believe that there should be a safety net, but it should never become a hammock….thereby resulting in individuals who just “lay up sorryâ€.
In contrast, the Liberal believes in equal achievement, that some external decider must be interjected to create certain results and engineer outcomes. They believe that every kid gets a trophy and that we don’t keep score. It is a philosophy which felt that home ownership was a right, not a privilege. Liberals do not feel that standards are necessary because it is about social and economic justice, which means redistributing the assets.
In America, our progressive tax system is an example of how these lines of separation have been constructed. Here we have a 35-40% of the populace which does not pay into the tax system…and a few members of Congress and the Obama administration as well. This becomes the liberal target group for promises of “manna from heavenâ€, all at the expense of the 60-65% who carry the responsibility.
You can have free education, free healthcare, and “cash for clunkersâ€, free whatever your hearts desire and we the Liberals will just take it from those making over $250K or whatever we arbitrarily establish. We will extend unemployment benefits and raise them so that you don’t have to work, just stay dependent upon the nanny-state. We will tax, borrow, and print more money, anything to keep you dependent and enslaved; after all you are a victim, unable to live the American dream.
One year after electing President Barack Hussein Obama and having Liberals in charge of House of Representatives and Senate the lines of separation are clear.
Similar to the French Revolution, we had the bourgeoisie versus the proletariat. In America in 2009, we have the Production class versus the Entitlement class. Michael Moore’s new film is just evidence of the hypocrisy of Liberals, and their insidious un-American design.
The objective of the liberals is simple to understand, expand the entitlement class to maintain power, at the expense of the production class. When you have a built in 35-40%, all one must do is coopt some 10-15% useful idiots, and voila, you have the 52% secured by Obama a year ago in the Presidential election.
The problem with this paradigm? It has never been successful anywhere in the world! As in the book by Ayn Rand, “Atlas Shruggedâ€, the production class will eventually stop producing, shrink, and even move away creating a societal collapse.
We are one year away, the lines of separation have been drawn, on which side will you find yourself? The greater question is actually, which side will win in 2010 and decide the future and legacy of our Republic, these United States of America……production class versus entitlement class.
The choice is yours, empowerment or enslavement.
Steadfast and Loyal!
LTC(R) A B West
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