Democrats like to paint themselves as the party of sacrifice and cooperation while they libel their opponents as greedy. In the wake of hurricane Sandy's landfall in New York City, they have shown these claims to be at least partially projection of their own selves, even if the aspersions are true. In 1995, I worked on a hurricane relief crew, and it was a very illuminating and transformative experience. In some ways, I think it laid the foundation of my political philosophy.
Then as now, people in the affected areas have a particular type of aid they prefer and a particular type of aid they need. The immediate priorities are food and shelter, as usual, and yet unlike Hurricane Katrina I do not see a lot of food or habitable shelter efforts being accomplished there. Perhaps it's because of the unique nature of New York City, but I am glad I don't live there. The aftermath of Sandy shows us just how dangerous it is to national security to overly urbanize America. A massive attack or disaster cripples a huge fraction of our population.
A great majority of New Yorkers are, I believe, not only registered democrats but also democrats deeply steeped in the party platform. What I see in their behavior makes Democrats appear to be the Party of Selfishness. Mayor Blomberg insists that the marathon must go on, powering the tent with a generator that could power 400 standard sized homes. Union workers drive out volunteers from AL, calling them scabs there to take their jobs. Isn’t it about getting people back up on life support? The Union workers view this as wages lost rather than seeing the importance of protecting the customers so they can continue to pay in the future. Many care recipients are complaining about Red Cross cookies and milk while people dive in dumpsters, because they need blankets and such. Elsewhere, gangs pilfer abandoned homes. Isn’t it about shared sacrifice? You get swag because you stayed?
Sandy's aftermath is a microcosm for the failure of Democrat promises. Blomberg had 11 years to shore up the shoreline against a disaster and did nothing. Obama shows up for a photo session and then leaves, and now people are clamoring for him (of all people) not to forget them as they starve and freeze. It shows just how bad it can be in close quarters as looters rampage and gangs pillage and feces accumulates in the hallways as unions bicker over who can repair what. Then the environmentalists come in and warn against developing the shoreline, as if developing the shoreline renders the city more likely to flood. Mass transit, one panacea of the left, is useless. What mass transit is accessible has no power or fuel to run, so people can’t get anywhere in a city where mobility depends on that unless you walk or are rich enough to afford $6/gallon gas.
Like New Orleans, New York is a city managed by leftists. Like New Orleans, New York is a city that is languishing in ruins despite its wealth and pomp. People are going to die, Americans, in New York City of all places, because the policies of an egalitarian utopia interferes with the most efficient and effective means to rebuild and recover. Obama doesn't come to help; he comes because if he doesn't they might say of him what they said of Bush after Katrina. I feel bad for New Yorkers who have such piss-poor leaders. They are going to freeze to death, starve to death, and be beaten to death because of selfishness on the part of Democrat party members, voters, and potentates.
While Freedom means that it's possible the you might fail or die or suffer, these disasters have shown that Socialism cannot prevent those eventualities. While Freedom creates some winners, Socialism renders everyone a loser. As you go to the polls next week, keep in mind the words of Samuel Adams, which are oddly as prescient today as they were in his time as they continue to find dead bodies in one of our most prosperous cities.
Contemplate the mangled bodies of your countrymen, and then ask 'what should be the reward of such sacrifices?' Bid us and our posterity bow the knee, supplicate the friendship and plough, and sow, and reap, to glut the avarice of the men who have let loose on us the dogs of war to riot in our blood and hunt us from the face of the earth? If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains rest lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen! --Samuel Adams
Vote for freedom. Let us now apply liberty.
No comments:
Post a Comment