Conservative America: What Freedom Means To Me.

Conservative America: What Freedom Means To Me.: "Freedom is to be born (legally) and raised in these great United States. Although, I spent the first 13 years of my life in my native land..."

Conservative America: Obama's Collectivism.

Conservative America: Obama's Collectivism.: "In 2008, when it became evident that Obama would become the next president of the United States, we all feared that he would become the most..."

Obama's Collectivism.

In 2008, when it became evident that Obama would become the next president of the United States, we all feared that he would become the most liberal president this country has ever had since President Roosevelt in the 1930’s and most recently Lyndon Baines Johnson, who single-handedly transformed this country from the hard working mentality of the 1950’s and the 1960’s  (the mindset that attracted my family and other Europeans to come to this country) to the socialistic culture we have today. 

The United States today, is an “Entitlement Haven” due to the continual give-away policies of this administration and the liberal congress of the past four years, who never waste an opportunity to spend, spend and spend on the shoulders of working Americans.  Sadly, this working segment is constantly shrinking due to the lack of available jobs created in the private sector.  What this president fails to understand is that creating jobs in the public sector does not create new wealth but re-distributes the same wealth to others, a form of collectivism. 

This type of economic rumination rewards laziness while at the same time, stifling innovation, motivation, initiative and incentive, the very traits that made America of the 1950’s and the 1960’s the driving force of our economic system, the land of opportunity for many generations of Americans. 

President Obama and his cronies in Washington are intent and are so far succeeding in the actual, “spreading of the wealth” by imposing a form of collectivism that at best, will transform this country into a true and legitimate socialist entity. "Spreading the wealth" is the democratic idiom that rewards those who do not work by taking from the people who work.  Unfortunately, it is not just in taxes that we, the working people  pay the price.  Benefits for the non-working Americans are also questionable because while they receive welfare, food stamps, subsidized housing, utility assistance etc. etc. they also get top-notch absolutely free medical coverage (benefits) when the average working man or woman has a co-pay every time he or she goes to the doctor or a hospital.  Our government in the Obamanomics’ world rewards the undeserved, while the worker, who is footing the bill, is penalized.  This is collectivism of the highest form.

But, what is Collectivism and why it is so dangerous for the United States of America?  Collectivism is the philosophical theory that the individual is not an end to himself but is only a tool to serve the ends of the whole, whether it is a race of people, a class of people, a political group etc. etc.  It is, the subjugation of the individual to a group or the whole. In other words, Obama’s wants and expects each working American to give money to every non-working American (by way of taxation).  In plain terms, if you earn $2 and your neighbor earns $1, you must give him or her .50 so that both of you can have the same $1.50 regardless of any other incidental.    In economic terms, Collectivism or Obamanomic is a theory that advocates collective control over the production and the distribution of goods and services for a country that was once the best hope for mankind on the face of the earth.

Yes, President Obama is advocating the subjugation of the working people, the taxpayers, businesses and other entrepreneurs to those who choose not to work and those who are intent on living on the shoulders of others.  It is at best, a form of collective anarchism, a socio-economic outlook that emphasizes the interdependence of an individual so that collectively everyone can achieve the same goals at the expense of individual goals, desires and freedoms.  It is one for all and all for none mentality.   

What presidential aspirant, Al Gore, failed to do in the 2000 presidential elections when he ran his presidential campaign on the facade of rich versus poor, Obama is succeeding today by offering a class warfare economic formula between the working class and the poor of this country. Why then is President Obama proposing to increase taxes of families making $200,000 while still maintaining the entitlements of millions of Americans who have never worked, nor put a dime into the system in the form of taxes?

 Why is Obama threatening to cut Medicare (for retired workers) to pay for these entitlements (for non-workers) that cost the American people millions of dollars year after year while taking away people’s initiative to work and be self-sufficient.  And why does President Obama believe that in cutting spending, he does not want to touch the entitlements that are at the very center of the debate while at the same time vowing to raise taxes of individuals and families.  Raising taxes for the people who work to protect those programs that he favors is not why the people elected this president, nor is it a healthy formula for a thriving economic system.  The redistribution of wealth is not what this country is about.  If we want to continue the same standard of living of past years, we must reward those qualities that made this country great so many decades ago i.e. hard work, innovation, motivation and initiative.

Handouts, subsidies, government assistance and poverty programs have not worked in the past and will not work in the future.   As Ronald Reagan said more than 30 years ago ". government is not the solution, government is the problem.".  

What Freedom Means To Me.

Freedom is to be born (legally) and raised in these great United States.  Although, I spent the first 13 years of my life in my native land Italy where I lived the idyllic life of a small country village, I cherish my life here in America because the United States is truly the land of freedom and opportunity for all.  America has afforded me the life that I would never have had had I remained in my native country, Sicily.

This 4^th of July is particularly special for me because it marks the 50^th anniversary of my coming to America and what an appropriate time to celebrate Independence Day, the day when this country we all love freed itself from the reins of the English’s throne. 

This 4^th of July, when I think of freedom, I reminisce of the day I arrived in the great harbor of New York City on a cold winter February day.  It was and still remains a day that I’ll never forget because living in these United States for the last five decades has been special.

 I was only six years old the first time I heard my father speak of America; it was the land of great opportunity he said and yes, that is the way he felt about this country so many years ago.  My father spoke kindly about the United States especially the city of Philadelphia, my mother’s birthplace.  In those days, that was the way Italians and most Europeans viewed this country; the land of honey with streets lined with gold.  My father in particular believed that with hard work and proper diligence, in America one could reach the sky and achieve a standard of living unequal in many European countries at that time.

