Last night's Democrat presidential primary was my first good look at the Bernie Sanders Show, and it did not disappoint. I knew that Sanders is a socialist - a magna cum laude graduate of Robin Hood University. Still, I just couldn't picture in my mind a grown man trying to convince people that there IS such a thing as a free lunch. With a straight face.
The throng of helpless college girls (plus Debbie Wasserman Schultz) screaming lustily for this tired old draft-dodger was bizarrely reminiscent of a Beatles gig at Shea Stadium. These poor kids apparently had no parents, or at least no adults, to guide them through adolescence.
When I was their age, my hard-working, truck-driving dad drilled his one-line lessons into me enough times that they stuck. "There is no such thing as a free lunch." he would say. "If it looks too good to be true, it's not true." "Nothing that's free is worth having." "If somebody gives you something for free, they want something from you."
And my everyday experiences have repeatedly proved him right. My dad made me work all summer to pay for the motorbike I wanted. I treasured that little Honda and never allowed so much as a speck of dust to tarnish a chrome spoke. When I outgrew the bike, my Dad bought it from me and gave it to my little brother, who destroyed it within a few weeks. It was free, so it just didn't have much value to him.
Have you ever accepted a free weekend at a time-share? Or a free dinner from a financial planner? Or a free campaign contribution from General Electric? All come with "strings attached".
For decades our public schools and liberal universities have taught us to never question an academic authority. Or a Democrat. Free stuff? Why not, you deserve it. If you are poor, you are a hero, and even more deserving! Don't ask where all the free stuff will come from! Don't look behind the curtain at the wizard making all the promises, or question his motives!
I expected it, but the Sanders Show still saddened me deeply. The $20 trillion national debt (over $100 trillion of unfunded liabilities) was never mentioned. Nobody wondered whether the rich would remain in the USA when faced with having their wealth stolen. Sanders didn't even flinch when Hillary pointed out that producing goods and services actually does matter. Sanders apparently really believes that government handouts grow on trees, and the Freebie Forest will never run out of fruit.
That any adult American can swallow Sanders' unfiltered Jonestown KoolAid is a terrifying indictment of our failure as parents, educators, and elected officials.
Please grab your kid. And his teacher. And make them repeat after you, "There is no such thing as a free lunch . . . There is no such thing as a free lunch . . . There is no such thing as a free lunch . . ."
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Tom Balek is a fellow conservative activist, blogger, musician and contributes to the ARRA News Service. Tom resides in North Carolina and between playing in bands including his family band Caution! Blind Driver, he seeks to educate those too busy with their work and families to notice how close to the precipice our economy has come. He blogs at Rockin' On the Right Side
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