How To Catch Wild Pigs

Discussion in 'Politics & Government' started by Sheldon Scott, Apr 2, 2015.

  1. Sheldon Scott

    Sheldon Scott Supreme Member
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    "You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in the woods and putting corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come every day to eat the free food.
    "When they are used to coming every day, you put a fence down one side of the place where they are used to coming. When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side of the fence.
    "They get used to that and start to eat again. You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in the last side.
    "The pigs, which are used to the free corn, start to come through the gate to eat that free corn again. You then slam the gate on them and catch the whole herd.
    Suddenly the wild pigs have lost their freedom. They run around and around inside the fence, but they are caught. Soon they go back to eating the free corn. They are so used to it that they have forgotten how to forage in the woods for themselves, so they accept their captivity."
    The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees happening in America. The government keeps pushing us toward Communism/Socialism and keeps spreading the free corn out in the form of programs such as supplemental income, tax credit for unearned income, tax exemptions, tobacco subsidies, dairy subsidies, payments not to plant crops (CRP), welfare entitlements, medicine, drugs, etc., while we continually lose our freedoms, just a little at a time.
    One should always remember two truths:
    There is no such thing as a free lunch, and you can never hire someone to provide a service for you cheaper than you can do it yourself.
    If you see that all of this wonderful government "help" is a problem confronting the future of democracy in America, you might want to share this with your friends.
    If you think the free ride is essential to your way of life, then you will probably not share this.
    BUT, God help us all when the gate slams shut!
    Quote for today: "The problems we face today are there because the people who work for a living are now outnumbered."
     
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  2. Mal Campbell

    Mal Campbell Supreme Member
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    I've seen this story before and agree whole heartedly. The sad thing is, most people, like the pigs, don't realized that they have given up their freedom.

    As Benjamin Franklin said, "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

    When you look at all the brave lives that have been given for our freedoms, it's sad to see so many people willing to give it up so cheaply.
     
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  3. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    Animals do indeed have a weird way of being perfect examples for those supposedly on the top of the food chain.
    Another story having to do with sheep might also be appropriate.

    When you herd sheep into a pen they go through a "straight gate" which only allows one sheep in line behind another. If you poke a stick into the channel and hold it at about knee high (their "knees") the sheep will jump over it one after the other on their journey to the pen. After a few sheep have jumped over the stick you can remove the stick and the rest of the sheep will keep jumping as if the stick were still an obstacle.

    Pigs, like sheep follow a leader. It doesn't matter if the rest of the animals do not understand what the reasoning is for following, but they champion the leader and follow anyway. Such, it would seem, is most of humanity and nearly all of America. Nowadays, there can be nothing more dangerous than that.
     
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  4. Mal Campbell

    Mal Campbell Supreme Member
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    Very well said. Now if we could just figure out a way to teach this to the younger generations ....

    As Bruce Springsteen told us, in the song "War" - "Blind faith in your leaders, or in anything, will get you killed".

    Or, as my mother used to always say, "Use that thing between your shoulders for more than a hat rack!"
     
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  5. Allie Seay

    Allie Seay Veteran Member
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    Like Mal, I've seen this before. Several times. And every time I think how true it is. I don't know what's wrong with people. I mean, I don't know if they really don't see what's coming or if they just don't care. Whatever it is I think sometimes if all the television stations would go off the air people might just snap out of it. I'm not so sure at this point that It's not too late already even if they did, but I intend not to worry about it.

    My only concern is watch, to wait and to listen.

    (Oh! And to vote regardless of how futile it may seem!)

    The lord tells me that everything changes and that what we see now will not always be so; and somehow, my acceptance of that seems to be important to him. It helps, too, as life so often seems to be a lesson in letting go.
     
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  6. Brittany Houser

    Brittany Houser Veteran Member
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    "Animal Farm" by George Orwell
    This book did more to lift the veil on communism than anything I've ever read! It should be required in all public schools. (fat chance)!
     
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  7. Mal Campbell

    Mal Campbell Supreme Member
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    I know what you mean. I have a 25 year old son, who is pursuing a PhD in philosophy (of all things). Anyway, he's a bright, intelligent, thoughtful guy - but he has these ideas that if we just tax the "evil rich guy" or "evil corporation" enough, everyone in the US can have plenty - they can have free health care, free food, free housing, free higher education, etc. I keep asking him where he thinks all this "free" stuff is going to come from. He doesn't understand that there's a cost to everything, whether you see it or not. He doesn't understand that the "evil rich guy" is the one who creates jobs. He doesn't understand that if you tax them enough to pay for everything, they'll just retire, close up shop, eliminate jobs and most importantly, stop paying taxes. He complains that the "poor minimum wage" workers don't make a living wage, but he's on a fellowship while at school, and gets the equivalent of about $10 an hour, and he acknowledges that he lives quite comfortably. He was even able to buy a new car last year. I keep asking him, if you can live on little more than minimum wage, why can't the "poor guy"?
     
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  8. Brittany Houser

    Brittany Houser Veteran Member
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    mal, I sympathize with you, but hopefully when his salary increases, as does his tax bracket, he'll see the light. LOL I think it was Sir Winston Churchill who said:

    “If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain.”

    Your son has a ways to go yet.
     
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  9. Mal Campbell

    Mal Campbell Supreme Member
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    My thoughts exactly. I remember being his age, and looking at life through the rose colored glasses. Once I got older, bought a house, got married, had kids, had a career and went through a few really tough times, the glasses came off and I realized that we don't live in a perfect world or even a fair one.

    I remember dating a guy when I was in my mid-20s. When I complained that something wasn't fair, he told me to turn my birth certificate over and see if it said anywhere on there that life was fair. Then he basically told me to "get over it". Probably the best advice I've ever gotten - of course, at the time I thought he was extremely cynical.

    I keep telling my son that he will change - his opinions and believes will change with experience. He won't necessarily change and believe the same things I do, but change is inevitable. He didn't used to believe me, but now I've started seeing subtle changes in the past 2-3 years (since he started supporting himself), and he's grudgingly admitted that maybe I was right.
     
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