The Paradoxical Progressive Playbook from an Outsider's Perspective

A week after the 2016 presidential election, news networks and liberals are still scratching their heads wondering what went wrong.  There has been no shortage of op-ed pieces written on this matter, so instead of offering up more opinions as to why Hillary Clinton lost, perhaps it would help to present an outsider's perspective of the progressive liberal agenda as a mirror to help progressives see what outsiders' see.

From a pragmatic perspective, the progressive narrative dominating modern American culture does not seem compassionate, logical, or hopeful.  Instead of presenting a dream for a better future, progressive ideals place America on a destructive trajectory. The progressive playbook looks more like a toxic pile of insulting labels and paradoxical talking points than any reasonable or helpful plan for positive change, so those outside of progressive herds refused to support such dismal plans with their votes. An outsider's observations of the progressives' rule book for playing the social change game, with all its many contradictions, are listed below.

The Paradoxical Progressive Playbook

An Outsider's Perspective

• Truth is relative and tolerance is encouraged, except with regard to progressive platforms.  To join the progressive club, you must hold all views in common with the progressive elites. Comments, questions, or suggestions that oppose the progressive talking points will not be tolerated under any circumstance.  The marketplace of ideas now only has room for our ideas. Progressives value diversity as long as everyone thinks like we do. Freedom of speech is applauded during progressive protest events, but any speech that differs in content from ours must be silenced immediately. Use force when necessary.

• Even though wealthy Americans and business owners create jobs, build the economy, support their communities, and give generously to charity, they are a menace to society and must be punished.  Exceptions exist for wealthy businessmen who financially support our cause and collude with progressive minded politicians like Michael Froman, a former Citibank executive, did when he purchased the right to appoint Obama’s cabinet members. As for the others who do not advance our new social order, we don’t need the jobs they create anyway since we can choose to not work and live off entitlements or to work for the government or globalist billionaires as community organizers, protestors, lobbyists, and politicians.

• Facts never matter to us. We are ruled by our feelings, even when our feelings lie to us.  No matter how well people support their arguments with facts, if what they say makes us feel uncomfortable or compromises the validity of our worldview, they are wrong. Remember that there is no right or wrong, but we are always right, and they are always wrong.

• Progressives are free spirits. We think outside-of-the-box. We will not let conservatives tell us what to do with our bodies! We support socialized health care because the government can make better decisions about our healthcare and our bodies than we can, except with regard to abortion.  We just need to make sure progressive elites maintain control of our national healthcare syste because they are so interested in fanticide and euthanasia, they will tell us to abort anyway, especially if we're poor, black, or some other "weed". (Also note Alan Guttmacher's work regarding Planned Parenthood, abortion, and euthanasia.)

"It means the release and cultivation of the better racial elements in our society, and the gradual suppression, elimination and eventual extirpation of defective stocks — those human weeds which threaten the blooming of the finest flowers of American civilization." - Margaret Sanger,  8 April 1923 New York Times article

• To manage conflict, shut-down all conversations involving opposing worldviews. Preferred progressive methods for ending uncomfortable conversations include:  

1. Make broad sweeping statements to categorize and insult entire groups of people even if the person holding the opposing viewpoint does not characterize that group as a whole.
2. Use elementary school style bullying as needed.
3. Complain that your feelings art hurt and start the water works.
4. Protest, riot, and commit acts of violence that will attract the media and provide free press for the progressive platform.
5. Apply labels liberally.  Popular progress labels include "sexist", "bigot" "racist", "intolerant", "xenophobic", "intolerant", "supremacist", and "nationalist".

• People do not kill people.  The NRA and guns kill people, so support all efforts to ban guns and bankrupt the NRA. Allowed exceptions include arming terrorists  and running guns to drug cartels because the progressive government leaders who made those decisions know far better than we do what is best. If we ban guns and set up more gun-free zones, then we will be safe because terrorists and criminals do not break our laws.We can trust the Democrats in federal government (who let our men die in Benghazi despite repeated pleas for help not just from Ambassador Stephens and even from the Pentagon who had reinforcements ready and waiting to defend them) to protect us, so why would we ever need to protect ourselves?

