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April
08
2022

The Cafeteria
Charles R. Dickens

Please read the paragraphs so marked ** with a broken Russian accent in mind – it’ll make more sense.

** Silly Capitalist Pigs… You know nothing about world or how it really works. You do not get to pick and choose the parts of ideology that you like or dislike. You can not choose only what you think is benefits and discard harsh reality of the bad.

Is package deal.

Oh, so you know, is no benefits.

Unless, of course, you like standing in line.

This idea emerged from a conversation with a long-time friend in the PRC – Peoples Republic of California. He’s a cafeteria socialist, like most American Socialists. The same way many Americans are cafeteria Christians, or Republicans, or god forbid, Democrats, they assert selective belief. I refer to this as the impetus of programming. 

Libertarians are a bit different. They strongly oppose government interference in their personal, family, and business decisions. Essentially, they believe all Americans should be free to live their lives and pursue their interests as they see fit as long as they do no harm to another. Again, liberty is the key, and personal responsibility for their actions is their philosophy.

I guess I’m a libertarian.

America is unique in every way, especially our ability to corrupt things to our way of thinking, acquiescing to what we want rather than accepting reality. It’s painfully apparent that our illusions become truth, especially in the PRC, where reality is a theme for a carefully scripted TV series.

In a practical sense, this is how we’ve made many remarkable advances on everything from the abacus to the zither. We created machines that fly and boats that can sink and resurface. Our strides in technology are phenomenal. Unfortunately, this arrogance carries over into our lives in insidious ways.

We expect the same largess to apply universally.

If we don’t like something, we disregard it – like voting laws or speed limits or traffic signs, political-ideological warning signs, history, or The US Constitution. We’d love our government to give us everything for free and let us live as we would like. The government can provide me with everything, and I live as I want, but the government must protect me from the bad guys – at no cost – No rules. Is that freedom or anarchy? No, but that is America.

** Silly Capitalist Pigs… Life is not cafeteria loaded with many choices. You must take what you get – few exceptions. If you order borscht, it comes with sour cream. You do not like sour cream, do not order borscht. Is not Burgie King. You do not get it your way.

America, boys, and girls – is the epitome of cafeteria ideology. We want the benefits without the costs. Well… it doesn’t work that way. According to Newtonian physic, every action has a reaction or an expense.

Yes, this applies to life as well.

There is no free lunch.

Socialism is:

* Positive & Active Role of Government

* Collective Ownership

* Economic and Political Equity

* Economic Planning

* No Competition

* Work and Wages According to Ability and Needs

Socialism is an economic and political system under which the means of production are publicly owned (this could be a state-sponsored enterprise or state-owned outright). The government controls production and consumer prices to meet the needs of the people.

Quality?

Oh, that… You can have only two of these three things:

* High Quality

* Cheap

* Fast

You see, these are mutually exclusive. You cannot have all three. ** “Silly Capitalist Pigs!”

Capitalism is:

* Private Ownership

* Free Enterprise

* Competition

* Freedom of Choice

* Possibility of Profits

Capitalism is an economic system under which the means of production are privately owned. Production and consumer prices are based on a free-market ‘supply and demand system.’

In her book “Capitalism, The Unknown Ideal,” Ayn Rand wrote: “America’s abundance was created not by public sacrifices to the common good, but by the productive genius of free men who pursued their own personal interests and the making of their own private fortunes.

They did not starve the people to pay for America’s industrialization. They gave the people better jobs, higher wages, and cheaper goods with every new machine they invented, with every scientific discovery or technological advance- and thus, the whole country was moving forward and profiting, not suffering, every step of the way.”

This post is not about the politics or a contrast of political ideologies; It is another warning that our direction as a country, our programming leads us to believe, is based on lies.

We can no longer accept everything at face value. The expediency of misleading people to manipulate opinion is an ancient ploy. American politicians embrace it, employ it, and have perfected it.

Consider the legend of the Trojan horse. Yes, I know, history again. Here’s an object lesson teaching that things are not always what they seem. There are, of course, scads of other examples, but you already know that – you’d just forgotten.

In all of the historical examples, a single thread of truth prevails. Things are not always what they seem. At this juncture, it comes down to ‘who do you trust?’ This, too, requires some onerous memory work. You have to recall the events of the past and the impact or effect they had.

