If socialists understood economics, they wouldn’t be socialists.
Friedrich Hayek
I have never been one to avoid a topic, but human sexuality – specifically gender identification – has become a taboo subject if you disagree with liberal/progressives, Democrats or DSA types (Democratic Socialists of America). And in this war of ideology and words, my focus is to expose lies.
I believe there are girly men and butchy gals. People are born differently, and that’s OK. We can’t be the same, nor should we be. However, with rare exceptions, people are born with XX (female) or XY (male) chromosomes. We are told to “follow the science,” and I do, unless it has been perverted by activism and politics. We’ve seen what happens when ideology, money, power or even religion corrupts science, genetics and reality. Pumping someone full of estrogen or testosterone will not change a human’s DNA. Nor will removing healthy organs. And these so-called treatments are especially problematic for children before adulthood.
The latest brouhaha of human sexuality is in the WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association). Frankly, I don’t care what this sports league decides about competition because I have never watched a WNBA game. I do watch the Lady Vols basketball team and believe that Title 9 is designed to protect women athletes, allowing them to compete against other women. But here’s the problem with the WNBA: the name and the bylaws say it is a league for women to play basketball. But what if you can’t define a woman? SCOTUS Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson couldn’t define a woman. Now, several former male NBA (National Basketball Association) players are identifying as women and want to play in the WNBA. Do you see what happens when you diverge from reality?
Women’s sports and transgenderism are not the only fault lines for reality. The Democrat governor of Massachusetts just signed a bill making her state the latest to authorize abortion up until the moment of birth. Perhaps extenuating circumstances such as a mother’s life or a genetic or organ defect of the infant might be theoretical or rare considerations. But the clapping women standing around the governor as she signs and arguably legalizes infanticide was disturbing for me.
Quickening is when the pregnant mother feels her baby move. Science and modern ultrasound reveal the attributes of a pre-born infant which were not demonstrable in times past. Our words and definitions are inherently arbitrary, especially when defining life. But surely a moving, sensing infant is as much a human just before birth as afterwards. Until ethicists, scientists and theologians define when human life begins, I will have to err on the side that a fertilized egg has a full complement of DNA to form a human being.
At this writing, the feckless Senate has gone on summer recess without passing the SAVE Act. It’s hard to get Americans to agree on most things, but 71% support requiring proof of citizenship for registering to vote and presenting a photo ID when you vote. Sixty-nine percent of independents and 50% of Democrats think this is rational. However, Senate Democrats oppose these voting integrity provisions, as do most Congressional Democrats. One could conclude this irrationality is actually rational for Democrats because they need illegal voting. No wonder Marsha Blackburn wants to leave the Senate and come home to Tennessee, where common sense Americans live.
These days we hear a lot about affordability. Recently, a college student achieved some notoriety when he complained about a $20 burrito. I have been blessed, and I can afford a $20 burrito, but I wouldn’t. I’d advise the young man to go to the store and buy ingredients for a fraction of the restaurant price and make his own burrito. I can afford to buy a $6 Starbucks latte, but I won’t.
In 1944, the Austrian economist Fredrich Hayek wrote his classic “The Road to Serfdom.” If the young collegiate ran across Hayek’s book, I hope he understands that a “serf is an agricultural laborer bound to the land in servitude,” and not a Smurf. However, too many never learned or irrationally reject the basic economic principles outlined in Hayek’s book.
Since my mission is to expose the lies of the left, including those of socialism, I’ll take a moment for a brief overview of capitalism and why socialism has always been a failure. The Founders understood that individuals who are free to work for themselves rather than some collective are more prosperous, innovative and fiscally responsible. Economist Adam Smith in his “The Wealth of Nations” wrote, “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest…”
The role of limited government under the rule of law is to protect citizens. Then, millions using their talents and responding to opportunities and market prices produce a better system than bureaucratic central planning.
Hayek thought there should be “reasonable social support programs,” but we have seen terrible abuses in Minnesota, California and elsewhere. When the government begins favoring industries (example wind/solar) or businesses (electric cars) or price controls (rent), “incentives become distorted.” The book “Toxic Charity” demonstrated how the disadvantaged can be actually harmed by well-intentioned giving. A hand-out is very different from a hand-up. Where the incentive to keep the fruits of your labors is removed, stagnation and shortages are inevitable, making citizens serfs of Big Brother.
History teaches the failures of central planning in Russia, North Korea, Cuba and China before the latter modified the strict Marxism of Mao along capitalist lines. “Systems that ignore incentives stagnate and collapse” (Les Rubin).
I’ll close with one last observation and warning. Would you trust a liar? I’m not talking about a so-called white lie a man might tell his wife when asked if her dress is too tight. I’m talking about Nancy Pelosi stating she never saw Biden impaired. Or Harry Reid saying Mitt Romney didn’t pay his taxes and then justifying himself with, “We won.” What about the media liars who then write books about their lies (Jake Tapper)?
Yes, I know it’s tough to find the truth. But if something is too good to be true, it probably isn’t. Socialism is contrary to common sense and has never worked. And the DSA types are not only liars but crazy.
Will you trade your freedom for the serfdom and slavery of Big Brother? I hope we don’t.
