Haggling Over Price (again)
Posted By Alan Partis on January 2, 2010
Once again, this joke about prostitution seems appropriate to help make my point:
A man walks into a bar and sits down next to a very attractive classy lady. In due course of conversation he asks her, “So tell me, if I was as rich as Bill Gates, would you marry me?”
The woman laughs and replies, “Sure.”
“OK,” the man follows up, “will you sleep with me tonight for $20?”
Angrily, the woman shoots back, “20 bucks? What kind of woman do you take me for?”
“Well madam, we’ve already established what kind of woman you are, now we’re just haggling over price!”
This becomes relevant in many of the discussions we have regarding the constitutionality of various federal government actions.
I was fortunate enough to be born in this country, but I still have the freedom to leave it if I don’t agree to the responsibilities of citizenship thereof. I agree that our federal government should be allowed to provide for the common defense and maintain a system of roads all for the common good (for example). I agree to cede decision-making authority to this government which is composed of my representatives whom I may freely vote in or out of office. I further agree that some decisions will be made with which I disagree and I accept that I must still abide by those decisions, even if I am in a minorty.
Where some will disagree, is where the line in the sand is that marks the limit of where we think the federal government has authority to go as so granted by the Constitution. This disagreement is fine and we can argument like gentlemen about it all day long.
In the end, constitutionality is something for the courts to decide. But since judges are elected by the people, or appointed by elected officials, it’s still important that we the people have the arguments about where the line in the sand should be drawn. As government goes farther and farther into the sand (as all government is wont to do), at some point, many of us, even those who disagree today, will be standing side by side saying to the government, “You shall not pass!”
Some of us will be doing that sooner than others, but if none of us ever does so, we (or our children) will one day find ourselves in a place much different than we thought we were. Make no mistake that we are on the “road to serfdom” and only through vigilance and determination will we prevent ourselves from reaching that destination.
Personally, I think we allowed our government to cross that line many moons ago. I think what we’re seeing in this health care debate today is that many more people are seeing their line in the sand being crossed and are now saying, “You shall not pass!”
This is a necessary … and healthy … debate and should not be taken lightly.
Just a boy from small-town western New York (Batavia) with strong convictions and a desire to express my opinions. I'm married and have a daughter with whom I am taking great pains to brainwash into my way of thinking (so far with great success).
Though I am a software engineer by day, I read a great deal about current events, history, and economics and philosophy. I'm certain that many of my former teachers will be pleasantly surprised to hear this. I've grown very interested in trying to help educate others about the liberty guaranteed to us in the United States Constitution and the economic theories on which this Country was founded.
Comments