Is Obama Robin Hood

Robin Hood is a wonderfully romantic story. It’s got everything, romance, action, villains. And the backdrop of thirteenth century is fascinating to those of us who get tired of daily routine in the twenty-first century. Never mind that no indoor plumbing existed, making fleas man’s number one pal. But the biggest attraction of the Robin Hood story is the tale of an everyday man standing up to the rich and powerful. He robbed them of their riches and instead of keeping it himself, drinking and wenching away the spoils, he gave it to the poor and needy. What a hero!

It was particularly heroic in that day and age, when stealing a loaf of bread would get your hand cut off and highway robbery would get you hanged or worse, drawn and quartered. They definitely weren’t soft on crime. And the poor in those days weren’t anything like the poor we have now, especially in the developed countries. In the dark ages of Europe, (and for much of the rest of the world) the poor were lucky to get a crust of bread everyday and maybe once a month got a taste of pork, or an egg. If they were lucky. Someone coming along with pennies to hand out was a downright miracle. (Back then a penny would feed a family for a week) With such largesse, did they sit back thinking it was their right to get a penny a week? No, they kept working. A windfall was nice, but if you want to eat, you have to work.

Today’s poor are the polar opposite. They have housing for the most part with indoor plumbing to boot. Most have televisions with cable. A huge proportion of the poor have cell phones, computers and video games. I define poor as someone making a little above minimum wage, often the only wage earner in the house. I’ve worked a lot with these people, as nursing assistants generally fall into the poor category. (I’m an RN) I have also been poor early in my marriage. My husband enjoyed his job, but it didn’t pay much, so I know all about juggling bills, e.g. who do I pay this month and who do I postpone? We qualified for food stamps and I became familiar with all the ways one could obtain assistance, which is why all these stories about people who couldn’t find assistance to get needed medical therapies puzzle me. I also have a brother-in-law who had 2 hospital stays mostly written off. My sister was given a free biopsy she needed to diagnose the cancer that killed her, just by someone calling around and asking. Providence Hospital in Portland OR came through.

What’s going on is the sense of entitlement is increasing. Like the commercial says, “It’s my money and I need it now.” We’re sounding like spoiled brats and when government starts to cut back because of huge deficit spending, people throw tantrums, protesting and rioting. At the moment it’s in Arizona, rioting as though it was the Hispanics right to come flooding over our borders without proper clearance. Excuuuse me? It’s not racist to ask a Hispanic who can’t speak English if they have their papers. Everyday, we use some form of profiling to negotiate through our life. If someone comes up who is black, to talk to a white person, you can bet that that Caucasian is very careful of what they say, just in case this particular person is overly sensitive. If an office mate comes up to you with an angry look on her face, you profile that she’s angry and plan your response accordingly. If a man comes stumbling along, unshaven and unkempt, you profile that he’s probably a drunk. Every one looks at people approaching just in case a response is needed and goes by what information they have to make first assumptions, then proceed from there as actions and speech further informs them. I used to look down when I saw Hispanic men approaching, since when I met their eyes, they’d grin and try to touch me. I got caught out on that once when a friend who happens to be Hispanic American had to say, “Yoo-hoo, earth to JoAnn” when I didn’t see him right off.

Looking around, it is obvious that those in power are encouraging the infantilizing of America. Cloward & Piven laid out this strategy in the sixties by proposing that socialism would be easier to accomplish if America was swamped by overwhelming debt. To that end, they started out with welfare. Not just content with making it available, workers were sent door to door in poor neighborhood encouraging families to sign up. It took a while, but in time the attitude of ‘gimme’ perfused through society. I DESERVE it. I HAVE A RIGHT to free stuff. Hard work is beneath me. Free this and that should be a ‘right’. That includes citizen benefits without taking the trouble to become a citizen. Oh, I know, how about staying in Mexico and working to make Mexico a better place? What is to become of it without it’s best hardworking citizens?

The sense of entitlement seems to be catching. It’s just easier to sneak over the border than to sacrifice to change their country. And believe me, I’m aware of how hard it is to sneak over with predators waiting to rob them or overcharge for leading them over. Things must be bad down there. But it won’t get better if the honest citizens leave. Also, the US sets a poor example with the right to money attitude. They look at their nation and shoulders sag at the thought of trying to get the something for nothing thing going down there. They have to realize that America didn’t start there either and shouldn’t be there now. A free country starts with the freedom to work and retain what is earned, so that it may be invested into business expansion, which leads to hiring more people. The key difference between the US when it first started and other countries throughout history was low taxes and the right to build ones own livelihood and a government limited in its intrusion into people’s lives. Where DO people get the idea that high taxes and big government is good?