Dreaming Dreams And Making Things Happen

I'm not sure who put this clever picture together. I got it originally as a share from someone on FaceBook and thought is was incredibly evocative of human striving. We live in an age that seems driven to trample on dreams. The philosophy of the nannystate is that no one can take care of themselves without the invasive and pervasive attention of government bureaucrats. A friend sent me a picture of a Social Security center that was crowded with people without a senior in sight and pointed out that these were folks signing up for Social Security Disability. I don't know if that is fair but it certainly was true that there was not a grey hair in sight and it was a big and fully packed room. SEE HERE for qualification.

There was a time not so very long ago when it was a matter of pride not to be dependent on others. We seem to have changed that. Everyone is a victim now of something or someone and is entitled. Frankly I think the only thing you're entitled to is to work damn hard for what you get. I'm under no obligation to help you but I am under some obligation to treat you with dignity and not to obstruct your legitimate efforts. Now that the government is everyone's nanny that kind of respect for each other seems to be one of those things on the wane.

We need to get back to what used to be called rugged Yankee ingenuity or independence. People relished figuring out how to solve problems and come up with solutions. The hero in many a story was the independent self sufficient person who made his way in life despite adversity. What ever happened to that vision? I think it was killed by the school systems and by more and more government regulation of our lives. Don't do this or that because it is dangerous. Well I have news for you. Getting up is dangerous. You can be struck by lightening. You can be run over in your front yard. All the fireworks can go off at once or you can be hugging the policeman you just danced with and inadvertently fire his pistol killing yourself (both of those happened in the past few days according to the newspaper).

We have to get back to dreaming dreams and setting goals and not asking so much permission. The first law of bureaucracy is that it is easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission. If you ask for permission then your superior is being asked to take responsibility and bureaucrats hate responsibility. But if you do something smart your boss will forgive you and reward you because you made him look good. If it goes wrong you may well be forgiven if it seemed like a good idea. I remember Admiral Grace Hopper mentioning that bureaucratic law when she was explaining something she did during the development of computers. Admiral Rickover used to do that sort of stuff and became recognized as the Father of the Nuclear Navy, although he also made a lot of enemies. You have to take risks, prudent risks, and be innovative. If that's too hard then reconcile yourself to living in a once great nation that is on the skids.