Founded By Geniuses And Run By Idiots

– Founded By Geniuses And Run By Idiots (Monty Pelerin’s World, Feb 27, 2013):

H. L. Mencken correctly observed:

Government is actually the worst failure of civilized man. There has never been a really good one, and even those that are most tolerable are arbitrary, cruel, grasping and unintelligent.

Mencken also was prescient:

As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their hearts desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.

But this is not about Mr. Mencken. Rather it is about some unknown individual who committed the following to the email world:

Food for thought…

• If you can get arrested for hunting or fishing without  a license, but not for being in the country illegally … you might live in a  country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.
• If you have to get your  parents’ permission to go on a field trip or take an aspirin in school, but not  to get an abortion … you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run  by idiots.
• If the only school curriculum allowed to explain how we got  here is evolution, but the government stops a $15 million construction project  to keep a rare spider from evolving to extinction … you might live in a  country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.
• If you have to show  identification to board an airplane, cash a check, buy liquor, or check out a  library book, but not to vote who runs the government … you might live in a  country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.
• If the government wants to  ban stable, law-abiding citizens from owning gun magazines with more than ten  rounds, but gives 20 F-16 fighter jets to the crazy new leaders in Egypt … you  might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.
• If, in the  largest city, you can buy two 16-ounce sodas, but not a 24-ounce soda because  24-ounces of a sugary drink might make you fat … you might live in a country  founded by geniuses but run by idiots.
• If an 80-year-old woman can be  stripped searched by the TSA but a woman in a hijab is only subject to having  her neck and head searched … you might live in a country founded by geniuses  but run by idiots.
• If your government believes that the best way to  eradicate trillions of dollars of debt is to spend trillions more … you might  live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.
• If a seven year  old boy can be thrown out of school for saying his teacher “cute,” but hosting a  sexual exploration or diversity class in grade school is perfectly acceptable  … you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.
• If  children are forcibly removed from parents who discipline them with spankings  while children of addicts are left in filth and drug infested “homes”… you  might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.
• If hard  work and success are met with higher taxes and more government intrusion, while  not working is rewarded with EBT cards, WIC checks, Medicaid, subsidized  housing, and free cell phones … you might live in a country founded by  geniuses but run by idiots.
• If the government’s plan for getting people  back to work is to incentivize NOT working with 99 weeks of Unemployment checks  and no requirement to prove they applied but can’t find work … you might live  in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.
• If you pay your  mortgage faithfully, denying yourself the newest big screen TV while your  neighbor buys iPhones, TV’s and new cars, and the government forgives his debt  when he defaults on his mortgage … you might live in a country founded by  geniuses but run by idiots.
• If being stripped of the  ability to defend yourself makes you more “safe” according to the government …  you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.