Today, after so many 4^th of July celebrations I cannot help thinking how different my life would have been had I never come to America.  But to me, each 4^th of July celebration has a deeper meaning.  Living in Delaware County, Pennsylvania where I have lived for the past 45 years, I have achieved a level of happiness that I cannot put into words.  It is a privilege to be an American because this country is truly, “The land of Honey and the land of plenty.”

But while we rejoice on our good fortune, we must never forget that even today as we begin to celebrate another 4^th of July, American men and women are fighting for the cause of freedom in distant lands sacrificing themselves so that we can continue to live free.

As an immigrant, I am particularly thankful and I can with verity that the United States of America is the best hope for mankind on earth.  I can say what I am saying because I know first hand what it means to be free in a country devoid of infringements and restrictions. 

Yes, I have been lucky to have the opportunity to live in such a nice place.

More importantly, I thank God that even today while each one of us enjoys the fruits of freedom here at home, others are fighting hard in the struggle for our continued liberty and the freedom for future generations of Americans.

 

Needed: A New Amwerican Culture

Needed: A new American Culture.

What is happening to America today?   Fifty years ago, the only thing that immigrants (people who were fortunate enough to come to the land of opportunity) asked of this country, was the opportunity to work in a free-oriented society without the infringement of government.

This was the reason people from all over the globe flocked to this country.  It was the opportunity that they in many cases, did not have in their native land.  This was the reason why my father 55 years ago came to America.   It was the chance of a better life (with proper diligence and hard work) that attracted many to leave their homeland and come to the United States.  

Notice that, nowhere in the minds of these immigrants was even the thought that they were coming to this country to live off the government or on the shoulders of other working Americans.   In fact, 50 years ago a prospective immigrant before setting foot in this country, he/she had to have a personal guarantor or a job waiting, to make sure that that person would not be a drain on the American taxpayer.

Well, today not only do we have immigrants who expect to live on the shoulders of others, we have illegal aliens who not only collect a check, free medical benefits and subsidized housing, now they are also going to college at the expense of taxpayers as in the case of California where the current governor has proposed legislation to pay for illegal aliens college education.  What a joke!!!

Making matters worse for many of us who worked and paid into the system, is the idea that these people already draining our system, are also demanding speaking in their own language something that I personally find abhorrent because when I came to this country, I struggled for six months before learning the language of my adopted land.  It was a period of enculturation for me, a time where I adopted my new country as my own.  Today and for past 50 years, the United States has been and will continue to be my home.  The same is not true for many of today’s illegals that come here to rape our system in the form of government benefits etc. 

So what gives?  Why are we so lenient with what is happening in this country today? Why are we so passive, continuing to give our legislators in Washington and at the state and local level a free pass by not requesting a more equitable system to guarantee the future of new generations of Americans?  Why are we allowing our congressmen and senators to place the social security system, enacted by president Franklin Roosevelt to protect seniors in their retirement years, in danger by the free-spending frenzy of this administration?

Recently, much has been said about cutting back on entitlements with an eye on the social security system. President Obama, in an effort to cut spending, has already hinted that social security and Medicare are not the untouchables they once were.  But, who ever said that the social security system and Medicare were entitlements?  Social security is money funded and paid by the taxes of working people, sometimes paying for more than 50 years.  Just because today the government has to borrow money to pay for the extravagances of years of mismanagement of the social security system by the inept politicians in Washington, does not mean that the benefits that seniors receive is some kind of charity, a handout or an entitlement?

Wake up America!  It is time to look at the bull in the eye and say, something is wrong with the current trend in this country.  But now, let us talk about entitlements.  Are people aware that members of congress receive, free healthcare, outrageous benefit retirement packages, almost 3 months of paid vacation and paid holidays, unlimited paid sick days etc.  Isn't this real entitlement perks that we the taxpayers do not have, yet are forced to pay higher and higher taxes to cover the cost of these benefits given to the fat cats in Washington and in the state houses.  What about the handouts and the subsidies to car companies, oil companies, corporations etc.  Why is it, that no one is talking about the trillion dollars that each and every year are given to these entities that continue to fail only to be bailed out again on the shoulders of working America.

Recently, states such as Illinois, California, New Jersey and to a lesser extent Pennsylvania have reported that bankruptcy is not far behind if drastic cuts in spending are not made.  Why not cut the outrageous benefits and other waste that has caused many states to be on the brink of bankruptcy?  California in particular has a $20 billion dollar budget deficit yet, the beloved governor, Jerry Brown and the California supreme court have ruled that illegal aliens can attend college and collect benefits on the shoulders of California taxpayers. Are we kidding???  It is unbelievable to say the least.

Why are we continuing to reward illegality with college degrees and government benefits? When these people are found, why not deport them for entering this country illegally?   Illegal aliens cost this country $113 billion dollars a year and no one seems to care.  In California’s Los Angeles County alone, illegals cost the taxpayers more than $600 millions a year.   Yet, from our representatives in Washington to the legislators in our state and local governments, no one is doing anything to protect the people of America; the seniors in particular who live on a fixed income and who struggle on a daily basis to make ends meet.

Two hundred years ago, Thomas Jefferson said, “Our democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.”  If the American people continue to allow the raping of this country by those who choose not to work, Jefferson’s words will surely come back to haunt us.  We are living on borrowed time with the ever-increasing budget deficits and the irresponsible spending in Washington. 

It is time to wake up!!  We must forget political correctness and speak the truth for a change.   This government that is changing this country into a third-world nation must change its course because if we continue on this road, total destruction of our current system cannot be far behind.