A LESSON FROM THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER

 BRYCE ON POLITICS

- Demonstrates the difference between capitalism and socialism.

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I think we’re all familiar with the Aesop fable regarding "The Ant and the Grasshopper." I first heard it in kindergarten when the teacher tried to impress upon us the need for diligent work. As you will recall, the fable describes a grasshopper who spent the warm summer months singing and playing while the ant toiled in the fields in preparation for the cold winter. When it finally arrives, the grasshopper finds itself dying of hunger and begs the ant for food who is less than sympathetic as he remembered how the grasshopper wasted his time earlier.

Here, the ant represents industry and the grasshopper portrays the fool who would rather fiddle as opposed to store supplies for the winter. It is a lesson of capitalism versus socialism. Whereas the ant works earnestly during the summer, the grasshopper pleads for help from the ant during the winter, who only rebukes him for his idleness during the summer.

If Aesop were to write the story by today's standards though, I think it would go something like this:

"As the ant struggled and worked to eek out a living, he would be forced to pay the grasshopper a handsome entertainment fee for listening to his fiddle. Even though the grasshopper refused to seek honest employment, the government took half of the ant's food supplies and gave it to the grasshopper who claimed he was entitled to it. The more industrious the ant became to compensate for his declining food supplies, the more the government took. By wintertime, the ant and his family faced exhaustion and famine. In contrast, the grasshopper now lived comfortably in the biggest ant hill with an abundance of food. In desperation, the ant knocked on the grasshopper's door to beg for some food. The grasshopper laughed and slammed the door in the ant's face whereupon he perished in the snow."

As a footnote, the grasshopper perished shortly thereafter as there were no other ants remaining to farm the food.

I, for one, have no intention of going the way of the ant in this modern-day version reflecting the political dynamics of today.

Years ago, when I was in college, I came upon the following quote by Laurence M. Gould, President Emeritus of Carleton College in Minnesota:

"I do not believe the greatest threat to our future is from bombs or guided missiles. I don't think our civilization will die that way. I think it will die when we no longer care. Arnold Toynbee has pointed out that 19 of 21 civilizations have died from within and not from without. There were no bands playing and flags waving when these civilizations decayed. It happened slowly, in the quiet and the dark when no one was aware."

Gould's message had a profound effect on me. I too believe America will be destroyed from within, not by external forces. Indeed, history will inevitably repeat itself.

In our case, it will be caused by liberals who want to overturn the American way of life; who want to redistribute the wealth, eliminate God from our culture, reject American exceptionalism, subvert the United States constitution, and replace it with autocratic rule. In so doing, government will become bloated, bureaucratic and control every aspect of our lives, thereby realizing George Orwell's prophetic "Big Brother." Make no mistake, liberals do not support the middle class, they want to destroy it as they know this is where the real power resides in our country. Without a middle class, Socialism blooms.

Behind this is a deep-seated belief the people are not smart enough to do what is best for themselves and the world overall, that they must be controlled and coerced like cattle. Liberals believe the world should be led by the selected few who know what is best and control others accordingly, thereby creating a slave state; people who will do their master's bidding as long as they are taken care of. Under this approach, you are to allow others to do the thinking for you, share everything, own no property, you are expected to behave a certain way, and you will be rewarded accordingly with food, housing, freebies and drugs. More than anything, liberalism is about social engineering and control (aka, slavery).

For centuries, immigrants had to adapt to the American culture. They were asked to learn the English language and conform to the country’s laws, rules and regulations. Today it is just the reverse; the American public is being asked to learn immigrant languages and customs, and adapt to their laws, and rules. One could even suggest that illegal immigrants today have more rights and privileges than American citizens. This is unnatural; the individual should adapt to the culture, not the other way around.

Obviously, this dictatorial form of government is in sharp contrast to our current form which provides certain unalienable rights for the individual. The supposition here is that a monarchy can rule better than a democratically elected republic. Interestingly, this was the reason we fought the Revolutionary War, to eliminate monarchies and provide a government for and by the people.

The lifestyle promoted by liberals is not a natural one. Under a socialist approach, there are no losers (or winners for that matter). Work is no longer considered a natural extension of the human spirit, nor is risk. Consequently, liberals are promoting a program that will ultimately kill ambition, exploration, invention, and entrepreneurship. More importantly, it kills our sense of craftsmanship and productivity and turns us into a second class country.

Bottom-line: The Liberal agenda is moving slowly and silently, but they are moving nevertheless. As Gould said, "It happened slowly, in the quiet and the dark when no one was aware."

Our very way of life is at stake.

Keep the Faith!

P.S. - Also, I have a NEW book, "Before You Vote: Know How Your Government Works", What American youth should know about government, available in Printed, PDF and eBook form. This is the perfect gift for youth!

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Tim Bryce is an author, freelance writer and the Managing Director of M&JB Investment Company (M&JB) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 40 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at timb1557@gmail.com

For Tim's columns, see:   timbryce.com

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