Sunday, March 15, 2009

Sunday Reflection: Will and Determination

The Left believes that the state assures social and economic mobility, in which they define as an egalitarian society. Since the state is the "so-called" guarantor of egalitarianism, justice eludes any other socio-economic model. They insist that without the help of the government, people just cannot make it in this country and many are forever doomed to a life of poverty and despair.

If you didn't get the opportunity to see ABC's 20/20 Friday evening, here is where you can watch a report that debunks this myth, advanced by those on the Left. I found the entire show noteworthy for many reasons, the one I would like to highlight can be found in Part Six, entitled America: Still The Land Of Opportunity. If you want to read about it, you can read Stossel's blog entry, which also includes a video witht some startling information.

Briefly, the part I want to point out is the profile of two books and the two stories behind the books. This is something liberals will not be able to refute, but they'll try anyway. It discusses the myth of the middle class erosion.

From Stossel's blog entry:

Social commentator and best-selling author Barbara Ehrenreich agrees. "It used to be that you could expect to get a job after college, rise in that job, maybe switch jobs at some point and then retire with a generous pension," she said. "Now, it's a very bumpy road with many gaps in between."

In her book "Nickel and Dimed," Ehrenreich went undercover to work as a nursing home aide, a Wal-Mart associate and took on other low-wage jobs to see if she could make ends meet.

She said she struggled to pay her bills and live comfortably. If you are poor, she said, and you want to move up the income ladder, in her experience, America doesn't "offer as much upward mobility as we think it does. That's a myth."

But is she right? Can only the rich make it in America? Not everyone agrees.

"I wanted to discover for myself if the 'American Dream' is still alive," said Adam Shepard, author of "Scratch Beginnings," a book he wrote after reading Ehrenreich's book in college.

Shepard, now 26, picked a city out of a hat -- Charleston, S.C. He went there with $25 in his pocket. How far could he get if he didn't tell anyone about his college degree?

"I arrived, and right away I figured I needed to get into a homeless shelter," Shepard said.

He lived in a shelter for two months. Then he got a job with a moving company, making $8 an hour. Soon he'd saved enough to buy a used truck. And within a few months he had an apartment. After one year, he had $5,500 and a car. How?

"I was able to do it because I made sacrifices," Shepard said.

Despite Ehrenreich's claim that income mobility is a myth, Shepard succeeded from humble beginnings.


There's more the learn from this particular segment. America: Still A Land Of Opportunity is worth your time because it demonstrates that anyone with a dream, properly motivated, and refuses to quit, can achieve success with little or no government assistance. I have a friend who is fond of saying that life provides two choices: chicken salad, or chicken crap. The video shows how a young person was able to demonstrate how flawed an older woman’s thinking is; it was very inspirational.

Much of human behavior is learned. People who are conditioned to believe they cannot succeed outside of extraordinary circumstances, generally will not succeed. It is a cruel joke played on young people by their parents, by our socialist education system, and often, by the people with whom we choose to associate. Evidently, this young man in the video went against that grain and resisted the lure to underachieve, because the mainstream educational experts said he would.

In all of this, let's not fail to consider the amazing transformation among people who complete military training. They become positive thinkers, planners, and develop amazing self-confidence. They, more than any other segment of our society, understand that we cannot help the circumstances of our birth. But we have much to say about what we actually accomplish in our lives.

Go ahead . . . watch this. And unless you are one of those people who love to be miserable, you’ll be encouraged at what you see. I recommend watching the entire report. But if time is limited, make sure you watch the entire Part Six. I think you'll be very surprised at what you see.


11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am always amazed that the people who champion state regulated egalitarianism always seem to have an awful lot of money. In almost every case, they didn’t earn it themselves; it passed to them through an inheritance or marriage. For example, John Kerry twice married an extremely wealthy woman, neither of whom “earned” the money themselves. We may call this wealth by “hook or crook.” As you evaluate all the leading socialists in Congress and the new bureaucracy, how many millionaires do you find? Go ahead . . . count’em.

And so having this tremendous wealth (by hook or crook), with the realization that the strictures of normal society will never more apply to the upper classes, it is easy for socialists to buy into the idea that they—and the state—knows best, so long as it doesn’t apply to them, of course. And this is true arrogance, my friend. And hypocrisy. And repugnant.

Anonymous said...

Nothing makes my point about the socialist elite than this excellent essay. Kudos to Debbie O'Hara who has it exactly right.

L'Amerloque said...

Hello Mustang !


/// Kudos to Debbie O'Hara who has it exactly right.///


Yes, O’Hara is spot on …


// …/… The goal of socialism is power. As Allen proves quite conclusively in his book, it is a con game to get people to surrender their freedom to an all-powerful, all-encompassing, collectivist government. Socialism is not a movement of the downtrodden masses like its promoters tell us, but a movement of the economic elite. …/… //


One might usefully throw Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) into the merrily-boiling cauldron …


Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg and howlet's wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.


Best,
L’Amerloque

Anonymous said...

I wonder why Gates, Buffet, and others are not named in this conspiracy? Certainly they have some clout in Congress. And there are certainly many very wealthy people in Congress. Don't you wonder the wealth of Barbara F and Nancy P? And Reid, and media talking heads? Should they be named as well?

Chuck said...

As a society we see someone rise from poverty and make something of themselves and they are held up as an example of hard work and dedication. People speak glowingly of them, they are an inspiration, we want our kids to be like them.

Why are these people not held up as the standard to live by? They are treated as an oddity. The one in a million chance.

Without minimizing their success, it should be celebrated, ultimately all they are doing is what everyone should do, work hard and take repsonsibility for themselves.

LA Sunset said...

//it is easy for socialists to buy into the idea that they—and the state—knows best, so long as it doesn’t apply to them, of course. And this is true arrogance, my friend. And hypocrisy. And repugnant.//

I agree. But it's hard for me to believe that you just had a perfectly good opportunity to call someone a bastard, and you didn't do it.

LA Sunset said...

Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg and howlet's wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.


These words he speaks are true
We're all humanary stew
if we don't pledge allegiance to
the Black Widow.--Alice Cooper

Scratch that. In this case, "allegiance to Obama".

LA Sunset said...

//I wonder why Gates, Buffet, and others are not named in this conspiracy?//

Part of it is because they have so much of their assets tied up in foundations, trusts, and other tax exempt schemes, so they can show little or no income.

LA Sunset said...

//Why are these people not held up as the standard to live by? //

Too bad they haven't been. If they had been held up over the last six months, it would be President McCain. Not that that would excite me, I just wouldn't be such a nervous wreck most of the time.

Anonymous said...

I think "repugnant" is Latin for bastard.

Z said...

How utterly dishonest. SHe gets paid big for the book, students have to buy and read it.....Stossel shows her some kid proved her wrong and, after arguing a bit, she admits "Well, it's just MY EXPERIENCE!?"

MY GOD. And God bless that kid!