The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Greetings ta ever one in western Illinois and all readers of "The Quill."
SNOW DID COME
Harvest pretty much came ta a halt with this past week's dump'n of snow in the area.
What an inconvenience fer the farmers but it's time like these the farmer toughin's up and hangs in there. It's the never give up attitude that gets most of us through uncontrollable situations.
Maybe it just makes us appreciate the good days and the prosperity around us we so often overlook.
Jasper Jenks received an article from a friend that it may just be a good time ta share.
It was written by a young lady about 26, born in Chicago and raised in Wisconsin by what she calls "incredible parents". Her name ya no doubt will be a hear'n more of ... Alyssa Ahlgren.
Her mom is an immigrant from Croatia and a small business owner. Her dad she says "is the kindest, most God-fearing man you'll ever meet. Together, they raised my brother, sister, and me to believe in the inherent value of freedom, faith, virtue, and in personal responsibility."
The article Jasper gave me was written by her and shared by her on April 6, 2019 from: "Thoughts From A Hipster Coffee Shop" and it has received a lot of attention. She has since started her own website www.alyssaahlgren.com, has been on radio and television, and she offers her services as a speaker. Her mission statement states:
"We can only keep liberty for as long as we uphold it. I fight for American values and the teachings of those values. I fight for individual liberty and the responsibility that comes with that liberty. I fight for freedom while accepting the consequences of that freedom. I am a child of God before I am an American and an American before any other identity."
Here I'm a share'n her interestin' outlook as given ta me by Jasper Jenks:
April 6, 2019 by Alyssa R. Ahlgren
Thoughts from a hipster coffee shop:
I'm sitting in a small coffee shop near Nokomis trying to think of what to write about.
I scroll through my newsfeed on my phone looking at the latest headlines of Democratic candidates calling for policies to "fix" the so-called injustices of capitalism.
I put my phone down and continue to look around.
I see people talking freely, working on their MacBooks, ordering food they get in an instant, seeing cars go by outside, and it dawned on me. We live in the most privileged time in the most prosperous nation and we've become completely blind to it. Vehicles, food, technology, freedom to associate with whom we choose.
We Take Our High Standard of Living for Granted!
These things are so ingrained in our American way of life we don't give them a second thought. We are so well off here in the United States that our poverty line begins 31 times above the global average. Thirty. One. Times!
Virtually no one in the United States is considered poor by global standards. Yet, in a time where we can order a product off Amazon with one click and have it at our doorstep the next day, we are unappreciative, unsatisfied, and ungrateful.
My generation is being indoctrinated by a mainstream narrative to actually believe we have never seen prosperity.
Our unappreciation is evident as the popularity of socialist policies among my generation continues to grow.
Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently said to Newsweek talking about the millennial generation, "An entire generation, which is now becoming one of the largest electorates in America, came of age and never saw American prosperity."
Never saw American prosperity. Let that sink in. When I first read that statement, I thought to myself, that was quite literally the most entitled and factually illiterate thing I've ever heard in my 26 years on this earth.
Now, I'm not attributing Miss Ocasio-Cortez's words to outright dishonesty. I do think she whole-heartedly believes the words she said to be true. Many young people agree with her, which is entirely misguided.
My generation is being indoctrinated by a mainstream narrative to actually believe we have never seen prosperity.
I know this first hand, I went to college, let's just say I didn't have the popular opinion, but I digress.
Capitalism Leads to Prosperity
Let me lay down some universal truths really quick. The United States of America has lifted more people out of abject poverty, spread more freedom and democracy, and has created more innovation in technology and medicine than any other nation in human history. Not only that but our citizenry continually breaks world records with charitable donations, the rags to riches story is not only possible in America but not uncommon, we have the strongest purchasing power on earth, and we encompass 25 percent of the world's GDP. The list goes on.
However, these universal truths don't matter. We are told that income inequality is an existential crisis (even though this is not an indicator of prosperity; some of the poorest countries in the world have low income inequality), we are told that we are oppressed by capitalism (even though it's brought about more freedom and wealth to the most people than any other system in world history), we are told that the only way we will acquire the benefits of true prosperity is through socialism and centralization of federal power (even though history has proven time and again this only brings tyranny and suffering).
Why then, with all of the overwhelming evidence around us, evidence that I can even see sitting at a coffee shop, do we not view this as prosperity? We have people who are dying to get into our country. People around the world destitute and truly impoverished. Yet, we have a young generation convinced they've never seen prosperity, and as a result, elect politicians dead set on taking steps towards abolishing capitalism.
Destroying the free market will undo what millions of people have died to achieve.
Why? The answer is this, my generation has only seen prosperity. We have no contrast. We didn't live in the Great Depression, or live through two world wars, or see the rise and fall of socialism and communism. We don't know what it's like not to live without the internet, without cars, without smartphones. We don't have a lack of prosperity problem. We have an entitlement problem, an ungratefulness problem, and it's spreading like a plague.
With the current political climate giving rise to the misguided idea of a socialist utopia, will we see the light? Or will we have to lose it all to realize that what we have now is true prosperity?
Destroying the free market will undo what millions of people have died to achieve.
My generation is becoming the largest voting bloc in the country. We have an opportunity to continue to propel us forward with the gifts capitalism and democracy has given us. The other option is that we can fall into the trap of entitlement and relapse into restrictive socialist destitution. The choice doesn't seem too hard, does it?
The boys thought this girl had a lot of wisdom fer her age.
I hope ya remembered ta turn back yer clocks last Sunday morn'n, and me and Mrs. Bruke hope ta see ya in church this Sunday.
Remember, where ever ya is, what ever ya be a do'n,
BE A GOOD ONE!
Keep on smile'n,
Catch ya later,
BARNYARD BRUKE