These words are known to most of us as a single line from a truism made famous by Benjamin Franklin in his popular periodical, Poor Richard’s Almanac. The entire adage is: “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise”. For much of my life it was considered so true as to be hardly worth saying.
Things change.
In the early 1960’s, I spotted a small sign, about the size of a nameplate, setting on the desk of a secretary – an executive secretary. It read: “It is better to be healthy, wealthy, and wise than it is to be poor, sick, and stupid”. I wondered why this capable, very smart lady thought such a sign was needed. Did she really need to remind herself of something so obvious?
I didn’t ask her. Years later, I think I understand.
She was responding to a nascent shift in the culture which since then has expanded exponentially. For millennia wealth, health, and wisdom, were the assumed natural goals of all people. Some were blessed with more than others. This too, was the assumed natural order of things. It was further assumed that those who worked hard would more likely become wealthy. Those who took care of themselves would more likely be rewarded with good health. Those who studied would more likely become wise. The opposite was also assumed to be true.
It took a while to destroy such clear thinking.
The destruction begin with the French Revolution. Its motto was, “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”. Sounds good, doesn’t it? The problem is that these aspirations cannot be granted; they must be earned. By contrast, the American Constitution was more prudent in its promises. Americans have the right to pursue happiness - in early drafts it was written as the right to pursue property, i.e. wealth. That is true liberty, not a handout from government, but the fruits of your own effort. Fraternity? The government cannot make friends for you. You must do that on your own. Equality? The only equality possible through government mandate is equal poverty. Much evil has been fostered by the belief that government force can replace individual effort, decency, and probity.
The French were first, Karl Marx followed, and then - ever since - by evermore thuggish idealists. Few things are as savage as benevolent tyranny.
All this leading to the strange modern notion that there is something noble in being a victim. Part of this strange new notion was accomplished by the traditional tools of government coercion, but, since the 1960’s, a sinister novelty was added to the mix: cultural coercion.
The forces of the hydra-headed deceivers we lump together as the, “Left” have worked tirelessly from the 60’s on, to confuse the hearts and minds of the innocent. They first infiltrated the schools. Their instrument of choice was altering curricula. Over the course of years, they slowly removed the traditional subjects of study with, “new-and-improved”, virtue/viruses of their own predilections. Since there is only so much time in any school day, reading, writing, arithmetic, and history must give way to racial studies, LGBT studies, environmental studies, and so on. Anything that would deprive students of practical knowledge that would enrich their lives and provide them with the fundamental skills they would need for successful productive lives.
The results of these manipulations are several generations of foggy thinker’s mostly incapable of balancing a checkbook, fluid reading, or intelligible writing. A few years back, some 40% of high school students in Texas could not identify the country to the south of them. Many thought Mexico was a state of the USA.
They are all encouraged to vote.
They also consider themselves to be the smartest and most sophisticated people who have ever lived. They know each, and every, failing of their country, but nothing of its greatness - or its geography. They do know how to use their cell phones. They go to Goggle for the information they lack. They get answers that are generally correct, but suffused with propaganda that is scattered throughout.
Media, Movies, the Arts, and every other form of mass communication has been totally compromised by the minions of the, “Left”. Those who oppose are dismissed as, “haters, racists, troglodytes and worse. Discussion is impossible. Shouting-down has replaced dialogue. We are left with an army of, “useful idiots”, manipulated by the elite, sinister core that gave birth to them.
Over time, they have been convinced that malicious forces beyond their control are responsible for any misfortune that troubles them.
If they’re poor, then it’s because greedy rich people have taken all the wealth from them. This despite the fact they never had any wealth to steal. It certainly couldn’t be because they didn’t work steadily, live within their means, or save what they could – even if only a small amount each month. Before the 60’s they would have been taught in school that this simple plan of action was a time-tested way to grow wealthy. It is also something that is easier to do in America than in any other country on Earth. They weren’t informed of that, either.
If they are burdened by recurrent health problems then it must be because of toxic pollution caused by thoughtless corporations, augmented by man-made climate change, or some other nefarious cause. It certainly couldn’t be because they abused their bodies with too much junk food, too much time on the couch playing video games, or drugs. It’s not their fault. That’s why they demand free health-care for all. In former times they would have been taught how to maintain their health by sensible nutrition and daily exercise. They would also have been taught that the primary caretaker for them would be - them.
If they don’t know much about history, geography, the great works of western civilization, or their own government, then it’s because they weren’t taught about those things in school. They’re right about that. Even so, public libraries are free and open to all. Those who will study are more likely to become wise. In America, anyone who wants to learn has ample opportunity. That isn’t true for most of the world. Perhaps this access to knowledge, along with equal opportunity to become wealthy, is what attracts so many people to America. Each year, over a million people legally seek, and are awarded, American citizenship. That’s more than any other country.
Recognized victimhood has replaced individual achievement as the best way to improve your life. Government largess has replaced individual initiative.
Sniveling has replaced striving for much too much of the population. Despite that, there are people who deserve our help. People who from no fault of their own need a helping hand; some just temporally, some for the rest of their lives. These should receive all the charity we can muster. The Bible tells us three things matter very much: “Faith, Hope, And Charity – and the greatest of these is Charity”.
Able-bodied folks who have become convinced they are victims of a society that has conspired against them are really victims of delusion. They have been led to this delusion by the forces I have already described. These forces intended the harm they have done. Not all of them, of course. Many of their number have been misled along with the imaginary, “victims”.
They meant well, but: “The road to Hell is paved with good intentions”. Christ tells us we should judge a tree by the fruit it produces. This Leftist tree has produced poisonous fruit, consistently. Bad ideas are revealed by the bad results they inevitably produce.
Is it all hopeless and irreversible. No. I don’t think so. Americans are historically resilient, although there is a national tendency to ignore problems until they can’t be ignored anymore. That time may be coming soon.
I hope so.
There is tragedy in being poor, sick, and stupid - but no virtue. There is virtue in being heathy, wealthy, and wise.
Quo Vadis?
