Liberty’s
Leeches
Charlie Earl
Leeches are
bloodsuckers, and generally are considered to be parasitic and unhealthy.
Historically leeches were vital components of medical care because they were
used to drain “malevolent” blood from diseased or infected bodies. Progressives
and statists are very similar to leeches in the political sense because they
lure us with their life-saving prescriptions but ultimately drain our vigor
away once they become firmly attached to our political body. Just like their
biological counterparts they cannot self-regulate when sucking the blood of a
nation. They do not recognize that when they consume too much of the vital
liquid, the patient will die. The blood they consume is liberty, and the more
they ingest the closer the United States of America moves toward death.
Perhaps a
hundred years from now if we continue at our current pace of government growth,
there will be a United States of America. It will not be the same nation we
have today, nor will it in any shape or form resemble its founding. The only
“united” aspect of the nation will be the citizens’ fear and loathing of their
malevolent overseers. The only “states’ element of that country will be a
series of arbitrary lines with no distinction among the various geographical
sectors. “America” will simply be a hemispheric reference rather than a word
that triggers dreams and hopes for desperate people across the planet.
“America” as an idea or a promising vision will join the ranks of Shangri La
and Nirvana as imaginary or mythical destinations for those who are burdened
and damaged by reality of living in an oppressive state. Medieval medicos would
apply a leech or two upon the afflicted area. If the infirmed did not improve
quickly enough, more leeches would attached around the offensive area.
The ancient
medical practitioners failed to understand the circulatory nature of our
vascular system. Thirteenth century Arabs had some rudimentary knowledge of the
nature of the circulatory system, but it wasn’t until the 16th
Century that William Harvey outlined the interconnected and comprehensive
nature of the system. Today… there are many voices crying about the ignorant
practice of too-big government’s leeching. Meanwhile the huge government
apparatus at all levels….local, state and national….are sucking the life-blood
of freedom from our republic and its people in numerous ways and by multiple
means. Prohibitions and mandates compete for our unfailing compliance. The leeches are everywhere and each little
evil organism is taking a portion of our liberty. Even when we successfully
remove one or two of the nasty blood suckers, a host of them remain.
So…who are
the fake doctors and false shamans who are applying the leeches to our nation’s
body? They are numerous, relentless and powerful. The first among equals are
the professional politicians who spend their lives running for offices to
“solve” the very problems they create. Their susceptibility to emotional
appeals, their willingness to embrace special interests and their burning lusts
for power merge together to drive them to diminish our liberty while improving
their own fortunes….political and financial. Every little notion can be
transformed into a great and necessary idea if a career politician senses an advantage
from pursuing it. No idea or meddlesome regulation is too small for
consideration if the politician will be hailed as a “savior” by some
insignificant interest group or mammoth corporation.
The ants in
the dirt otherwise known as the bureaucracy are indefatigable in their leeching
of our freedom. As individuals they may be nice, generous and reasonable
people, but in the aggregate each bureaucrat in his or her own sphere rules,
regulates and mandates without a clear understanding about what other leeches
in other departments, bureaus and agencies are doing to suck the blood out a
robust body. Each little leech or rule may not provide the tipping point, but
when combined, they leave a bloodless corpse. Millions of little ants across
the nation are leeching the life’s blood from our people.
Other
people…present company excepted… are inadvertently placing the blood-sucking
annelids all over the body politic through their incessant demands that
“government do something.” It could be a bicycle trail in the township, a new
“bypass” highway in an urban center or an offensive grope and search regime at
the nation’s airports. When citizens (and sometimes non-citizens) demand
action, the ants and their careerists seek opportunities to comply, and thus,
drain away a few more drops of our life force….our liberty. There are many
other types of leeches that we’ll save for a later rant. Crony capitalists and
lobbyists are two notable examples, but for now we must apply the tourniquet,
remove the offending worms and renew our blood supply of freedom. Leeches are
no longer considered sound medical practice, and we must ban them from our national
body as well.
Charlie Earl
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