Thursday, February 19, 2009

Chicago Derivative Party?

Some acquaintances posted this video on facebook, and I thought it mighty appropriate to link to it here. I can't show the video on my site, but I highly encourage everyone to watch it. It's only about 5 minutes long. So go watch the video. I'll wait...Go!

Assuming you've watched the video, I'll continue. The sight of a trading floor full of capitalists shouting their disapproval of Obama's attempt to socialize home ownership just warms my heart. Frankly, I think the idea of a Chicago Tea Party, complete with tossing worthless derivative securities into Lake Michigan, is a fabulous idea, and I'm ready to hop in the car right now if they try it. It's good to know that out there, in the financial trenches, capitalists who love freedom and love money still exist, and they are PISSED OFF.

This raises an interesting issue, which is that as mad as we are about the rising tide of collectivism in this country, we do not go on strike (Colorado isn't the inviting wilderness safe from government snooping that it used to be) and we don't fight back. Sure we write op-eds and letters to the editors of major newspapers, but those fall on deaf ears, save for a few exceptions. The reason for this is that as bad as things are, our lives are still better (or at least more stable) than they would be if the country were hurled into all-out revolt. The question then becomes "How much is enough?" How much will the general populace (Objectivists alone would stage a pretty pathetic revolution) put up with before they fight back? Where is the breaking point?

I must admit, it would take a lot for me to want to set aside my long-term personal and professional plans and pick up a gun. It would, in fact, require that those plans become no longer viable. For some people wanting to go into medicine, that point might be fast approaching. For me, the intellectual, I think I have time. Still, with the way our country is progressing, it might not actually be that long.

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