The Big Difference

I had a very interesting conversation with a coworker today. He somehow got on the topic of "Night Vision Goggles". Do I care about them? No, of course not. So Why would I blog about this? Because of his comment... "Why would anyone need Night Vision Goggles". It reminded me of a conversation I had with a cousin of mine years ago. My cousin is a NYC Police Officer. I was talking about getting a Pistol Permit. My cousin asked "Why do you need a gun?" My answer was "That's not really your business. I want one and the constitution says I have a right to have one." But that's a little off topic. My co-worker had drawn a parallel between Night Vision Goggles and Assault rifles. "Why does anyone NEED one?" That got me thinking;thinking back to another conversation I had had with a different co-worker of mine back in 2008. She had asked me "why don't you like Barack?". I said "Because he is a socialist." I was expecting the liberal talking point answer "No he isn't." The answer I heard was a shock... my co-worker said to me 'Why is that bad?". Well, long story short we had a long chat about the relative merits of capitalism vs. socialism, when I brought up Tiger Woods. Why? Well, the philosophy of Marxism is "To Each According To Hes NEED, From Each According to His Ability". Under the Marxist/Socialist model if you have a NEED it will be provided to you and if you have the ability to provide something you will provide it. But do we actually NEED professional sports? No, of course not. Professional sports are pure luxury and entertainment and we, society, pay quite handsomely for them. But what is the impact of professional sports on our economy nationwide? What about the charity work and contributions made by players? (Ok, not all but many). What would Tiger Woods be doing (besides cheating on his wife) if there was no professional golf? (Answer: Sitting in a cubicle with the rest of us.) Michael Jordon opened a restaurant chain. How many jobs has that created? What aboout musicians and entertainers? The economic impact is immeasurable, when you consider the amount of jobs created simply because the NFL has a game in 10 different cities every week. But I'd like to go back to the original statements: "Why do you need those?" Why do you need a gun? Why do you NEED A set of golf clubs? Why do you NEED tickets to the Yankees-Red Sox game? The point is, most people don't. Most people can live their whole lives without a gun, a set of golf clubs or going to a Major League Baseball game. Most people will ALSO go through their entire lives without winning the lottery. BUT... to each according to his NEED FROM each according to his ability. That statement implies that if nobody NEEDS what you can best provide, than it is worthless. Imagine Michael Jordon working in a restaurant instead of owning one. Michael Jackson as a hairdresser (god-forbid!) or for the "Over 35's" among you, Thurman Munson as an airline pilot (Yikes!). There is the big difference between Liberals and Conservatives. Liberals focus on NEEDS to the point of deciding FOR you what you NEED and what you DON'T. Everyone needs HEALTHCARE. The poor need public assistance. EVERYONE needs a 4 year college degree, and by God we Liberals are going to see that you have it. The second ammendment? Well sure you have a RIGHT to bear arms but the founding fathers didn't really mean that and why does anyone need a gun anyway? The ultimate nanny state. They will make sure you have health insurance weather you WANT it or not. Oh... did I just say "WANT"??? Ooops...my bad. Conservatives believe that you should have both what you NEED and what you WANT if you can afford to PAY for it. If you can't then you can be helped in our society, because that is good for society, but nobody owes you a living. That is the big difference... if the socialists had their way everyone would have what they NEED but nobody would ever get what they want.