Posted on 02/23/2013 4:15:04 AM PST by Shane
So I was chatting with my dad yesterday. We had a long drive home after the Department of Homeland Security seized and impounded my boat. The mood was somber.
We were talking about how awful America has become. We are a nation that has been split into groups that absolutely hate each other. Debt is rising, taxes are rising and freedom is being demolished. Meanwhile our elected officials are doing little more than stoking the drama fire while fiddling with the deck chairs on the Titanic.
Whatever your politics, you must see it too. Just pick a political story at random and read the comments. There is no logic or reason on either side, only hypocrisy and hate.
I’m a creature of start-ups. For example, I don’t want government interference in the start-up ecosystem.
And more importantly, as someone immersed in start-up culture, I am a big fan of just walking away from stuff that can’t be fixed. In my post “Always Swim Downstream” I talk about focusing on what you’re good at and just walking away from unsolvable problems.
America is an unsolvable problem, a nation divided and deeply in hate with itself. If it was a start-up we’d understand how un-fixable the situation is, most of us would leave for a fresh start and the company would fall apart.
America is MySpace.
But leaving America means renouncing your citizenship, moving out of the country and leaving family and friends behind. You can retain your citizenship if you like, but you’ll still be away from loved ones and still be paying taxes. You lose all the good stuff about America and have to keep all the bad stuff.
I love this country but we have a management team that’s both evil and incompetent. And the way “stockholder rights” are implemented there’s absolutely no way to stop or even slow down the rush to misery. I wish people had the choice of voting with their feet. This tends to keep the individual states somewhat honest in their dealings with citizens because they have to compete against 49 other states. But there’s no escaping the fed. It’s like a start-up where everyone is miserable but no one is allowed to quit. «
Here is the fundamental political question: Does each individual person have the right to decide how to live his life, or do political leaders have the right to dictate how each person may live his life?
Americans fought the revolutionary war in 1776 to eradicate the political principle that individuals exist for the sake of government — the sovereignty of government — and to establish the antithetical principle that government exists for the sake of individuals — the sovereignty of individual. For thousands of years around the world, political rulers have believed and acted on the idea that government is sovereign and that individuals exist for the sake of government. America's revolutionaries said “No” to this moral abomination and political oppression. They founded America upon the fundamental premise of the sovereignty of the individual, as expressed by the principle of individual rights — that each individual has the right of live, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness — and the derivative principle that a proper government exists for and works for the benefit of individuals. However, over the past 100 years, due to the political cancer known as socialism, which has enslaved individuals for thousands of years around the globe, America has regressed politically and reverted to the principle that individuals exist for and work for the benefit of government. This is a moral travesty.
If America’s Founding Fathers were alive today, they would rebel against America’s oppressive Federal, state, and local governments for the same reason that they rebelled against King George III and the oppressive British government.
How novel.
I agree with the author's sentiment in some sense but I think that the other option on this "startup" is that the lazy leeche contingent of the company would be content in sopping off all the benefits, pay and future options for "right now!" In either case, it is most assuredly going to fail. It is then at this point the leeches will whine, moan and riot for "their fair share" of the carcass.
I read the article on how his boat got impounded and the comments from locals in that area.
He simply hesitated to sign a customs form that had incorrect info on it as the boat was coming across the border from the boatyard in Canada. He only told them it was incorrect and he wanted to correct it before swearing it to be true and signing.
The feds simply seized/stole his brand new boat. He has to get a lawyer to get it back. It may take years.
Locals commented that the DHS at the border have been seizing everything from Girl Scout cookies to laptops for years with impunity. They cautioned people not to try to take anything valuable over the border or the agents will steal it.
His frustration is with how untouchable bureaucrats oppress the helpless peasantry.
———America is an unsolvable problem———
If the North east statees were purged from the union, America would have a pretty fair chance of recovery. Neo Europa is destroying America and lika a cancer that it is, must be removed.
He's full of shit. One side wants to stop the train before it goes over the cliff. If he can't see that, then he's on the side that wants to keep going until the train speeds over the cliff.
Thank you for your clearly articulated, and thoughtful comments. Man, its no wonder the Country is in so much turmoil.
You missed every single main point.
Try reading about the improper, over reach by Homeland Security here:
http://uncrunched.com/2013/02/21/the-department-of-homeland-security-stole-my-boat-today/
Yeah, it’s in turmoil because we have a third of the country that wants to destroy the country, a third that is oblivious to what that third wants to do (the writer apparently falls into this category) and a third that are doing all they can to preserve our country. Kind of reminds me of our country at two prior points in time.
I agree with your analysis. However cut the author some slack, he does make some valid points. The Country is a mess, and short of revolution (which is not going to happen)we are on the slow, slippery slope into decline.
There is a phrase that turnaround artists apply to people who are in the way in companies that are failing - people like the author. That phrase is - Shut up and get out of the way.
Very well. Do as you please.
Revolution is not gonna happen, you say?
With millions of people buying guns and stockpiling ammo, plus the “preppers” socking away large stores of food and other supplies, I would tend to disagree.
Sure looks to me like the population is preparing for some kind of big trouble ahead.
Yes, I do say that. The purchasing of guns and ammunition and the stock piling of survival necessities are in preparation for the potential social upheaval, that may occur when our monetary system comes crashing down. It is for the protection of homes and family members. It is not for the purpose of overthrowing our government.
I think the author was referring to the political parties when he states that both sides are party to the problem.
Now if he was referring to real conservatives vs. progressives, you would be correct.
We all admit that the Republican Party is infested with rinos that are nothing more than progressive dims who saw an opportunity to run as repubs and win.
Bloomburg being the most outstanding example.
I think that from here on all of my contributions will be to the Tea Party Patriots.
We are living in one giant prison grid, and it's getting worse daily. Our prison guards are the feds and there are cameras and machines that monitor us from every angle.
For now, we still have the "freedom" to decide and say certain things, we might even have some free will left (depending on how heavily contaminated the air and water is in one's particular area).
I visited someone in prison a couple of times and while it's definitely more suffocating than outside, some of the parallels are horrible.
That’s terrible, I hadn’t heard about this one (or that the demon Napo is confiscating property up there).
But the overthrow of this fascist government will be a side-effect of that societal crash. Cause or effect, it won’t matter. We’ll still be at war.
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