A friend of mine from Genius Rocket sent this to me this morning, and I thought it was quite funny in its informative sarcasm:
I then took a shower in the clean water provided by a municipal water utility.
After that, I turned on the TV to one of the FCC-regulated channels to see what the National Weather Service of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration determined the weather was going to be like, using satellites designed, built, and launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
I watched this while eating my breakfast of U.S. Department of Agriculture-inspected food and taking the drugs which have been determined as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
At the appropriate time, as regulated by the U.S. Congress and kept accurate by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the U.S. Naval Observatory, I get into my National Highway Traffic Safety Administration-approved automobile and set out to work on the roads build by the local, state, and federal Departments of Transportation, possibly stopping to purchase additional fuel of a quality level determined by the Environmental Protection Agency, using legal tender issued by the Federal Reserve Bank.
On the way out the door I deposit any mail I have to be sent out via the U.S. Postal Service and drop the kids off at the public school.
After spending another day not being maimed or killed at work thanks to the workplace regulations imposed by the Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health administration, enjoying another two meals which again do not kill me because of the USDA, I drive my NHTSA car back home on the DOT roads, to my house which has not burned down in my absence because of the state and local building codes and Fire Marshal’s inspection, and which has not been plundered of all its valuables thanks to the local police department.
And then I log on to the internet — which was developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration — and post on Freerepublic.com and Fox News forums about how SOCIALISM in medicine is BAD because the government can’t do anything right.”
Your energy comes from dirty fossil fuels subsidized by the government.
You clean water is contaminated by trace amounts of pharmaceuticals approved by the FDA.
The TV convinces you that consumption will make you happy!
Your breakfast most likely consists of a variety of different derivatives of corn because the government subsidizes it; and that all that corn is likely making you sick so need to buy medicine.
If only the government built trains instead of roads (thanks auto-lobby) you could ride to work!
Thanks for the oil Iraq!
Thanks for inflating the money supply Federal Reserve!
Your kids are most likely being taught that Americans are superior to other peoples. I’m sure they’ll be great Republican/Democrats and have respectable jobs for multinational corporations.
“Free people share better.”
Walther –
My government is also working on alternative energy solutions – along with the multitude of green-tech groups working on removing our dependence on fossil fuels.
The trace amounts are due to the corporations that have polluted our water supplies and medicated us to convince us we are happy.
TV is a mechanism for business as well as entertainment for the masses. Government tries to help with public television and the reuse of the airways.
Can not argue about the overuse of corn – but can not argue that food is cheaper and with a greater awareness of the corn-based options, we are working to resolve the issues with a revised health pyramid and continuing a fight for HEALTH care instead of insurance reform.
Can not argue about the auto lobby (or the rubber industry or the oil lobby) – but that is part of government in a democracy. Especially when money fuels the discussions.
As for Iraq – please. We get the majority of our oil from the north and from Venezuela – the Middle East impacts the rest of the world in terms of resources, but it impacts us in terms of prices.
Inflation of the money supply – that is an issue I am concerned about – but this is not “socialism”, this is an economic policy decision.
And, one thing I know kids are being taught – though online exploration and news and interaction – we are all part of a global community. And while schools are focused on education and CIVICS, we are a proud country – and are beginning to understand our place in a cooperative world environment.
This is one of the worst argument “for” socialism I’ve ever heard. Keep dropping your kids off in failing public schools. Keep putting your letters into the hands of the USPS which can’t turn a profit. Keep watching censored tv where free speech doesn’t exist. Keep driving on the unkempt roads and collapsing bridges.
But stop being so ignorant. Government is a bloated bureaucratic mess full of corruption and waste without any sort of accountability.
C –
Sorry – but the idea is that government about providing for the public good/defense. Things that we, as private citizens, do not have time or focus to address. If you want to pay for the use of the fire department when your house is burning, then go ahead and drop out and only address the cost when the need arises. If you don’t want effective communications, education or in general, all public services that are necessary to support a burgeoning country, then drop out – go to SeaLand and enjoy the lack of services there.
I would rather find a way to Change Congress like Lawrence Lessig is suggesting. Instead of complaining – get involved.