By J.J. Jackson
AFSCME (the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees) is flooding the airwaves here in Pennsylvania because their power is being threatened. Days away from elections where liberal Democrats from Dan “Drink Tax” Onorato (candidate for Governor) to Joe “I served in the military” Sestak (candidate for U.S. Senate) are down in the polls, those in charge of AFSCME are obsessing about what a potential turning out of their buddies in Harrisburg and Washington would mean for their future. They do not like what they see.
One of their tantrums has apparently resulted in a campaign ad against former Congressman Pat Toomey turned candidate for U.S. Senate. The ad uses the fictional character of Gordon Gekko and his words about how greed is good echoed ominously throughout to paint Toomey as some sort of monster who is in favor of screwing all of us in the pursuit of his own greed. The ad is designed to portray Toomey as being in the pocket of big business and foreign interests. But, as I have pointed out repeatedly, AFSCME cannot give one reason to vote for Joe Sestak, the candidate they support for U.S. Senate. What they also do not want to tell you is that it was Joe Sestak who during his tenure in the United States House of Representatives voted for every bail out of Wall Street, Big Banks, automobile companies, etc that come down the Pennsylvania Turnpike. In psychology they call this sort of thing projection.
I want to thank AFSCME for the ad however because it allows us to have an adult conversation about greed. Of course AFSCME will not be included in the conversation because they have not proven themselves adult enough to participate. They are being banished to the kiddies table where they can pull hair, cry and eat with plastic utensils lest they hurt themselves.
The definition of greed is: “a selfish and excessive desire for more of something (as money) than is needed.” (source: Websters.com)
Now ask yourself this. Are you greedy? Well, you probably are. I know I am. And I am quite proud of that.
I do not need 1,800 square feet of home for my family of four not including our two dogs. My wife and I could live, albeit in a more cramped fashion, in a smaller home. We did not need to buy two new cars several years ago. Although I am sure that Hyundai and Chevrolet and all those who work for them were thrilled that we chose new cars, I admit we could have bought used cars instead. I do not need an iPhone with data plan which allows me to have rebuttals to liberal lies at my finger tips either. But I have one none the less. I do not need, I guess, to save for my own retirement either because government promises, cross their heart and swear to uh ... something which may or may not be God to avoid angry looks from the ACLU, to send me a check every month at a designated point in time. But since I do not believe the promises based on the track record of our elected officials, my wife and I have squirreled away the beginnings of a nest egg to help us live more comfortably in retirement.
Yep, by definition I am one greedy son of a gun. I have a lot of things that I do not need. And if you also do these or other similar things, then you too are greedy and a target of scorn apparently for AFSCME. In fact the American Dream itself is under direct assault here by AFSCME and their attack against greed in such a carte blanche fashion.
The American Dream is, at its core, that someone can be all that they can be if they work hard enough, get a little lucky and ultimately have a better life than their parents had. But you cannot get to this destination without greed. Because being all you can be is by default greedy. The American Dream is not about being all you need to be to just get by which is what you would be settling for if you were not greedy and desirous of more than you needed.
But here is the kicker. While AFSCME is out there decrying greed as being bad and smacking us around for being greedy it is they and government are being greedy as well. They are supporting candidates for office like Joe Sestak who are greedy for power over our liberties. And it is their greed that is indeed bad. Their greed is a greed that that seeks to use government force to accrue to them things they are not entitled to.
If you ask AFSCME though, I guarantee you that they will never claim that big government run by liberals is greedy however. Government gobbling up more powers than are needed to maintain law and order, handle those few and enumerated services that we the people are unable to supply ourselves and have agreed, tentatively, to allow them to provide, make available protection of our inalienable rights through courts of law and provide a means of redress when those rights are violated is not greed to organizations like AFSCME. Even though, of course, it is greed by definition it slips by without their condemnation. When government wants to take control of our health care, our retirements, how and when we are “charitable” and so on even though there is not a single constitutional basis for these actions, AFSCME falls right in line and attacks anyone who dares to speak up.
This is the problem with the liberal elite and their foot soldiers. And it will always be the problem with them. You and I are always greedy because we have more than we need and we are ungrateful little piglets for not falling in line to suckle at the teat they have presented to us. But they, oh they are never greedy when they seek more than they need.
Yes, as Gordon Gekko said, “... greed, for lack of a better word, is good.” But what is often overlooked is how well he explained why this is. He said, “Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind.”
The only thing I take exception to is him saying that all forms of greed are good. Like I said, government and their underlings being greedy for what is not theirs to have is not good. When greed works against these goals, as is often the case when it is practiced by those within government who want power, I will admit freely that greed is bad. Greed that leads to one person infringing on the inalienable right, those rights endowed to us by God, is also bad. AFSCME and the left however see it all in the reverse. Government greed which tramples our inalienable rights to them is good and you and I trying to make a better life for our families than we need is bad greed.
Remember this when you vote on November 2nd. Remember that slapping back the hand of greedy government is the first step we must take to preserve the American Dream which is us, as Americans, having a right to be greedy and put in our pockets more than we simply need to survive.
I’m J.J. Jackson and you damn well better believe that as an American I approve this message.
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J.J. Jackson is a libertarian conservative author from Pittsburgh, PA who has been writing and promoting individual liberty since 1993 and is President of Land of the Free Studios, Inc. He is the Pittsburgh Conservative Examiner for Examiner.com. He is also the owner of The Right Things - Conservative T-shirts & Gifts http://www.cafepress.com/rightthings. His weekly commentary along with exclusives not available anywhere else can be found at http://www.libertyreborn.com
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