Jay's Tuesday Free Enterprise Quote - 16 September 2014

Not to be a critic, but this post is all over the place. I'm not reading a cohesive message. For those that chose to endeavor in business, your choice of quote is certainly appropriate. But as you have traveled in this topic, you have gone off the road.

I think it is presumptiuous to believe those that have "failed" in business or maybe more appropriate, their endeavor has failed, would be deriders of free enterprise. I would think they more than anyone else would inderstand the "rough road". 

And what would these "others" you speak of near the end of this post, have to do with your original topic? Very broad brushing.

Those who cannot keep afloat and perish in the business environment would say no!  They, and the other deriders of free enterprise and capitalism, would also scream the other words - unfair!  Unjust!  Unlevel playing field!  Etc.....seems pretty clear to me. If they fail and are screaming AND they aren't trying again, thus they wouldn't view it as a "rough road". More like an unscalable cliff and someone else should build them a ladder...no make that an elevator, climbing is HARD!

Umm, the 'others'? My reading is the ones who actually work, produce, take risks, grow businesses (or fail, but keep trying), pay taxes (to support all the freeloaders/unfair spouters).  Thus the 'others' are the risk takers, the free enterprisers, the democracy supporters........

Of course, I could be wrong and Jay can defend his own blog post, but that is my reading of this blog.

Pretty much exactly what we see today.

I deserve to be successful just because "I AM". I shouldn't have to risk anything or even have to consider failure, because I was told by my parents that I am "SPECIAL".

The USA started with a very rough road and we got it smoothed out enough to succeed. Now the USA is trying to eliminate EVERY bump in the road for some and they have no grasp on reality and think it will be EASY to be successful. Their parents validated them, their schools validated them, their professors validated them or their government validated the "I DESERVE IT" mindset with the cradle to grave caretaker concept.

No one loses in little kids supports, no one wins, no one gets a grasp at an early age that they may FAIL and that there may be someone better at _____ than them. That isn't unfair, that is life.

When very broad brushes are used, things can appear to be all the same color when they are not.

Than, Where do see all this happening? You are generalizing. Taking your opinion and extrapolating to describe people you don't know. 

I see some of the type of "validation" you speak of in schools and kids sports. It bothers me as well. The everyone gets a trophy baloney. I also agree learning to fail is important. I however would not presume to speak for anyone else or pretend to know what other parents or kids behaviors are. I think it comes down to parenting, teaching children to try their best,. Effort is much more validating than winning or losing. 

Where do I see it happening? On the news every night. 

On the ball fields all the time. You say you dislike the 'everyone gets a medal', however you fail to see this carries over to real life.

These kids become teenagers, who have never failed or never been told they need to work hard to win. They then become college graduates with 2 or 3 worthless degrees and then complain about not getting a job with their degree in 'southwest pottery design and the global implications of those pottery designs'.

Where have I seen the above you ask? Occupy Wall Street and every off shoot of it. They want whatever they want and don't think the rich should make so much money. Yet they are on their iPads, iPhones, Nike tennis shoes, laptops, living in their parents basements complaining about their student loans...........All the while their true complaint is NO ONE will hire them for the 6 figure salary they think they are worth!

You guys, so tightly wrapped up in your ideals, your perceptions, you have absolutely no clue what I'm saying and therein lies the problem.

All these people you speak of, who are "they"? More importantly, do you know "them"? And you see it on the news (big smirk). 

How would anyone know how someone is going to grow up simply because they played a sport where everyone got a trophy? Seriously. How can you know? You are making grand assumptions. (my very good friend coaches middle school basketball. They don't give out trophies to everyone, but he agrees giving away trophies to all participants is ridiculous).

Do some people go to school for seemingly "silly" careers? I would say sure. Are there people with "good" degrees who can't find work? I'm certain there are. To think that a person with a degree in puppetry or enology would go to IBM and apply for a job is ludicrous. My understanding is that the vast majority of people entering college change their major before graduating. These are kids finding their way. 

My question is, what percentage of graduates obtained these silly careers? And why is working for a corporation the "better" career? Why not a winery? Is that job or the person who has it any less valuable than the IBM employee? They both would after all be employed, paying taxes, contributing to society, yada, yada, yada. 

All this talk about how this group or policy is "the problem" is nothing more than finger pointing, blaming for what you two perceive as the ills of this country. We keeping coming back to the same examples, the occupy wall street people, et al. I believe these people are hardly representative of anyone but themselves.

Here's my idea, instead of generalizing and finger pointing, try making a single, cohesive point, instead of writing, talking on a vast array of different topics. Talking about people as a group is generalizing and ultimately dehumanizing.

I've said it before, belief blinds. Think about it. 

BTW, what exactly is greatness?  

You mean, like:

1. Gun owners are bad?
2. Guns should be banned, because then crime will go away?
3. Corporations are evil?
4. Conservatives want to send blacks back to slavery?
5. Global warming is settled science?
6. All whites are racist?
7. If a black is arrested, stopped, talked to by a cop..it is because they are black?
8. Conservatives hate homosexuals?
9. All men are sexist?

Stop me when you have enough generalizations from the 'other' side.

Did you listen to any of the interviews from OWS? "I have 3 degrees in _____ and no one will hire me!"

"I want my student loans forgiven." "I want to be hired at the top of the pay scale."

Why are they getting degrees in silly fields? Because it is easier than a standard degree. The EXACT reason Liberal Arts degrees became so popular. It was an easier path to a college degree.

Generalizing is dehumanizing....what a load of crap.

Jay, I'm too serious!? So I should have taken this post as tongue in cheek? Nice deflection. And I didn't say I was worried about your ideals, I said you are tightly wrapped up in them and that indeed can be blinding.

Keeping an open mind is very difficult. We must make a grand effort to do so constantly. For it is our own ideals that can nudge aside the thoughts of others. 

I read these post because I am trying to be open minded, even when I don't agree. I have found some of your Tuesday post enlightening. I wish to know your ideals, but I don't always have to agree. Above all we must respect, and you my friend always do. I thank you for that. 

I think, James, he was referring to that specific sentence. 

If the left believed what you state James it would be great, but it is more "Everyone can have an opinion....as long as it agrees with me." If you disagree you are racist, homophbic, greedy, a murderer or whatever hyperbole they throw out.

Boycott Chik-fil-a: they believe in God. Boycott Hobby Lobby: they will only pay for 15 out of 17 birth control devices/treatments/pills.

Not only Boycott, but you must conform to OUR beliefs or views and if you don't we will sue, have sit ins, threaten your customers, disrupt your business or demand government regulation. (All these action are protected according to the left, but but the owners are not protected from these actions.)

I am free to choose birth control, but I am not free to choose to NOT provide birth control.

I am free to denounce God, speak of Islam (flatteringly), but I am not free to talk about being a follower of Christ. (No, this isn't complete yet, but simply look at the colleges. Christian groups are being forced to accept anyone, while Muslim groups are being allowed to put up signs stating non-muslims are not allowed in the room! This was a room in a college building. The campus authorities made the Christians take down their crosses, but did nothing to the muslims.)

It is Constitution Day, but 2 college kids were threatened with arrest if they didn't stop giving out free copies of the Constitution on campus. (They were in the 'freedom' zone and following all the rules, yet the lady in charge called the cops when they refused to leave.)