Do You Rely on We the People or Govt? - Granite Grok

Do You Rely on We the People or Govt?

Cajun Navy

Who are the militia? Are they not ourselves?

– Tench Coxe,  The Pennsylvania Gazette, Feb. 20, 1788

“We are our own first responders,”

NRA instructor Bill Hodges

The fact that it has to be said, that We the People should be a priority above and are preeminent before Govt, is a sad state of affairs.  I keep saying this, but it requires that it be said. Govt was designed to be a supportive floor and not a towering overlord.  We were meant to be a self-reliant and self-responsible people, but there are those that would have Govt have the preeminent position (which, you know, makes us subjects rather than sovereign citizens).  These people have outsourced their responsibilities for both themselves and their fellow citizens to faceless bureaucrats in Govt.  We are moving from a permissionless society to one that must ask “Nanny, may I” at almost every turn.  Like here with some SJW feminist complaining about the citizen volunteers going out on their own accord – to help others:

https://twitter.com/Womenspeakup/status/901827734460137472

As Trump would tweet: “sad.”

It also bears repeating, once again, that Americans used to do for their families, friends, and community all the time – it was Civil Society that solved society’s problems themselves.  They were the first people others turned to; they were the “first responders” that ran to the emergency – de Tocqueville wrote about this extensively and marveled at the lack of Govt crowding out, pushing aside, and intrusiveness; it stayed in the background.

In contrast, it is clear that this SJW feminist believes that no one can or should act on their own.  Volunteers?  Nay – only the “professionals” need to respond – and they MUST be formally trained to be first responders.

Honey, there ain’t enough police, firefighters, National Guard, or US military to respond to this one.

Her outlook is unfortunately not singular – there are many that believe that Govt is the only entity that can or should be taking care of the rest of us.  The fact that Galveston’s govt asked for help is a three-fold tragedy in her eyes.  It shows that she’s blinkered with.”

  • A very ill-fated and distorted idea of what Govt can do and what it should be doing
  • a confrontation that her worldview is under attack – that Govt is not a very good Daddy?
  • her view of her fellow citizens is quite condescending; none of us known enough about anything to do something meaningful

Seriously – untrained citizens?  How does she know that?  A Progressive “tell” that unless one is either Govt paid or certified, we have no skills?  It is obvious that she looks to Govt as the end all / be all.  That’s fine – you just stand by the side of the road, out of the way, and the rest of us will step up.

Her view, shared by Progressives everywhere, is that only a professional cadre (e.g., Govt) can and should be allowed to “do” things – volunteers can never be as good.

Sidenote: like when the local “football club” started middle and high school teams and said that they’d never ask for taxpayer monies.  Then they came back and said they needed District “certification” in order to play others teams.  A year or so later, they admitted what many of said would happen – they broke their promise and lobbied to have the teams be a formal part of the school system.

What happened afterwards was fully expected – former volunteers that coached started getting stipends.  Those that worked the scoreboard, did the fieldwork, and worked the sidelines – yeah, suddenly started getting paid.  They HAD to be paid, we were told, so that they’d be “more professional” and they didn’t want to “rely” on volunteers.

Same outlook.  Same stupidity.  Same suck out of my wallet.

IBD has the perfect riposte to this Twitter twit (reformatted, emphasis mine):

The Cajun Navy was part of what’s been described as an “armada of private boats” that came to Houston to help rescue thousands of people stranded in their homes by Harvey’s relentless deluge. Nobody ordered it, or organized it, or coordinated it, or directed it. Nobody’s getting paid. But their efforts are a big reason why the death rate from Harvey has been so low.

It’s just one of many stories emerging from Houston that show how, in times of crisis, Americans come together, on their own, to help each other, save lives, and solve problems. A few examples:

  • Gallery Furniture, a Houston-based chain store, opened two of its nearby locations to residents seeking shelter.
  • HEB Grocery, which has more than 150 stores in Texas, sent its mobile kitchens to Houston to provide meals, pharmacy services, and ATMs.
  • Wal-Mart (WMT) is delivering nearly 800 truckloads of supplies to the region. It says it plans to send another 1,700 next week.
  • KL Outdoor in Michigan paying the shipping costs to send 2,000 kayaks to the region. Bass Pro is providing 80 boats.
  • Duracell is sending out free batteries to anyone impacted by the storm.
  • Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) has sent more than 155,000 cans of drinking water.
  • Airbnb activated its disaster response program, called “Urgent Accommodations,” which lets evacuees find lodging, with all service fees waived. Those with rooms to spare can use Airbnb to offer their space for free.
  • Mobile carriers are issuing waivers and credits to customers in the area.
  • The owner of the Kansas-based Vapebar sent a truck load of diapers, nonperishable food, telling a local news channel that ” a lot of bad things are happening down there right now and we need to help them out.”
  • Volunteer Houston launched the Virtual Volunteer Reception Center on Monday, which lets those who want to help get matched with relief organizations and agencies.
  • A multitude of businesses are donating large sums of money for relief efforts, including Aetna(AET), Amazon (AMZN), Boeing (BA), Caterpillar (CAT), Wells Fargo (WFC), Home Depot (HD), Coca-Cola (KO), Lowe’s (LOW).

There are less obvious ways private companies help. Waffle House, for example, has become an indicator of how bad a weather disaster is because the restaurant chain is so determined to keep operating in the worst conditions.

Rory Carroll, writing for the UK-based Guardian newspaper about the outpouring of voluntary help in response to Harvey, put it this way: “Here was the America of the ideal: one nation, indivisible. A republic of citizens looking out for each other. No politics or polarization. No fake news or social media bubbles. A crisis all could see, and a response all wanted to be part of.”

Amen to that. The nation’s moral character isn’t measured by the number of federal programs, or how big their budgets are, or how many bureaucrats are involved. It is measured in the willingness of its citizens to rally, organize and respond to a crisis all on their own, freely donating their time and resources, experience and know-how to help strangers in need. Too, often, these private efforts get lost in the relentless focus on what government is or isn’t doing.

(H/T: RedState)

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