• Progressives support the interests of the LGBTQ community except when terrorists want to shoot them all in a bar in Orlando. In that case, the FBI stopped all investigations surrounding suspected terrorist Omar Matten due to FBI limitations.  We would not consider tightening the borders or keeping out the terrorists who have a deeper level of hatred for gays as as long as the nations that fund terror also fund our cause with many millions of dollars. 

• Even though America was founded on Christian principles which even Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson (both of whom were not Christians) insisted were vital for democracy’s survival (we're writing all that out of the revised history books), even though Christians continue to be the most generous people on earth with their time and their money, even though faith based ministries provide more effective world relief and humanitarian aid than secular or government programs, and even though Biblical truth and strong Christian faith were what drove William Wilberforce, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Abraham Lincoln, and U.S. Republicans to take great risks to free the oppressed, Christianity must be suppressed because it hinders our ultimate goal of suppressing all mankind.

•  Since so many people have suffered and died in the name of religion, and since Catholics and evangelical Christians oppose our revolutionary ideas, both groups should be punished. To ensure that their influence dies, we will infiltrate their churches with wolves in sheep's clothing who will pretend to be like them but lead them all astray. (Reference "Catholic Spring" in the Podesta emails at WikiLeaks.)  Note how many have died under evangelical dictators in the chart below compared to atheists. Oops, evangelicals are note even listed in the top 10, but we do see 15 million killed under a Catholic dictator who was far more corrupt than he was Catholic.  Just don't look at how many people were killed by atheists, as our globalist minded financial backers are atheists, and we don't want to portray them as mass murderers. This chart only shows dictators, but while evangelicals and Catholics oppose dictatorships, progressives aren't for dictatorships either...well, not yet anyway, but that is where our agenda ultimately leads. It will be fine, though.  While ultimate power ultimately corrupts, these wealthy men who are vying for dictator status are on our side....at least for now. Oh never mind!

Source

• So evangelicals are not mass murderers, but they oppose our "Constitutionally protected" right to kill out own children which overrules the child's God given right to life (in our minds anyway), and that’s a problem. Imagine what the world would be like if the 58 million Americans* aborted since 1973 had been allowed to live, love, laugh, learn and give back. We are not like the tyrants in the chart above because we only mass murder innocent people whom Planned Parenthood operatives convince us will make our lives inconvenient. 

*53 million from 1973 through 2011 plus approximately 1 million per year since in the U.S. alone 

• Evangelical beliefs are far more radical than ours, especially in the way they treat women and children. Evangelicals actually teach that children are not an inconvenience but rather, a blessing and a gift from the Lord. They think separation of church and state means the government cannot dictate how they practice their faith, but we will make sure they are forced by law to pay for our abortions. Evangelical and Catholics are barbaric in the way they describe the partial birth procedure. Their medical accuracy and pictures make us feel guilty. (Remember again that anyone who makes you feel uncomfortable is wrong!).  The partial birth procedure is nothing more than turning the baby into a breech position (which is harmful for the mother, but losing sleep because of a baby's cries is no picnic either), and delivering the healthy, full-term baby backward, all except the head, and then while the body hangs out of the mother's body, the doctor simply pokes his scissors into the skull and then sucks the brains out.  It hurts like the dickens, but the full term healthy and vibrant fetal mass does not suffer forever. 

• Progressives are so much more humane and loving than gun toters. They hunt for food or for sport and call it conservationism.  We would not kill a flee on our pets, much less kill a large animal, and we protest like crazy when a gorilla is killed at the Cincinnati zoo to save a boy’s life.

