I am truly grateful and thankful for.....Clarity

I was on the phone with my mother the day after President Obama won re-election, congratulating her for her candidate winning another four years.  It was a hard thing to do for reasons that I have clearly spelled out in this blog, in my classes, in my home, on the street, in the wilderness (to any animals that might have voter registration cards..) and pretty much anywhere else ears might be perked up by a discussion on the nature of liberty and limited government.

 

I told my mother that much to my complete surprise I was actually relaxed and happy the day after America voted to re-hire the man who has inspired millions to dream of an America that does not look like anything we have ever witnessed before.

 

My happiness, I told her, came from this analogy.

 

Suppose you spend almost 25 years of your life pursuing a relationship with someone whom you are very passionate about.  During that 25 years you notice glimmers of hope that the person you are pursuing might be interested in you, but you also see signs that they might not like you very much.

 

Finally, one day the person looks at you and says, "Look, I hate you.  I want nothing to do with you and I never want to see you again."

 

Rather than being crushed after hearing this, you might find yourself completely relieved to finally have clarity in this relationnship so that you do not have to so desparately pursue them anymore.

 

I told my mother that I felt like America said (on election night), "Jack, to people like you, who share your peculiar zeal for the views of dead white guys from the 18th century, you can all go to hell because we don't agree with anything you believe in."

 

My mother's response?

 

"You are right, Jack."

 

And there it is...

 

As we head into Thanksgiving tomorrow I have been in the best mood imaginable for the past two weeks.  It is not because of the weather, or some time off with my family (although those things are always a treat), but rather because, for the first time in my 25 years as an economist and preacher of all things liberty, I have clarification about where I live - and whom it is that lives around me.

 

I finally know that unlike years past, where if the economy was garbage and the government was too big the American people would get around to saying, "Enough!!"  Today, we live in an America where if you look at someone on the street and tell them that unemployment is going to remain high for years to come, that our economy is not going to improve much over the next decade, that taxes are about to rise, that we are facing Greece-style bankruptcy within 20-30 years, that we no longer own ourselves for the purposes of making health care decisions, etc. etc., the average American will look at you and say, "O.K., but will my welfare check still arrive?  Will I still get food stamps?  Will Obamacare give me Medicaid that I did not get before?  Will I get Aid to Families with Dependent Children?  Will the government go after rich people to take there money and give it to me? 

 

My dad used to tell me back in the 1970s that too many Americans want, in his words, "Something for nothing."  He was right.

 

I am grateful that I finally realize how right he was.  Now I can go about my job, run my small business, write my books, give a few speeches, take care of my family and enjoy - with greater passion - everything I have to be thankful for, because I no longer feel obligated to desparately pursue people with this message of liberty.  Teach liberty?  Of course.  Give myself migraines and disrupted sleep every night over it - when I know that I am outnumbered by the masses of folks who want my property?  No way.

 

So, to all of you Americans who told liberty-lovers like me to "Go to hell", I thank you.  You have given me a gift of clarity that will add peace and tranquility to my life.

 

Happy Thanksgiving (even if I paid for your turkey...)