You've probably heard me say these words before - especially if you've ever heard me on the radio. The truth is that I fear we Americans are indeed headed for European-style socialism which is something I grew up with and ultimately left behind when I became a proud United States Citizen.
Well this morning I received a reminder from the land of my birth of one of the fundamental differences between the UK and that "give me" mentality and the personal responsibility that marks Americans out as something to be proud of.
The following is an e-mail I received from someone I had not heard from in three years. You will note that there are no questions about me, my health, my family or anything else. I remind you, THREE YEARS have passed since I last heard from this person. I have changed a couple of "British" words for American ones and I have done some currency conversion as well. Apart from that, this is cut and paste including the spelling issues!
Hi Simon
I will come straight to the point- in short I was laid off two weeks ago. This will compromise me severly on the 18th of December, as this has created a cash flow problem. Could please help me out with $5,000.00 via wire transfer. I realise this is unorthodox and totally out of the blue. I have been promised roles ( I am a contractor) and they subsequently will not materalize untill the New Year- by which time I will financially be back on track- so to speak. This is the wire information _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ For me personally ( among many) this year has been a humungous disaster- full of false promises and false starts. In- fact the last time we spoke, I told you I was planning to move over to the States. That is still very much on the cards, it has simply been put on hold. In the mean- time if you could get back to me on this, I would very much appreciate it.
So there you have it - the first communication in three years. The last communication by the way was about his plan to come into the US as a tourist and then not go home. I explained to him that illegal immigration was not something I could condone.
Anyway, I digress. The following is my reply to him. Here's hoping some of the "give me" Liberals are paying attention!
Hi ?????, and nice to hear from you after so long even if your news is not great. I am simply not in a financial position to be able to help, but I also want to point something else out to you. I think you have been living under the yoke of socialism for too long. I have responsibility to my family. My daughters are both at university and my job is to make sure they get out of there without huge debt. So far I am fulfilling my promise.
The thing is, I would quite literally go and flip burgers on the night shift at MacDonald’s to take care of my bills and to support my girls if that is what I had to do. I do understand that personal responsibility is knocked out of you when you have lived with socialism literally since the moment of your birth, but you aspire to be an American. And despite what President Obama would have you believe, this country will not be fundamentally changed by the time he gets his butt kicked out of office in 2012.
If you ever make it here then you will find out very quickly that you have to stand on your own two feet. I know a professional woman who sold dog food on the weekends and also rented out two rooms in her home to total strangers so she could make her mortgage payment. THAT is part of what being an American is all about. It's called personal responsibility. That story repeats itself over and over among REAL Americans.
If that is what you wish to be then I again urge you to come in through the front door and to completely understand the history of this great nation. Until you truly understand what the Founding Fathers intended for America then you have no reason to live here.
Finally, December 18 is more than a week away and it leads me to two questions. Are you not receiving government hand outs? Are they not paying your rent? And more importantly from my perspective, have you not been pounding the streets trying to find work? You say you were laid off two weeks ago – there has to have been hundreds of temporary jobs in all the Malls and high streets of London in the run up to Christmas. Did you even try and find one?
If I was in a position to help you I would do so, but the fact that I am not and the fact that you asked, both have enabled me to try and help you understand the country you wish to live in and be a part of one day. I really hope you find a way through your troubles and I also really hope that if you ever make it here you will become a truly great American.
Best wishes
Simon
It is possible that you think I was wrong in my response and I'd love to hear from you about that. I took it as a teaching moment for someone who has repeatedly told me he wants to be an American. I just wanted him to understand that REAL Americans don't have their hands held out to the Government. REAL Americans take responsibility for their own lives.
If you'd like to comment on this blog you can do so by e-mailing me at simontalkshow@gmail.com
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