The erstwhile “Land of Milk and
Honey” is now the land of syringes and human
fecal matter on the streets. Homelessness
is rampant. Fires burn. Power has been shut off to hundreds of thousands of
people. Perishables are spoiling. Darkness reigns in too many areas.
The similarities between what is
now occurring in parts of California and what is happening, albeit on a larger
and more desperate scale, in Venezuela, are many and chilling. Or should be.
Venezuela is another former paradise, the onetime jewel of the Caribbean. It,
too, has gone figuratively—and literally—dark. The necessities of life have
become scarce, though it sits on the world’s largest pool of black gold. Though
the nation also possesses large reserves of natural gas, bauxite, iron ore,
diamonds and gold, people have resorted to eating
zoo animals-- and their pets-- to stave off starvation. Power is often
scarce, potable water, too. Millions have fled the country altogether. All of
this misery and privation has been brought to Venezuelans courtesy of years of
Socialist rule.
And now California, too, grows
dark. And for many of the same reasons. Its massive homelessness problem has
been brought about by government mandating rent and price controls. The state
has essentially sanctioned massive drug use by coddling abusers. Gas and
electricity, and therefore most other things, are much more expensive then in
other states due to its incredibly restrictive environmental policies. It has
the biggest gap between the highest income earners and the lowest of any state
in the union. The state’s government has refused Pacific Gas and Electric’s
petitions to perform controlled
burns to prevent accidental fires.
California, ironically, is the home
state of Ronald Reagan, who once proclaimed it to be, “Morning in America.” And
he made it so. Sadly, Democrat-run California is now experiencing “Darkness at
Noon.” If Democrats should win the presidency and the Senate in the 2020 national
elections, it will be “Mourning in America.” Possibly forever.
Reagan warned us: “Freedom is never
more than one generation away from extinction.” The formerly Golden State is
showing us that this is indeed true. He now lies in Simi Valley, fires raging around
him, waiting in silence to lead us back to that shining city on a hill, if only
we believe in ourselves more than we believe in rule by establishment elitists.
Reagan
led us out of the abyss once before, a time of high inflation, high
unemployment, high interest rates, and low morale. “Malaise,” as it were.
Before taking office, Reagan stated: “In this present crisis, government is not
the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” This is
certainly true of the crisis facing California today.
Whether “Requiem for a Republic” aptly
describes the downfall of California alone, or the country as a whole, will
largely be determined on November 3rd, 2020. One thing is certain. When
it comes to the relative merits of Socialism and Capitalism, the truth… is
unimpeachable.
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