• Thanks to the federal government’s progressive move to underwrite college education (which drove tuition prices sky high, but we don't care because unsustainable federal debt will bring down America and that is our end goal), progressive academia, college students, and millennials are now the most indoctrinated educated members of society. They are so indoctrinated educated that they can recite an entire diversity training manual from memory.  Some are so versed in social justice warrior skills that they can earn a PhD for a dissertation that labels STEM curricula as sexist on the premise that women cannot think objectively!  Post- doctoral research has become so advanced that one astute professor conducted a study that proved that pumpkins are racist!  While these educated progressives have no comprehension of basic economics, finance, history, civics, logic, or rhetoric, and cannot recite a single line from the U.S. Constitution, they know that Roe V. Wade gave them the freedom to abort babies.  They have no concept of communism or its ill effects. Nearly two-thirds of millennials surveyed agree with Marxist philosophy and 46% think socialism is good while 58% view capitalism unfavorably (view full survey results here), but that's good for our cause because socialism is a prerequisite for world domination, and capitalism works against us since it tends to restore failing economies.  They have no concept of the value of human liberty or of the ultimate price paid by countless American patriots to preserve it, so they would gladly trade their freedom, which has infinite worth, for free stuff the government buys with hard working taxpayers' money. They have no concept of limited resources or the implications of oppressive debt loads, but they have lots of ideas for ways to spend other people’s hard earned money. Progressive college students do not know how to handle disappointment as illustrated by the recent rioting, and they cannot deal with real life outside of their safe spaces, but they are expert protestors and have mastered the art of political correctness.  They will suit our  agenda perfectly.

• Even though slavery existed in every ancient civilization and continued through the Babylonian, Greek, and Roman empires, all through the Middle Ages, around the Mediterranean region, throughout Arabia and Africa, and grew during the 10th century German expansion during which so many Slavs were taken as slaves that we derived our generic term “slave” from them), and even though slavery spread to Russia and the entire Baltic sea region and on to Portugal, Europe, Britain, the West Indies, and the U.S. colonies, white Americans are the only ones to blame for slavery**, even if white Americans have no genetic connection to slave owners and even if they are descendants of abolitionists. White Anglo-Saxons did not start slavery, but they did lead the efforts to abolish it. Even so, we will punish all whites forever no matter how much they stand up against racial injustice now.

**Please note that conservative Christians hold to a Biblical, benevolent patriotism.  We seek to manage our resources wisely, grow our economy, and honor God so that as He pours blessings upon us, we may be a blessing to other nations.  Our patriotism must never be a selfish, racist, or imperialistic nationalism. It's not about more for us, but about providing more benefits to the entire world through wise stewardship of the resources God has given us. 

• Even though slavery still exists in America for people of all colors and nationalities here in the U.S. and abroad through human trafficking and radical Islam, and even though conservative Christians of all races strive to set them free out of human compassion and in memory of all who have suffered in slavery before them,  progressives tend to ignore such injustice going on right now all around us because we are so consumed with injustices of the past.  Besides, we rae more likely to stir up the racial division and the violent street drama George Soros wants by rehashing past injustices, making everyone feel guilty, and punishing the majority.  Instead of fighting against current slavery and gross injustice in a way that could save and heal countless lives, families, marriages, and cultures, we will accept financial donations from nations who encourage and support human trafficking. We will preserve and expand pornography and lewd entertainment both in pop music culture and in darker corners of the internet, child pornography, and pedophilia in the name of free speech, free love, and free sexual expression, no matter how violent or inhumane, to increase the demand for trafficked victims. Those who fund us profit most when we support sexual slavery, and those of us who choose to indulge in the lusts of the flesh enjoy the easy access, so it’s a win/win.

• America is not great and never has been great.  Thus, America must be punished, weakened, marginalized and depressed so that the U.S. can no longer bring freedom, hope, healing, and charity to suffering people around the world.  The weaker America becomes, the more our wealthy, corrupt sugar daddies can radically transform America into vassal nation with no foundation of morality, no respect for the traditional family or the stability it brings to a nation, no rule of law, no respect for others, and no order at all.  In such a helpless estate, America will be poised and ready to become slaves to a corrupt, unaccountable, powerful, tyrannical global government. 

We ordinary outsiders whom progressives failed to consider during the 2016 election, are ruled by truth and common sense instead of progressive indoctrination and feelings, so we see the progressive agenda differently than they do.  It is an extremely clever strategy, especially as it has infiltrated schools, churches, and the media to totally transform how and what people think, but we wonder if the individuals who buy into this movement are being duped by their masters, or if they are deliberately allowing themselves to be used as pawns to dismantle America and to further the globalists' dream of uniting the entire world under their authority.  Such a notion may seem like a radical right wing conspiracy theory, but after 30 years of observing compounding evidence and perusing recent WikiLeaks and FBI reports, it is almost impossible to refute.  This 15 minute video provides a quick summary of all those years of evidence and outlines the globalists' strategy.

