Promising Heaven and Delivering Hell

Promising A but delivering X.

Have you ever wondered why so many Americans joke about Politicians being nothing more than lying charlatans? What is a charlatan? Well, they were deceptive salesman who promised that their products, commonly medicines, would cure ailments or do something good for the body. You guessed it, they usually were lying. Not just usually, charlatans always lied. When you think of politics, think that politicians need to sell themselves to get elected and will promise many things. They will promise the voters that their ideas and policies will cure all the aliments of society. As Thomas Sowell so wittily put it in his article "Random Thoughts: On the passing scene", "How long do politicians have to keep on promising heaven and delivering hell before people catch on, and stop getting swept away by rhetoric?"

Well, I'll be plain with you. It's because they tend to lie. In fact, PolitiFact lists all the "promises broken" by Obama; which being interpreted from nice words, means lies. It's not one page, just keep clicking on each "next page" to see all 4 pages of lies...oops, I mean..."promises broken."

How about the two Bushes. Daddy Bush Sr. once said during the election of 1988, "Read my lips, NO NEW TAXES!" Well, he raised taxes. How about his son, Dubya Bush. He alarmingly said back during the 2000 election, "I'm not so sure the role of the United States is to go around the world and say, 'This is the way it's got to be.'" He went on to use Somalia as an example that turned into "Nation building." Ya I know, he actually spoke out against military intervention in other countries and nation building. The same guy who bombed Iraq and sent in troops back in 2003. Furthermore, the nation building has been going on since then. The nation building is occurring in Afghanistan. 

Former President Lyndon Johnson ran an ad invoking that if you voted for Barry Goldwater then little girls picking daises would get nuked. What is more, if you voted for Goldwater then America would be drawn into a war that would endanger American lives. However, history proved that Johnson was lying because he lead America into the devastating Vietnam War. 

There are so many examples of politicians in history promising things like not going to war, not raising taxes, not-this-or-that, but delivering the opposite and at times more harmful alternatives. Approval percentage for Congress is at 13%. Maybe that's because when they promise and then act more harm is done. Thomas Sowell elaborates in his article:

Have you noticed that what modest economic improvements we have seen occurred during the much-lamented "gridlock" in Washington? Nor is this unusual. If you check back through history, doing nothing has a far better track record than that of politicians intervening in the economy.

Yes, I love that idea, Mr. Sowell. Doing nothing is what should be done. Because either they lie and never do it or when they "accomplish" their policies the harm is too great. Entitlements and Welfare are perfect examples of doing more harm. You see the title of this article? It is promising heaven and delivering hell. Lies of politicians are not just harmful. What is even more harmful, is their policies that have hurt this economy, further impoverished the poor, reduced liberty; and have brought into question now more than ever with the Tea Parties and the Occupy movements, "What has the Government created?"

Thomas Sowell rightfully philosophizes, "People who believe in evolution in biology often believe in creationism in government. In other words, they believe that the universe and all the creatures in it could have evolved spontaneously, but that the economy is too complicated to operate without being directed by politicians." He continues, "With all the talk about people paying their "fair share" of income taxes, why do nearly half the people in this country pay no income taxes at all? Is that their "fair share"? Or is creating more recipients of government handouts, at no cost to themselves, simply a strategy to gain more votes?" They promise to "spread the wealth" to create more "freedom." However, Sowell explains the following:

When politicians say, "spread the wealth," translate that as "concentrate the power," because that is the only way they can spread the wealth. And once they get the power concentrated, they can do anything else they want to, as people have discovered -- often to their horror -- in countries around the world.

 " They create more dependents, they create more concentration of power to the government which further restricts liberty, they create more debt, they create more inflation, and they create more problems rather than solutions.    Not only do we keep getting hell when heaven was promised because of fallacious ideas of government, but also the "Appearances, rhetoric and emotions are what get them elected." Sowell then reminds us that "Reality is what the voters and taxpayers are left to deal with, as a result of electing them." 

The "Reality is what the voters and taxpayers are left to deal with, as a result of electing them" is the sad truth of it all. If politics keep producing failed policies and harm, then what does it "reward?" Sowell teaches us the following:

In politics, few talents are as richly rewarded as the ability to convince parasites that they are victims. Welfare states on both sides of the Atlantic have discovered that largesse to losers does not reduce their hostility to society, but only increases it. Far from producing gratitude, generosity is seen as an admission of guilt, and the reparations as inadequate compensations for injustices -- leading to worsening behavior by the recipients.

 This man that writes these words was at the forefront of when Welfare and the anti-Liberty "Entitlement Society" was at the beginning and being debated about. It is the supreme example of harm done by good intentions, promises, and lies. Watch this four minute video of clip of Thomas Sowell debating on the destructive affects of the program and also the fallacies of these promises based on false rationale.

You may be thinking, "Well, there is no difference between the Parties and each politician will do more harm than good, so why even vote or do anything?" I would counter with the mere fact that we must stand up and fight for Liberty, limited government, fiscal responsibility, and a more reasonable foreign policy. One way to fight is to vote. Furthermore, write, speak, debate, and continue to read to educate yourself to fight the good fight. We can change things. We are the government, well, we are supposed to be. Let's start showing that we are. I encourage you to read Sowell's articles, check out his videos on Youtube, and check out his website and affiliated websites.

I wonder what Lucifer promised the other angels to support him to challenge the omniscient, omnipotent incumbent, God. Well, whatever he promised, he most certainly delivered hell, literally. We may never get "heaven" on earth but we sure as hell can resist "hell," no pun intended...well, it was intended.