“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.” ― C. S. Lewis
After listening to Joe Biden “torment me for my own good” during his nomination acceptance speech last night I was reminded of the above quote from C. S. Lewis. As I understand it Mr. Biden promised free food, guaranteed income, free education, and free medical care. People who really work and take pride in their labor will be hurt the most as the energy sector with oil and natural gas being phased out over the next 15 years, small businesses being unable to compete against big businesses because of onerous regulations and taxes—LLC’s and S-Corps will be taxed at the same rate as large corporations who will also have the advantage of being able to deploy large numbers of accountants and lawyers to help them comply with the new regulations—small business margins usually don’t allow for such an advantage, and family-run farms and ranches will continue to have their wealth—real estate and capital equipment once again taxed at a high rate and taken away from them via a higher inheritance tax.
A basic lack of understanding and appreciation for individual sovereignty free will, labor and its relationship between work and wealth was evident last night during the entire speech we are ultimately led back to a socialist society and totalitarian governance that facilitates such an economic system. During the 15,000 year history of man, such societies have failed miserably. Even in the 20th-21st centuries we have overwhelming and incontrovertible evidence that these types of political and economic conditions only lead to the destruction of societies—1st families, then communities and finally the State itself.
Nowhere in his speech was I able to discern an appreciation of individual liberty, an understanding that political power flows from the individual back to the State, and that the State exists to facilitate social and economic transactions, not be a party to those activities. There was talk about inequalities, racial discrimination—not disparities mind you, and the word “fairness” was used in the context of SOCIAL JUSTICE’ which proves a fundamental misunderstanding of the concept of social justice.
Words like “God”, and liberty, and responsibility and accountability were few and far between. The picture that Joe Biden was painting for the American public was drawn on the same easel with the same brush as the fawning media was painting from. Joe cares and he feels your pain and he is the man to help—remember the whole time Joe was a Senator and VP he gave less than 1% of his income to charity—he cares with your money and time and labor and not his own.
What we really were witness to last night was the completion of “the institutionalization of charisma”. What happens when an individual or political party has to manage without it? No fundamental first instances or a respect to Natural Law principles leads to a bad place for everyone. Subordinating the founding of our country and our Founding Documents to feelings—emotions—and intuition is a shortcut to placing individuals in a position of subservience and dependency to government. Morally the conditions of indenturhood and slavery are just as wrong if imposed upon the individual by government or an individual.
I am tired of being “tormented for my own good”. I am more inclined not to believe that the political left has a clear conscience, but rather they are only interested in any means available to them to obtain power. Pandering is the means and power is the end and everyone will suffer if they are successful in defeating President Trump.
