[StBernard] Brown University 1:This kid doesn't get it

[Westley Annis]

Not only does this kid not get it, but if you think about it, why should he
even try to "get it?"  After all, look at where he's attending college - at
one of the most expensive "eastern" colleges in the U.S.  Obviously, he's
not paying for it - his rich parents are - maybe a scholarship.  Not that
there's one thing wrong with that, but naturally, he doesn't have what I
call an "understanding of money" - that's because he's never had to!

So, to put it one way...he's been taken care of all his life, so he develops
at a young age this liberal-socialist notion that "if I've been taken care,
shoot, everyone else should be taken care of too, right?"  The laugh that
comes from this he probably won't get for some years.  You see, Mike is
young, he's yet to grow up and take on the responsibilities of reality -
unless of course he takes on a career as an academian, which he'll never
enter the "real world" as my Dad always preached to me.

For that matter, let's take this a step further.  If you take a look at
Obama, his concept of government - is it really any different from Mike's?
Obama and his entire cabinet is made up of people of who have NEVER had to
(and here I go again sounding like my father) work at a "real job and live
and struggle to survive in the real world" - boy, do I wish I had a nickel
for everytime I heard that as a kid!

I have to admit that part of my laugh when I watch those Nextel commercials
like "if overnight shippers ran the world" or "if firemen ran the country"
is due to the fact that it's true that things would be better run if
shippers or firemen ran things because they live lives and work at jobs that
ground them in the real world - they realize things are best administrated
from a "realist" perspective, not a liberal one.

If you're liberal and having difficulties grasping the difference between
the two perspectives, then let me give you a prime example between two
friends of mine who are both school teachers.  One, who is very liberal,
agonizes over every child who fails to "have it" for college and fails, even
though he believes he and other teachers gave it everything they had to help
the student.  He further believes we should give this "high school flunkee"
a good paying job anyway - just for effort.  Then there's my other teacher
friend, who also after believing they gave their best at educating the
failing student says "hey, the world needs good ditch diggers, too."  Now
that is a realist.  The moral: everybody can't always be motiviated to
succeed, thus not everybody can be taken care of by the rest of society - or
government for that matter.

So, for the moment, don't come down on Mike too hard.  He's still young and
thank God there's still time for him to become a realist.

- John Scurich