The Bible provides God's opinion on globalism in the book of Genesis. God initially created the earth to be one global community under His perfectly loving, omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent reign, but the fall of man corrupted that perfect design.  The Tower of Babel account in Genesis 11: 1-11 shows man's attempt to unite as one global community, filled with pride and lust for power.  In His mercy, God disrupted their plans and spread the people out into unique nations with different languages to prevent them from become slaves to all- powerful, unaccountable, corrupt, global rulers.  When Christ returns to judge the earth, He will establish a unified kingdom, but peace, unity, and goodness are only possible under His reign, for only He is completely righteous, all knowing, and perfect in love and grace. Only God Himself can rightly manage that much power in truth and justice. Until he returns, antichrists will come and go. They will deny the truth, reject God, and seek to rule over people as gods.  But believers must be discerning and reject false teaching.  It should come as no surprise that George Soros and his posse of globalists, coming together under Soros' Open Society Foundation (aka Open Borders Society), are secular humanists who despise God and deceive and destroy that which God created for good.

⁷ I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. ⁸ Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. ⁹ Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. ¹⁰ If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them. ¹¹ Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work. (2 John 2: 7-11)

When Choosing the Lesser of Two Evils Trumps Choosing Neither

To those still struggling (as I have this election in particular) with the question of how to vote if you're not comfortable choosing the lesser of evils because it still feels like choosing evil, consider that we live in a fallen world which regularly presents us with a choice between two evils.  Some choices, such as which route to take home during rush hour when you know both routes will tempt you to have unwholesome thoughts, may not seem as bad as this election.  Other choices involve much higher stakes.  If an intruder breaks into your home with plans to assault your spouse or children, will you choose to shoot the intruder or let him have his way with your beloved family?  Both options seem evil, but you can't just stand there refusing to choose either option because the perpetrator will certainly choose for you!  When given a cancer diagnosis, the choice between traditional chemo treatments vs. another non-FDA approved alternative approach will feel like a choice between evils. If you choose neither, cancer will ravage your body.  Whatever you decide or don't decide in any lesser of evils decision, let us remember that God could intervene at any time in any way he chooses.  Any choice, even a choice between two evils, that is ultimately decided by trusting in God's sovereign will and faithfully following His leading glorifies the Lord.  He sees the motivations and longings of our hearts which matter more to Him than the fact that neither choice is ideal.

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:2)

Let us humbly and honestly consider ourselves as we evaluate imperfect presidential candidates.  I asked myself, "Do I consider myself too moral to vote for a platform I know our country desperately needs to preserve democracy, the Constitution, religious freedom, and the very lives of persecuted people around the world simply because the candidate representing that platform offended us with something he said over a decade ago?  Have I no words in my past which I wish I could take back?" I most certainly do, and without Christ I am nothing.  The choices began to look different for me when I weighed the Trump's character in light of my own shortcomings.

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. (Romans 12:2-3)

Eric Metaxas reminded me of William Wilberforce and Dietrich Bonhoeffer who chose to immerse themselves in corrupt worldly systems so they could stand for what was right with the goal of freeing the oppressed.  God's word led them to stand for truth, justice, and life despite the evil they had to encounter in the process. So God's word has great power to bring about change even through corrupt human systems.

I was also reminded of the way God has used wretched men throughout history who He humbled and brought to repentance.  The more I learn from wise God fearing men who Trump has chosen as his advisors, the more encouraged I am that he is closer to repentance than he has ever been before.  I wrote more about how the hope of repentance influenced my decision here.

