For the Greater Good...?

A government that would penalize a company for showing a profit by forcing the company to 'share the wealth under our rules', regardless of what that company sells or who owns it, is a simple step away from a government that says 'if you plant a garden and reap a harvest, you must share it with the government so we can share it with everyone for you in the way we see fit'.

This was a remark made on a group I visit, in a rather heated conversation regarding President-elect Obama's energy bill ideas. Personally, I don't know much about what plans are in the making or being discussed. It's that rock I live under, you know. When they make a definite decision, I'll know about it then. They way the government alters its course of action on any given thing, I won't believe one way or the other until it's a done deal. Talk is cheap. Action is where the rubber meets the road.

You know, back in the Y2k days, you could not have a well drilled without the city and government being notified, even if simply reworking an existing well on your property.

Of course, it's all done "for the greater good" in the event of emergencies or when martial law is needed. There might be a state of emergency and the government might need to confiscate your potable water.

And no doubt sell it back to you later, or tax you on it for using it.

Guess it's all about your perception of how friendly the ol' Big Brother is, really. I'm certainly not some renegade lone wolf sort, burying ammo and food stores in my back yard in PVC pipes or anything. But I do suppose I'm a touch paranoid of government friendliness to a point.

I just want to live a nice quiet little life here, away from the fast-moving world. I don't want the government to worry about whether or not my children have social security numbers, or have amassed a thick file of doctor and dental visits. I don't need them worrying about what curriculum I use, or how I represent our religious faith in day to day life. It's not necessary that they worry about what mileage I put on my van, where I prefer to shop, or what I buy when I do shop.

That lead law legislation we're all buzzing about lately seems utterly insane to me. Sure, I understand the ills of lead and all that, but the sheer ignorance of the scope presented is just insane. Every item out there that may be guided toward children....every item, every book, every individual component of every item manufactured? And make it retroactive to boot?

Every single item sitting on a rack, shelf or display at Wal-Mart...Target...KMart...Costco...the list is absolutely endless. And it's not just every store, every shop, every seller out there...it's every item and component of every item they have on hand and in view now, sitting in a warehouse or other storage, etc. I can't even wrap my mind around the volume we're talking about here. It's just every thing.

Good-bye to the smaller businesses that help us not be a Wal-Mart clone. Mom & Pop shops are going the way of Route 66 as it is, this just moves them along faster. No more scenic drives...it's all 6-lane highways and toll roads.

How can you check and verify every single item and every component of every single item? Not just the fabric of the clothing -- it's the thread, the inks and dyes in the threads and the fabrics, the snaps, the buttons, the zippers, and the inks and dyes in each of them as well. All the items in the store you see, and all the items waiting in the store room to be brought out, and all the items waiting at the mega-distribution warehouses all over the US. That kind of control is too much. That kind of control will limit what we can buy, naturally, all supposedly for the greater good. The government is going to decide what we need to have available to buy and choose from by making it too much of a hardship financially for us to choose for ourselves. Those companies footing the bill for all this retroactive testing certainly won't eat the cost of it themselves.

The worst economic times we've seen 2 generations, and legislation like this comes about now.

And then the digital revolution with these television changes due to lock into place next month. The "all digital revolution" might not work as well as they first planned. Seems they have noticed/determined that several million homes don't yet or won't be able to have the converter box in time to make the switch to all digital broadcasting. Some 25 million requests were sent in for some 48 million converter boxes...and the government ran out of them and have no more to sell off. Don't have one yet? You'll be sitting in a world of fuzzy television come Feb 17th.

The government is worried about those of us being left behind. Nevermind some of us might want to be left behind...and forgotten about. But they are concerned that just too many households won't have the switch made and will be left in the dark, so they are now talking of placing the digital revolution on hold, temporarily.

Yes, I know a reason for this switch is so emergency systems will have access to more analog channels for broadcasting and the like. Police, fire, ambulance, Homeland Security, State of Emergency, etc. That's not a bad thing at all. I'm not saying it is.

But why is the government worried about some folks not being ready for the switch? So many don't even have to worry about it -- they've sold themselves out to the cable and satellite companies already. Forget the fact that those cable companies and satellite providers charge ridiculous rates for their service, and they change their rates just about as often as they bill you. No one minds that. They just don't want to be left unconnected to the world. Forget that those hi-def fancy plasma and LCD television sets use upwards of some 300% more electricity to operate. So much for the lofty talk of our country moving ahead toward a Green Revolution and reducing our 'carbon footprint' and all that. Forget that with this fancy digital revolution, you are at the whim of any governmental office not only to track your viewing preferences and sharing what information they want you to know, they can stop that flow to spoon feed you whatever information they feel is necessary. They couldn't always stop your television viewing before to spread their news, but they can once the switch is made.

What exactly will happen if stores and sellers in the US can't certify their current stock, or afford to purchase the new stuff that is certified? What exactly will happen if households can't get those converter boxes and come next month, they live a life blacked-out from the information highway streaming into their personal homes?

I'm not concerned about what will happen when all of this takes place...not as concerned as I am that we have been blind enough to bring ourselves to such a place of submission and robotic following that we think it's for the greater good that it does happen this way.

Amerika, Amerika...God shed His Grace on Thee...