Stop Acting So Surprised

Written by Isaac Morehouse | 12 December 2008

A lot of people are surprised by recent political developments.  Whether the open sale of a Senate seat or the open socialization of financial and automobile companies, it seems there is a lot to be in shock over.  The shock leads to anger; anger at the political process and politicians and who-knows-what.

I don't think we should be shocked.  There is nothing shocking or unusual about politicians acting in their self-interest instead of that of their constituents.  That is all they have ever done.

We shouldn't be shocked by massive socialization.  That is what we have asked for.  We demand to be promised a world without risk and without failure; interest rates that constantly fall and house and stock prices that constantly rise - as well as wages, but not CEO wages or profits.  These are mutually incompatible goals.  They are impossible to achieve.  Yet we demand that our politicians promise them and "do something" about them.  We might as well ask that they make it rain more and less at the same time.  Not only are they incapable of doing it, even if they could the goals are not realizable at the same time.

What we see happening right now is, in a way, business as usual.  That does not mean we shouldn't have righteous indignation over violations of liberty and logic.  That doesn't mean we shouldn't try to stop it.  I mean simply that surprise and paralyzing anger are bizarre and unproductive responses.  It's analogous to eating dozens of cheeseburgers every day for years while growing steadily heavier and one day looking at the scale and acting shocked at your own weight and looking for someone to blame.  What did you expect?  Is this honestly the first time you've noticed it?

Stop acting like some injustice suddenly and surprisingly befell you.  That only engenders a sense of helplessness.  We created this monster and we can kill it.

Killing it requires a belief among us that government is the problem and that there is NOTHING they can do to make things any better except get the hell out of the way.  We have to stop being babies and expecting things from government they cannot do, or even expecting decent behavior.  As long as we're asking them to do bad things, we can't expect good people to do bad things goodly.

Don't get mad.  Don't be surprised.  Realize the mess we're in and that we are the only ones who can get us out.  Resolve to stop expecting government to fix it and start asking them to shut up and leave us alone.  No matter what it sometimes feels like, we are in the end their master.  Let's start acting like it.