Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Old story
Remembering one of my father's favorite 'jokes'.
('Jokes' in quotes because my father, being a teacher by nature and training, never told jokes purely for humor; he always had a point.)
A missionary was talking to an Indian chief.
Missionary: "You should be working instead of sitting in front of your tipi."
Chief: "Why?"
Missionary: "So you can earn money."
Chief: "Why?"
Missionary: "You can save it for the future."
Chief: "Why?"
Missionary: "When you get older, you can relax."
Chief: "I'm already doing that."
Pretty good explanation of why warrior culture persists in the modern world. When the male in charge has many females doing his work, he sees no reason to switch. And when the whole setup is supported by oil welfare or government welfare, it can hold up well in modern times. And there's a good reason for government to keep warriors on welfare: you can use them as a private army, at least in a deterrent way. This idea was quite explicit in the thinking of leftist intellectuals. Why worry about little things like persuasion and debate when you can raise the prospect of a riot?
(If you think this was just an Unintended Consequence, read Fred Siegel's book "The Future Happened Here." Siegel is an old-fashioned Democrat insider who watched the construction of the welfare entitlement by hard-left intellectuals, and he quotes their writings.)
This is why (unlike most conservatives) I hold Bill Clinton in high regard. He promised to get rid of welfare, and he did. Yes, I know Rush always says Clinton had to be dragged kicking and screaming to sign the law. Sorry, that doesn't wash. Clinton vetoed plenty of other bills, and he signed this one. Results count. (Would bobdole have signed that bill? I'd bet $1000 against it, based on his uniformly statist record.) After the 1996 reform, lots of things changed. Most important, the deterrent was shown to be empty. No riots happened. Jesse Jackson lost his empire.
Secondarily, the harem-like connection between black gangster stallions and white mares was broken. I saw this happen locally. During those years, I was riding a bus to work, which passed through a poor neighborhood. Before reform, the bus was filled with those white mares, always pregnant, and their endless vari-colored broods. When reform happened, a huge buzz broke out among the mares; their only topic of conversation was how to change from tribal culture to village culture. (Get job, get rid of the stallion, stop foaling.) A year later, the same mares were riding the bus to work instead of to the DSHS office, and they were no longer pregnant 100% of the time.
Conversion is possible! ¶ 8:44 PM
('Jokes' in quotes because my father, being a teacher by nature and training, never told jokes purely for humor; he always had a point.)
A missionary was talking to an Indian chief.
Missionary: "You should be working instead of sitting in front of your tipi."
Chief: "Why?"
Missionary: "So you can earn money."
Chief: "Why?"
Missionary: "You can save it for the future."
Chief: "Why?"
Missionary: "When you get older, you can relax."
Chief: "I'm already doing that."
Pretty good explanation of why warrior culture persists in the modern world. When the male in charge has many females doing his work, he sees no reason to switch. And when the whole setup is supported by oil welfare or government welfare, it can hold up well in modern times. And there's a good reason for government to keep warriors on welfare: you can use them as a private army, at least in a deterrent way. This idea was quite explicit in the thinking of leftist intellectuals. Why worry about little things like persuasion and debate when you can raise the prospect of a riot?
(If you think this was just an Unintended Consequence, read Fred Siegel's book "The Future Happened Here." Siegel is an old-fashioned Democrat insider who watched the construction of the welfare entitlement by hard-left intellectuals, and he quotes their writings.)
This is why (unlike most conservatives) I hold Bill Clinton in high regard. He promised to get rid of welfare, and he did. Yes, I know Rush always says Clinton had to be dragged kicking and screaming to sign the law. Sorry, that doesn't wash. Clinton vetoed plenty of other bills, and he signed this one. Results count. (Would bobdole have signed that bill? I'd bet $1000 against it, based on his uniformly statist record.) After the 1996 reform, lots of things changed. Most important, the deterrent was shown to be empty. No riots happened. Jesse Jackson lost his empire.
Secondarily, the harem-like connection between black gangster stallions and white mares was broken. I saw this happen locally. During those years, I was riding a bus to work, which passed through a poor neighborhood. Before reform, the bus was filled with those white mares, always pregnant, and their endless vari-colored broods. When reform happened, a huge buzz broke out among the mares; their only topic of conversation was how to change from tribal culture to village culture. (Get job, get rid of the stallion, stop foaling.) A year later, the same mares were riding the bus to work instead of to the DSHS office, and they were no longer pregnant 100% of the time.
Conversion is possible! ¶ 8:44 PM
