Science and Politics

Thursday, September 30, 2004

It Takes a Village to Raise a Village Idiot

I got this by e-mail several times already, and also saw it on Kerry/Edwards forum and the JREgrassroots.org, but I want to preserve it here.

So, you want to cut taxes? Taxes are a burden, you say? You need tax relief, dont' you? It is your money, after all, isn't it, to the very last penny. You earned ALL of it through your hard work, perseverance and intelligence. You are a ruggedy individualist, a seat-of-the-pants kind of guy, aren't you? You never asked for or received any help, and you made your fortune through your own enterpreneurial spirit, all alone, a pioneer in the wilderness. Is your name Joe?

"A DAY IN THE LIFE OF JOE THE BUSH SUPPORTER"

Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with
water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some
tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards. With his first
swallow of water, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to
take because some stupid commie liberal fought to ensure their safety and that
they work as advertised.

All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his
employer's medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their
employers for paid medical insurance - now Joe gets it too.

He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs.
Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to
regulate the meat packing industry.

In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo.
His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total
contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was
putting on his body and how much it contained.

Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath.
The air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought
for the laws to stop industries from polluting our air.

He walks on the government-provided sidewalk to
subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work. It saves him
considerable money in parking and transportation fees because some fancy-pants
liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the
opportunity to be a contributor.

Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with
excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because
some lazy liberal union members fought and died for these working standards.
Joe's employer pays these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his
employees to call the union.

If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed,
he'll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some stupid
liberal didn't think he should lose his home because of his temporary
misfortune.
It is noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can
pay some bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some
godless liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who
ruined the banking system before the Great Depression.

Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage
and his below-market federal student loan because some elitist liberal decided
that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned
more money over his lifetime. Joe also forgets that his in addition to his
federally subsidized student loans, he attended a state funded university.

Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father
this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive.
His car is among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal
fought for car safety standards to go along with the tax-payer funded roads.

He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third
generation to live in the house financed by Farmers' Home Administration because
bankers didn't want to make rural loans.

The house didn't have electricity until some
big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural
electrification.

He is happy to see his father, who is now retired.
His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some
wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so
Joe wouldn't have to.

Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and
turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad
and conservatives are good. He doesn't mention that the beloved Republicans have
fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day. Joe
agrees: "We don't need those big-government liberals ruining our lives! After
all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves,
just like I have."