Whine and Cheese

Whine and Cheese
by Karen Beth Pike, Columnist

"Taking Care"

October 31, 2005

Whatever happened to good old common sense? It seems that all too frequently these days the people are turning to the government for more and more things that it was never intended to be a participant of in our lives.

Hurricanes happen. People who live in coastal areas shouldn't be too surprised by that, unless they've been living under a rock they noticed that they happen annually. The nice thing is that a hurricane is tracked and can be pretty well announced well in advance of landfall. Tornadoes don't give that kind of advance warning; neither do earthquakes. That being said, why on earth do people expect the government to do what they should be doing for themselves? What has happened to our common sense?

The whining started shortly after the damage started. Why didn't the government do more and do it faster? Well, gee… why on earth did you expect them to? It isn't the government's job to protect us from the weather. Sure, law enforcement is something we pay taxes to provide, but basic and sensible living should tell us that we need to be prepared for weather emergencies. 72 hour kits, a bundle of blankets and a backpack with personal essentials would get us through most tragedies until we get back on our feet. Insurance and personal savings should be part of our lives, and I doubt that many people keep themselves adequately protected in either of these ways. This isn't about wealth versus poverty either, there are people earning six figures that aren't willing to protect themselves from harm effectively.

The politicians and their "say cheese" smiles and false concern are appalling as they do their finger-pointing and play the blame game. Being responsible has certainly gone out of style in our society of political correctness and tolerance. Leadership has become a very rare thing. How about someone actually saying "Yep, I messed up and I take full responsibility for my mistake." It won't happen, as long as politics stays more important than people in our society. Politics has become like limburger… stinks to high heaven, and the smell doesn't go away.

We seem to have completely lost our nerve. Too many of us have gone gutless and whimpering to the government for entitlements. Where is our shame? Where are the characteristics that made America great? The courage, the honesty and the stand-up-and-fight-for-right attitudes that made us a nation has been beaten out of us by the weirdness of liberalism, moral relativism and social engineering.

There is a path back to sensibility, but it isn't easy. Take your life back and make it yours. What do you believe in? Where are you headed? What is your mission in life? If you've never even thought about those ideas, you certainly aren't alone. Consider defining some of your guiding principles and measuring your life against them. Changes to make will become evident very quickly.

To quote Thoreau in his essay Civil Disobedience, "The character inherent in the American people has done all that has been accomplished; and it would have done somewhat more, if the government had not sometimes got in its way." Sadly, the government has grown ever more intrusive in our lives and businesses. We may not be able to roll back the senseless laws that are in place, but we certainly can (perhaps we must!) insist on being prepared for the foreseeable calamities that can happen so that we can land on our feet. This makes us better prepared to help others that may not be as well prepared for a disaster. Having an accessible and plentiful supply of money, food and clothing is an excellent place to start. Planning for emergencies empowers people to overcome them, we know that, and yet we ignore it at our own peril. I challenge you to become a part of the solution, return to the patriotic past and be prepared for your own future.

To quote again, this time from Longfellow's Paul Revere's Ride;

"He said to his friend, "If the British march
By land or sea from town tonight,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light-
One, if by land, and two, if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm."

My horse is saddled and ready to ride… is yours? ***

Photo of Karen Beth Pike courtesy of the author