Getting on board with laissez-faire
Published Friday, January 9, 2009
When did we change from a nation known for rolling up its sleeves to one reaching for a handout?
As we near the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States, this one question keeps rattling in my brain.
Let me explain why.
The first presidential inauguration speech I remember I heard in Mrs. Whitehead’s seventh grade American History class.
Crowded around the large-screen TV with my classmates, I listened intently to Ronald Reagan give his first inaugural address on Jan. 20, 1981.
With a country mired in recession, with inflation and unemployment soaring, Reagan gave his vision for the country.
“In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem,” Reagan said to applause.
I don’t know where my love for American History and government started, but Mrs. Whitehead’s class stoked that tiny spark into a burning fire that year.
Not only did we witness history first hand through current events, but we spent substantial time reading other historical documents — like John F. Kennedy’s inauguration speech for example.
“And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country” were words that came to life in Mrs. Whitehead’s class.
I don’t know whether she was a Republican or Democrat, a Libertarian or Independent, but I am certain of one thing — Mrs. Whitehead believed in the power of words.
Not only did I leave the seventh grade with a love of learning, but I also left with a love of country.
That love of country stems partly from the words of Kennedy and Reagan — who both spoke of the importance of individual responsibility.
Both messages made lasting impressions on me.
That is why I have been dismayed by the recent actions of our local politicians.
There is no question that the American economy is in a serious crisis.
If you listened to our local leaders trip over themselves in haste to line up for part of president-elect Obama’s proposed stimulus handout, you might think Southwest Mississippi was at the epicenter of the crisis.
Hoping for a bailout like that of the banks and auto industry, Natchez aldermen have piled million-dollar request upon million-dollar request for the U.S. Conference of Mayors appeal to Obama.
Their requests included $9.5 million for a recreation complex and $5 million for the renovations of the Margaret Martin Performing Arts Complex.
Last Monday, Adams County supervisors were salivating over how they might get in line for their United States welfare check, as well.
While areas of the country are reeling over a crisis that threatens to destroy whole communities, Natchez and Adams County are asking for things like recreation complexes and performing arts theaters.
If these are important to us, then we should plan for them, save for them and maintain them ourselves.
We don’t need a handout. Instead we need leaders that have the wherewithal to plan and execute these and other projects that will improve Natchez.
And we must expect of ourselves the sacrifice and cooperation necessary to see the projects through.
On this, I think both Kennedy and Reagan would agree.
Ben Hillyer is the web editor of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3540 or by e-mail at ben.hillyer@natchezdemocrat.com.