Did those events help or hurt the country?

I just heard my inner voice say – “Shouldn’t we just trust the government to do it?” Our government has fumbled or fucked up everything they’ve touched over the past fifty years. In seventeen months, one administration has destroyed this country. Everything is at record highs. EVERYTHING! Their decisions are being ‘walked back,’ undone, rescinded, canceled, rethought, reconsidered, and abandoned, and all in seventeen months.

Was this a test or a phuock-up of monumental proportions?

Doesn’t this speak volumes about their reasons and abilities to make meaningful decisions? Well? Are 2021 and 2022 better years than the Trump administration years? This is short-term memory stuff. I understand that Donnie was an ass-holio – name a self-made real estate billionaire that isn’t. But outside of his abrasive personality, he did a marvelous job for the country.

Let’s return to the example above and change the values.

* Nice Guy – Likeable

* Effective leader

* Patriotic, not Political

You can only have two of these.

Bungles the Clown fails in every category, so selecting him as our leader was an absolute train-wreck. And we still have thirty more months to suffer. Let’s not even open the conversation involving the list of heirs apparent if Bungles the Clown can’t perform.

Here’s prima facia evidence of the evil of the lessers.

I’m going to make a rather crude suggestion for most Americans. I call it the ‘Plexiotomy. It involves the surgical insertion of a plexiglass navel so you can see where you’re going with your head up your ass. I highly recommend calling your proctologist and arranging this procedure immediately. After all, the mid-terms are almost upon us.

And unless we intend several more years of this political and economic devastation, we need to start draining and cleaning the swamp.

Can we expect a clean midterm election or more 2016 through 2020 electioneering and socialist shenanigans?

I’m inclined to bet against a clean election. The DemoSocs have too much to lose and too much to gain. They cannot miss this opportunity for a repeat performance of 2020 to pass or slide past.

If they can manage to embezzle another election, we can kiss this country goodbye. My brother-in-law is more optimistic than I am. He anticipates a landslide victory for the Republicans. This is one wager I will forfeit gladly. We’ll see.

The optimistic premise is based on the fundamental differences between DemoSocs and Republicans. To be fair, there are some Socialists in Republican garb – we call them – RINO’s – Republicans in Name Only. They, too, are susceptible to the siren call of money and power.

As I see it, there are a few reasons to enter politics:

* Money Power –

* Altruism –

* Practical – Let’s wait to see how good the offers of money and power are… – Come on, man… Everyone has a price. – Remember, I am super-cynical.

History windows show us that the past 80 years result from our ambivalence, apathy, and blind trust. It culminates in the debacle of Bungles the Clown’s administration.

We believe in the loudest voice. We followed our programming and allowed our country to crumble. We watched America burn as Bungles the Clown fiddled. We’re writing the checks, paying the fines, and tributes for our folly. Each trip through the checkout should provide a painful reminder of not doing our homework. It’s far more painful than an ‘F’ in history. We’re living an object lesson.

** Silly capitalist pig. You do not listen to me, then listen to someone who left mother Russia. She knows the world from both sides. You should maybe listen to her.

** Once you sell soul to devil, you cannot undo bargain.

“We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission, which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force.” ~ Ayn Rand

 

 

Charles R. Dickens was born in 1951, is a veteran of the Vietnam, for which he volunteered, and the great-great grandson of the noted author, whose name he shares.

He is a fiercely proud American, who still believes this is the greatest country on the planet, with which we’ve lost control and certainly our direction. He grew up in moderate financial surrounding; were not rich by any stretch, but didn’t go hungry – his incredibly hard working father saw to that. As most from that era, he learned about life from his father, whose story would take too long to tell, other than to say that, he is also a fiercely proud American; a WWII and Korean war, veteran Marine.

Charlie was educated in the parochial system which, demanded that you actually learn something, and have capability to retain it before you advance. He attended several universities in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree, and chased the goose further to a master’s, and has retained some very definite ideas about education in this country.

In addition, Charlie is a professional (struggling) blues guitar and vocalist – a musician. This is his therapy career. Nothing brings him as much joy as playing music, and he wishes that he could make a living at it… maybe some day!

That’s Charlie… a proud, opinionated, and passionate American.

 

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