When Trump first won the RNC ticket, I considered a write-in as a way to voice my opposition to both candidates and to draw attention to the type of leader we truly want.  However, I reconsidered as I learned more about how much is at stake in this election. I live in a swing state where every vote counts, and write-ins are not even considered in my state, unless they are for Jill Stein. If I even want the opportunity to vote for a truly conservative candidate who upholds Christian values in the next election, the I have to focus now on battling the overwhelming corruption that is overtaking our country and plucking away are freedoms.  As sad as it is to admit, Trump is the only candidate with a chance of pushing back the stronghold of corruption in federal government apart from God's supernatural intervention. The more I prayed and learned (not from the media's propaganda machine but through Wikileaks and those with direct information), the more convinced I became personally that I must use my vote, the only earthly power I have, to help stop Hillary Clinton. 

Frankly, this election is not about me or my preferences. It's much bigger that my family and my own personal concerns.  When I consider the slaughters, the persecutions, the unstoppable corruption and outright treason throughout the federal government, the out of control violence and division, the economic crisis, the international crises threatening nuclear war, the freedoms (religious freedom especially) on the chopping block, the expansion of abortion into infanticide territory with Supreme Court Justices (Ginsberg especially) who support eugenics, new support for "post birth abortion" as they call it, the plot to divide Catholics, the attack on conservative Catholics and evangelicals which includes insistence that they change their beliefs about abortion, Hillary's desire to repeal the Hyde Amendment, Obama's attempts to force religious groups to pay for the abortion pill through Obamacare, lawsuits that resulting in fining Christian businesses for refusing to participate in gay marriage ceremonies, and new pressure to cater to Obama's transgender bathroom mandate, it's just all so much bigger than any of my personal objections to a man's temperament or past words. Judge me all you want, but the more I dig up information that clearly counters the mainstream narrative fed to the media by the DNC to smear Trump, the more convinced I am that I have to vote with the "deplorables" even if the DNC election rigging schemes (verified by Project Veritas Action) are not stopped. The vote and continued uncovering of the truth are all we have left in terms of human power.  But prayer is always our greatest resource, for the Almighty God has all authority and all power to deliver us.

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the
majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is
your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. Wealth and
honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might
are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given
strength. (1 Chronicles 29:11-12, (NLT)

⁷ But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare...

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. ¹² Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:7, 11-13)

Addendum
As I have openly and honestly described my own struggle with this election dilemma, I am concerned that my words or opinions may have offended members of God's precious family of faith.  So I have issued and apology and an appeal for unity on the next blog posting found here.

Empowerment vs Entitlement in Parenting and in Politics

Instead of bashing the character of our political candidates, let's compare their proposed policies and consider the outcomes of each.  When evaluating the economic proposals being presented by opposing candidates, it may help (or at least feel less nauseating) to liken each approach to two very different parenting styles.

1) EMPOWERMENT parenting focuses on giving children what they need (not necessarily what they want) to become independent, responsible, valuable citizens out of unconditional, tough love. It builds strong moral character, teaches critical thinking and practical life skills, emphasizes exercising patience and personal self-discipline for greater long term gains vs. fleeting short term gain, and values diligence and excellence in all work and study. This parenting style may result in some parent-child misunderstanding, especially during the more erratic adolescent and early teen years when the child may perceives his parents as being stingy or too strict compared to other parents or as not doing enough for him compared to what they did for him as a younger child when he was less capable. When the skills, values, and tenacity instilled in him by his parents enable him to graduate from college debt free, find gainful employment or start his own business, and become a self-sufficient, tax-paying, high-contributing citizen, he then respects and appreciates his parents more than ever.  This empowered young adult is much more likely to have the heart, mind, and resources to meet the needs of others, whether by providing jobs, investing in infrastructure, doing meaningful work, or serving his community with his time, talents, and earnings. The parents, the child, future in-laws and grandchildren, the community, the economy, children around the world, and even the federal reserve ALL benefit as a result because empowerment creates more for everyone.

