2011-01-03
This is the time of the year when everyone makes promises that will be broken by the end of January. Stop smoking, eat less, work out and all the other good, yet meaningless, intentions will fall by the wayside.
People want quick and easy solutions for difficult problems.
We even hear these promises from the White House. Our first lady is proffering a solution for childhood obesity. All we need is the government to mandate fresh fruits and vegetables in place of Cheetos and Pepsi, and the pounds will just fall off overnight.
Of course, Michelle will not suggest that parents get involved and tell their children to put down the video game, shut off the TV, go outside and play or put on ice skates and spend the afternoon with friends skating and eating fat-free soft pretzels, like I did as a kid.
No, that would require parents shutting off their iPhone or Blackberry, actually talking to their children, ignoring the "connected world" and connecting with their kids. We have become so distracted with being in touch with all that is going on around us that many parents prefer to keep their kids entertained with electronics rather than encourage healthy behavior.
If Michelle and Barack really want to curtail childhood obesity, how about locking up all the child molesters who stalk our public parks and playgrounds looking for their next victim? Many parents are terrified to allow their children to ride their bikes or play outside for fear they will be abducted and found days later in a dumpster.
It is truly sad that our children cannot go out and play safely in our communities because the liberals want to show how compassionate they are toward the "misunderstood," deviant slime who would hurt a child. The liberal judges slap them on the wrist and send them back out to offend again, all in the name of fairness.
When I was a kid, I ate a Twinkie twice a day. I ate Drake cakes, Yankee Doodles and Devil Dogs. We would drink Kool-Aid that contained more sugar than it did water, by the gallon. We ate pizza, hotdogs, grilled cheese and all the other items on Michelle's most hated list. But we were not 200 pounds at age 10.
There are many problems we face in America that have very simple solutions. Yet we have so little resolve when it comes to actually implementing the steps to get them fixed. All of this political correctness and liberal fairness is creating a nanny state. It will also be our downfall. Expecting the government, armed with regulations, to raise healthy children is ludicrous.
This year, I have even heard the government is setting up smokers "help lines" to assist people in kicking cigarettes and other 800 numbers to help people with eating problems. These are all admirable services, but is this the function of government? More importantly, isn't it more effective to look to God, family and friends for help while simultaneously realizing that we must actually desire to change?
I know it isn't easy. I know it takes effort and sacrifice. Liberty is all about effort and sacrifice, but it beats tyranny, hands down. Taking responsibility for ourselves and our families, and not expecting the government to do so, is the basis of our nation. Yet I fear we are collectively exhibiting amnesia when it comes to our roots.
This year, when you make your New Year's resolution, look to yourself and to God for the strength to accomplish the change you desire. Don't look to Michelle and Barack or the House and the Senate. Look to God and the gift He put in each one of us to live in liberty.
Government should merely keep us safe, enforce the laws and allow us to remain the land of the free and the home of the brave.
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