April 10, 2013

Reality and Mystery

By Tammy Derouin

I was involved in a discussion where reality and mystery collided.  I listened to the frustration of several people.  Sadly, the aggravation has only just begun. The impact will be great as every employer, every person will be affected.  I’m curious, how many will take comfort in the fact that it was done for our own good?  The reality of, “How is this fair?” combined with the mystery of, “They can’t do that, can they?” will be a wake-up call that will be taking place many times over across our nation.  As I listened, I found myself jotting down a quote from a very surreal moment in American History.  The moment was when then Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi said, “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it…”  I am referring to the Affordable Health Care Act, also known as Obamacare.  Obamacare is far from affordable, as we are beginning to find out.  There is so much more at stake than just the financial cost.  We are losing more of our freedoms. This bill was relentlessly pushed, deals were made and Americans will now suffer.   Congressmen admitted they didn’t read the bill, yet they passed it.  It shouldn’t have even come to a vote without being thoroughly investigated, yet Congress passed it.  Congress betrayed the American people. 

I would like to say that Americans have been deceived but that’s not entirely true.  Yes, the Dictator in Chief is a wolf in sheep’s clothing but we didn’t investigate the sheep.  Our first line of defense is the press.  Perhaps if they weren’t salivating over this over-grown, too good to be true sheep, they would have noticed the zipper, the imitation wool, and the eyes of a predator.  The press is supposed to be skeptical yet they’ve bought into this larger than life image. What kind of hypnotic spell did the wolf put them under?  Maybe, after they are done feasting on the steaks that were tossed to them while the wolf jumped the fence, we can ask them.  Some have called him perfect, others have called him our savior; more dangerous behavior.  Just remember under the imitation wool there is a wolf leading the real sheep to slaughter.

When did Americans become so gullible?  Would you sign a contract without reading it?  How would you respond to a banker or a sales person who told you, “I don’t know what’s in the contract.  You have to sign it so we can find out.”  No person in their right mind would agree to such an outrageous demand.  If we as responsible individuals wouldn’t fall for such a scheme, why do we accept it from those in Congress?   Why are we allowing our elected officials to act so recklessly?  They have done, many times over, what responsible people would never do.  We don’t commit to something unless we fully understand the commitment we are making.  We try to weigh all possible outcomes and then decide if it’s still worth the risk.  A day of reckoning is a guaranteed occurrence after money is spent recklessly and foolishly.

We are just beginning to realize the consequences of our actions.  Americans freely and willfully elected a president that stated exactly what he intended to do, fundamentally transform America. Obama is only fulfilling the promises he said he would fulfill.  We heard what he said, we saw what he did during his first four years, yet we re-elected him.  There will be consequences for our actions.

The American people have forgotten what makes America exceptional.  While so many applauded the end result, the means, Americans disregarded the “way” of achieving the means.  By turning a blind eye, we’ve created the trap that the rest of the world is currently struggling to escape.  We were warned to not venture down the path that other countries have found themselves traveling.  We didn’t listen.  We ignored the warning signs and we didn’t think it could happen to America.  While we were busy trying to make ends meet, unlike our government, our very own president dishonored us and diminished our standing in the world.  In four short years we went from super power standing to being bullied by the world bullies. 

What happened?  We stopped paying attention.  We stopped questioning things that didn’t make sense.  We stopped being responsible and began to demand support.  We stopped being productive and bought into excuses.  A “can do” American attitude became a “give me” nation.  We’ve accepted the excuses, finger pointing, and lack of responsibility by this administration and Congress.  Now we have to deal with the reality, which is getting less mysterious.

“Government exists to protect us from each other.  Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves.”

Ronald Reagan