 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. ¹¹ We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. ¹² We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.  (Hebrews 6:10-12)

2) ENTITLEMENT parenting focuses on giving the child every whim, fancy, and outcome (as opposed to opportunities) the child could possibly desire to appease the child and to get the child to like them and feel loved.  Chore charts, part-time jobs, and charitable volunteer work common so common in empowered families are seen as distractions from the easy life the parents think their precious child deserves. These parents may threaten teachers or coaches who withhold merit-based honors or awards from their child (because the child gave no effort and therefore did not earn them). They go in debt making sure their child keeps up with all the latest fads and drives the nicest sports car. These parents may even complete college applications FOR the child and submit even more school loan applications because neither the child nor the parents has any money left by then for college. If the child graduates, he graduates with lots of debt and moves back home with his parents who have no savings and are still struggling to make ends meet after accumulating so much debt while providing so much for their child.  Their grown child either cannot or will not find a job because he lacks discipline and motivation. When the under or unemployed son fathers a child, the baby and the undocumented mother take sanctuary in the basement since the entitled grown child still isn’t working. Eventually, even the most benevolent helicopter parents will run out of fuel/cash and crash and burn. At that point, they may become tyrants, lording over every aspect of their growing number of dependents' lives. They tell them where, how, and when to work, take their paychecks to pay off debtors, and ration basic food staples. Everyone suffers under entitlement thinking, even when the initial motives are as pure as the love of parents for their child.

Source

While two parenting stories are hypothetical, they are not unrealistic.  We've seen enough examples to show that no matter what parenting style is used or how textbook “perfect” parents may be, what the child does with his life is ultimately up to the child, and parents must not carry false guilt over of situations outside of their control. However, psychologists and counselors will attest that the first style of parenting is more likely to set a child up for future independence and success. We also know based on over 2000 years of history, a close examination of economic outcomes for countries around the world today, and basic economic principles that markets thrive, poverty diminishes, tax revenue is collected to pay down debts, and more people benefit overall when government manipulation and tax rates are limited, when Americans are empowered for meaningful work through useful training/education and incentives to work diligently instead of being held back via long-term, no way out entitlement programs, and when long term benefits are the focus instead of short term whims and fancies provided with taxpayer dollars to buy the next vote.

While empowerment policies drive economic growth and reduce liabilities, entitlement policies increase liabilities and shrink the economy.  Despite the increasingly progressive economic policies under Obama, our founding father's vision of free markets and limited government, and our long history of encouraging independent thought, innovation, hard work, and job creation have helped the U.S. to remain the top nation for GDP (25%). The US dollar currently comprises 49.5% of the world's money transactions, while Great Britain, with similar economic policies and a very early start in the stock exchanges, is ranked #2.  Americans are also the most charitable people in the world.

Let us vote for policies that raise up future generations of empowered, hard-working, charitable citizens with integrity who create more for everyone instead of promoting a shrinking economy based on stealing from hard working job creators, innovators, and economy growth producers to provide for the entitled class who are being held back from their fullest potential by a system that encourages them to take instead of give.

gerardlameiro.com

When Free Markets Get the Oxgyen First

We've flown with our children approximately 100 times, and before every single flight, a flight attendant has told us that in case of cabin depressurization, we should place an oxygen mask on ourselves first and then place a mask on our children.

By Peter van der Sluijs - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

When my son actually listened to what the attendant was saying for the first time, he said, "That's not right. You should serve us first so we can survive, live longer, and prosper." And yes, God's word is clear that we should put the interests of others, especially the poor and weak, before ourselves. But parents know that the odds of the child surviving are much greater if both the parent and the child survive, so by putting our mask on first, we can better serve the child, not just at that moment but for the rest of our lives.

So when people first hear the principles of capitalism (and democracy) pitted against socialism without any frame of reference, historical data, or big picture understanding of implications and long term outcomes, they respond just like my son did, "That (capitalism) is not right. Let the old, rich, taxpayers die (via taxation or business crippling legislation) so we poor young people can live and prosper."

But America has proven to the entire world that by serving those who work hard, pay taxes, provide jobs, grow GDP, and build the economy, the odds of both the young and old, the weak and strong, and the poor and rich prospering is greater. But if we raise minimum wages, tax burdens, and entitlement programs to unsustainable levels, everyone will perish.

The key is finding the right balance. If the parent only puts his mask on first and never puts one on the child, the child will die by suffocation, and the parent will die of guilt and heartache. The greatest outcome is when love for another, not greed or self interest, is what motivates us to work hard, survive, and thrive so we may better serve and more extravagantly and joyfully give to others.