A Nation In Trouble

Total words: 1642

How does a nation that is the most powerful in the world have poverty issues? How is it that the rich get richer and yet the poor continue to stay poor? If the government fulfills all of it's promises then these wouldn't be issues. But the people that make up the government supply the public with words they think we want to hear rather then actual results. Tomas Sowell describes these people and their words in his book "The Vision of The Anointed". Sowell's ideas, my not be targeting the government in particular, but in my opinion his ideas reflect those actions made by the U.S. government. I have developed my opinions in relation to Sowell's ideas, and examples. In the book there are such chapter's titled, "Flattering Unction", "By The Numbers", "The Irrelevance of Evidence", and "Optional Reality", all of which I will use in this essay to further support my ideas. Also, I will use many points given by John Stossel, in his video "Stossel Goes to Washington". Stossel, questions actions which were wrongfully made, brings about ideas and points that most people wouldn't dare, and recognizes lies and deceit. The government takes our loyalty and trust, for stupidity and ignorance, power is their number one priority, and they have no integrity and are hypocritical. These are all characteristics of corruption. The characteristics are not always recognized for the simple fact that "we the people" trust our government to protect us, but where do we turn for protection from our government?

The government takes our loyalty and trust, for stupidity and ignorance. As said in Chapter One, Flattering Unction, "Few have spent their entire lives outside the vision of the anointed, and virtually no one has been unaffected by it". In other words, everyone is affected by the decisions, and promises made. The first step to recognizing the negativities of these actions and promises, is understanding the vision of the anointed. The anointed refers to the "higher power", and the vision refers to their ideas of what this country should and will be. No matter the situation, or what we say or do, they will do what they think is the proper alternative. This idea is brought about in Chapter Four, The Irrelevance of Evidence. The reason for this is if there is no logical explanation for an action, all they have to do is make something up. An example of this is statistics. Sowell is skeptical of statistics, and he speaks of this in Chapter Three, "By the Numbers". Statistics are used all too often to prove a point. Any idea can be proven with statistics, because "Anyone who looks through enough statistics will eventually find numbers that seem to confirm a given vision" as Sowell writes in the beginning of the chapter. The government gives us data rather then evidence. They tell us what we want to hear. We don't see the results; we only see the promises. Our tax paying money is being used along with promise that will be better of our country, but most of these tactics are ineffective. For example, The Interior Department has spent billions to help American Indians, yet they are still the poorest people in America. Billions more have been spent on public housing, but instead of living in safe homes, low-income families often end up in rundown, unsafe buildings. But when the government is questioned on mistakes that they have made, they continue to use deceit to deny their original intent. In his video, "John Stossel Goes To Washington" Stossel turns the idea of "consumer reporting" on the government itself. We are all consumers of government services, so shouldn't we ask if things can be done better? The answer is NO! The reason? Because who are we to say what the best alternative to any situation is? In the eyes of the "anointed" we are ignorant people who don't know what is best for us? This is why they choose to make the decisions for us. This is what leads to the power issue.

I believe Power is the number one priority amongst the anointed. They want to make sure that we are lower then them in order to assure their safety. By "safety", I mean that every being in the anointed is well off. They have nice cars, they are financially stable, and they have more power over your life then you do. They decided how much to charge you in taxes. They jack up tax prices and give bogus statements that these taxes are for the "good of the country". They make us think that we benefit from them taking our money. Taxpayers give so much of their hard working money to the government to support these programs, yet there is still no evident improvement. Take teen pregnancies for example, According to the website http://members.tripod.com/teenbirth/, (A site dedicated to helping lower the number of teen pregnancies) Every 26 seconds a US teen becomes pregnant, and every hour 56 babies are born to teen mothers. These numbers are horrifyingly true, as I have seen many of my friends struggle with this issue. There are thousands of dollars given to programs to help lower the numbers, but the rates of teen pregnancies are only raising. Thomas Sowell describes this situation in Chapter 2, "The Pattern". From pages 17 thru 21, Sowell describes the stages. First "The Crisis" (venereal diseases, pregnancies before marriage, and the emotionally disastrous results of irresponsible sexual behavior amongst teens). This "crisis" was actually not so much of a crisis after all. Sowell writes that the fertility rate among teen girls had been declining for more then a decade, and venereal disease was also declining. A decline in our society's negative issues is what the government calls a crisis? Of course, because this is just another excuse to take taxpayer's money! There is nothing wrong with having taxes for bettering our country, but the amount Americans spend on taxes each year is outrageous. According to a graph, on "john Stossel Goes to Washington", taxpaying has gone from 20 dollars over the years to what it is now, (Over 10,000 dollars a year). One woman said that each year Americans pay more for taxes then they do for food, clothes and shelter combined. Once again, the numbers are outrageous. The reason for this is the government's power keeps growing and growing. No one will ever successfully fight the government of the United States of America. Why? Besides being scared, the reality is, No one is powerful enough. The United States Government is a monopoly. Wait a minute!!!! Isn't it illegal to form a monopoly? Why is it okay for them to do it? This seems hypocritical, and over all a lack of integrity on their part.

In The last Chapter, "Optional Reality", Sowell summarizes beliefs of the visions of the anointed in five propositions: 1. Painful social situations exist not because of inherent limits to knowledge or resources, or inadequacies inherent in human beings, but because other people lack the wisdom or virtue of the anointed. 2. Evolved beliefs represent only a "socially constructed" set of notions, not reflections of and underlying reality. Therefore the way by which "problems" can be "solved" is by applying the articulated rationality of the anointed, rather than by relying on evolved traditions or systematic processes growing out of the experiences of the masses. 3. Social causation is intentional, rather than systematic, so that condemnation is in order when various features of the human experience are either unhappy or appear anomalous to the anointed. 4. Great social or biological dangers can be averted only by the imposition of the vision of the anointed on less enlightened people by the government. 5. Opposition to the vision of the anointed is due not to a different reading of complex and inconclusive evidence, but exists because opponents are lacking, either intellectually or morally, or both. I completely agree with Sowell. He successfully describes the beliefs in an understandable manner. Proposition number 5, coincides with my idea that the anointed see the rest of us as ignorant, and it is only when we oppose their ideas. The anointed are hypocritical and lack integrity. They are allowed to break the rules in which they apply to us. They are never punished for mistakes that they make, yet are quick to punish the rest of us for wrong doings. In another John Stossel report, it shows that billions of tax paying money is unaccounted for. When a private company has a problem such as this, they are quickly targeted and punished. Sounds like a double standard to me!

In conclusion, Thomas Sowell, has written one of the all time greatest books on self-congratulation as a basis for social policy. It provides reality of the vision's of those above us. Sowell's ideas, my not be targeting the government in particular, but in my opinion his ideas reflect those actions made by the U.S. government. In this essay I have informed you of why I feel that the government is in fact corrupt. I feel that the government not only is deceitful, but unintentionally hurts us as well. They are not an evil power out to get us, however, they do let the lies, power, and hypocrisies, get the best of them. In reading, Stowell's, I have learned more about myself as well as those around me. Words can be used in any situation to make anything happen. But it is up to you and me to recognize these scams, and deal with them accordingly. And when I say deal with them, I mean don't let them get the best of you. Show them that you are not an ignorant soul, incapable of making intelligent decisions. You are an educated human being who won't let their words deceive you. Don't accept the corruption any longer!

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