Oh, the promises politicians give the rubes. I offer a parable to showcase the lunacy of the left. There was a small town in middle America. It had its streets, its downtown, its people, and their cars. They drove all over town, getting to and from work. Somewhat frequently, there was an accident. In this town, there were no rules of the road, no stop signs - it was left to everyone's common sense. The mayor suggested that a few rules would be good. So she and the city council voted for speed limits, turning etiquette, right-of-way laws, and they implemented lanes. The people of the city were elated. Traffic flowed much smoother. Fewer accidents took place. Emboldened by her innovation, the mayor suggested that there should be stop signs at the city's major intersections near the downtown, where some accidents still occurred. Some of the townsfolk complained about this new mechanism to control traffic, but accidents were now reduced to almost nothing. The mayor was more popular than ever, but it started to annoy some people that they had to stop at every corner for several blocks in the busier parts of the city. A fella on the council owned a business that created lights of all kinds. One night, the idea hit upon him that a stoplight could replace the stop signs, and that by engineering the start/stop signaling, the lights could be timed for the busiest routes so that once a car started down the street, it could sail through without stopping. It would be like smart stop signs. The people of the town liked the invention so much that they elected him to be the new mayor. And he made good money doing it. It was good for the town, and good for his business. His wife then suggested that if he implemented more stoplights throughout the city, accidents would be further reduced and he would profit all the more. So he pushed the measure through the council. They passed it, though narrowly, and what he envisioned came to pass - fewer accidents yet, and he made a ton of money. His wife was so pleased. With all of the extra money, they essentially bought her a seat on the council to replace one of the people who'd voted against the measure. And passed yet more legislation for more stoplights. The people of the town were now forced stop in areas of the city where there was virtually no traffic. People argued that the stoplights were unnecessary, and some said that the new mayor was lining his pockets. But the mayor produced a study that showed the stoplights were bringing accidents almost to zero. Using the results of the study as the catalyst, he coerced yet another vote for more stoplights. He paid some on the council to vote for the new lights. The vote was close, but it went in his favor. Now, nearly half the corners in town had the stoplights. To pay for the stoplights, the council raised taxes. Some in town supported the lights, saying "What is the price of saving lives?" Others argued, "Why are our freedoms being stripped away and our money taken from us?" In the next year, there was one traffic fatality and it occurred at a corner with no stoplight at the far edge of town. The mayor published pictures of the horrific accident, and insisted that all traffic be regulated with a stoplight. Business owners and much of the town stood in protest. "This will kill all commerce!" A few citizens shouted back, "Greedy and uncaring!" The mayor strong-armed the council and forced a vote on the unpopular measure. After much bribery, it passed. Because productivity and retail dropped considerably for the difficulty in just getting around throughout town, jobs were lost. Unemployment skyrocketed. And tax revenue fell to a fraction of what it had been. The moral of the story? Only rubes think that a society riddled with stoplights is smart. Most citizens will calmly watch their freedoms stripped away because a few idiots complain and then rise to power to take advantage of the situation. Fight. | 
