As I begin today’s column, it’s hard to believe I have nothing I want to write about. After all, the world is upside down with fish-in-a-barrel content to jump upon.

 Please forgive me if you think I shouldn’t write about fish in a barrel having a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness — whether it’s because the victimized fish are enslaved by said barrel or the victim of random gun violence for the purposes of some writer using a metaphor. 

But that’s how ridiculous things have become in our country. People can literally not say anything for fear or someone playing the victim, being hurt by words or marginalized. And we can point fingers — no, not in the shape of a firearm, just a random, non-specific, harmless way of pointing I’m sure people much smarter than you and I will come up with new regulations and governing boards so as to not offend when identifying a mass murderer in a courtroom to not harm his (or hers, my goodness this is getting more difficult, but I don’t want to exclude a woman’s ability to be equal in the mass murdering category) self-esteem as they stand trial — to the source. 

It’s as simple as this: As long as people go to the government with grievances (not redress of grievances as the Constitution allows for) demanding politicians create a special solution and right for them — and only them — this will only get worse. There are two big problems here: The sheer number of folks demanding government actions against those who think differently and politicians willing to do anything to get votes by taking up these causes. And they are increasing exponentially as I type. Never fear, there will be a governing board to enforce your way of thinking onto others at the implied barrel of a gun (there I go again) soon enough. After all, there’s no size limit government needs to reach to make other folks live, think and do as someone else demands. Government’s ability to do the right thing to get your vote knows no bounds.
The only problem is government rarely, if ever, does the right thing. 

And when your specific right to be the expert way of thinking on any given topic is granted via government subsidy or backing, you’ve hit the jackpot. If your favorite politician embraces your desire and creates a new right, law or select committee to address your specific concern or cause, no one else can be allowed authority or even an opinion on the topic. This applies to any topic the government is so eager to address for you. Because the government isn’t broaching your cause to help you, it’s hijacking (sorry to hijackers) your grievance or cause to take over your cause. And, yes, this goes for both sides of the aisle. 

Let’s use marijuana as an example. Some folks want it legalized and others will fight to the death to never allow it, all while most folks simply don’t care. If you’re a slick politician, you embrace all three ways of thinking because that’s how you become the drug kingpin. For the anti-pot folks, you assure them you’ll regulate it and only those who are government qualified will have the ability to sell it in certain places with full government oversight — all while collecting a tax windfall. For the folks who want it legalized, you promise them access to it while “allowing” it to be sold in their communities while calling it “legal” (it’s anything but) and collecting sales tax windfalls from it. For the folks who don’t care, it’s the easy road to beaucoup bucks because you allow things like the rumor it will fund schools (after all, everything you do is “for the children”) while suppressing crime rates and taking little flack because these folks aren’t in the market — all while enjoying the tax windfall.  

Now substitute school curriculum, freedom of speech, voting rights, racial tensions, COVID, business licensing, interstate commerce, war, foreign policy, poverty, Social Security funding, Medicare and Medicaid, insurance, inflation, cost of living, housing, cakes, public transportation, roads, infrastructure, the Internet, airwaves, essential businesses, essential employees, income taxes, property taxes, firearms … ad infinitum. 

Everything above (and thousands and thousands more) has the parties demanding their way and only their way, willing politicians or bureaucrats ready to collect taxes or fees with total control in regulating all of them (for the folks demanding their way) and the millions who just want to be left alone because it doesn’t concern them. Problem is with government, it always concerns everyone.  

The truth is, it’s only the third group who has the moral and ethical high ground. Because the folks who desire their freedom to live their lives as they see fit within the laws of civil society are doing the right thing — handling life on their own without taxation and government interference in their private lives. They don’t demand how others live and certainly don’t use the government to enforce it. Think of it this way: Why does the government roll out underrepresented and marginalized victims on almost a daily basis?  It’s because government controls the marginalized business. If government’s involved, it’s for its own interests — not yours. But always note, government works best when marginalized.

Craig Hall is owner and publisher of the Business Times. Reach him at 424-5133 or publisher@thebusinesstimes.com.