Hugo Chavez and Social Responsibility

Ah, Hugo Chavez- What can one say about the Clown of Venezuela? Whatever one might say becomes understated by his own words and antics. A Statesman? No, an uneducated buffoon, with an overrated sense of his self- worth.
He became what he is by promising poor people that he would take care of them, and to a certain extent, he has done that, but in doing so, he has alienated most, if not all the business interests that might, in other circumstances, have sided with him. In the long term, this is not good for Hugo's country, but then I don't get the sense that he really cares about his country, only about his continued rule. The thing is, when the poor people find out that his policies have ruined the country, ( and more to the point, as regards their continued feed at the country's trough), that the end for them is near, Chavez will have to resort to force to keep them in line. This has been the story for the last hundred years at least, when it comes to dictatorships- first the carrot, then the stick.
There is a true difference between the United States and the rest of the world, and it seems that the more money one makes in this country, the more angst one feels regarding the money one has.
That might be OK, but for the rest of us, who actually DO work in this country, we haven't the luxury of doubting our self- worth. We are too busy feeding and clothing our family- we have no nanny to do things for us, leaving us with idle time to ponder just how unjust this country is that gives us the opportunity to be free, and strive to be better than we were yesterday. Can Chavez's country really say that? Can many other countries say that?
I always thought it funny that people here protest here, no matter what their cause. Could it be because they really are gutless wonders who know that if they protested in Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Chana, or many, if not all the troubled areas in the world today, they would be killed? Or maybe they are just scared to get too far from their TIVO, lest they miss out on their favorite shows.
Social Responsibility begins at home, a lesson that Chavez missed out on. Indeed, the lesson is lost on a lot of people here. All those who say that they do not mind taking government money, because " we paid it, so we should get it back", has completely missed the point here. Taxes, and other forms of payment to the government are paid to keep the infrastructure of the country going. Highways, military, water treatment, law enforcement, and other infrastructures must be maintained.

In addition, the welfare and social services end of government must be funded. The trouble comes when people believe that they " deserve" this money. This money is not a lottery winning, andf a person should not get this for life, except in the most dire of circumstances. It is meant to be an interim cushion, until one can get back on one's feet again, and while it is there to help, it is not necessarily something to brag about. I have never taken government money, and I hope I never have to, thus saving it for someone who truly needs it. If I had to, to keep my family going, I would, but believe you me, I would be looking for an end to this, so I could earn my own way.
Free money is never valued like money one has had to work for. Don't believe me? Just look at the majority of lottery winners. Many are now broke, addicted, and unhappier than before they had won that money, and yet, if they had earned that money, they would possibly be more well adjusted than otherwise.
What is needed in this country are more people who truly understand that this life, as it pertains to this country that gives them the freedom to be whatever they can dream to be, is not sstrictly all about them, but also about the other three hundred million of us that live here.
No grandstanding about how socially pious one might wish to appear to be, no selfish me, me, me cries while you eat bon bons and watch your programs. If yo want to talk the talk, then walk the walk, bitch- if not, you are irrelevant, and need to step aside before you get stepped on. This country needs people who understand that this country needs to come first, and all else can then proceed.

" Republic- I like the sound of that word. It means people can live free, talk free. Go or come, buy or sell, be drunk or sober, however they choose.
Some words give you a feeling, the same feeling you get when your boy first shaves, or makes his first sound like a man. Republic is one of those words."
John Wayne as Davy Crockett
in the movie
THE ALAMO