Who do you trust? And more…

By Jim Thompson
HCP columnist

All politicians make promises. It is a strong part of the schtick. After all, they have to say something (unless they are Kamala Harris or Joe Biden).

So, how do you sort out the promises?

I like the promises that engender freedom – less taxes, less regulation and more opportunity to do what I want when and where I want.

I have grave suspicions about promises that are going to give me more money from the government, offer further environmental protections, and general protect weird stuff.

Offering me money from the government is so disingenuous. That is taxpayer money that is being offered from the government; it is not fairy dust.  

Environmental protection? I am in favor of it; everyone wants clean air and clean water. Haven’t we been passing laws and regulations for the past 50 years to take care of this? What will more laws and regulations do but cater to the radicals and stifle economic growth?  

The promises that offer more handouts are promises of more socialism. For me, there is no gap between socialism and communism. And when I think of communism, I think of gulags, mass torture and mass killings. Stalin and Mao were even bigger murderers than Hitler.

I was watching a video recently about the personal inner source of communism. The speaker was saying that for the individual, communism comes from altruism, which then comes from a feeling of guilt – I am better off than you, so I will submit to communism in order to soothe my tortured psyche. Really? I always thought altruism was one of the higher qualities of humankind and best expressed when we as individuals exercise it one on one with our fellow humans.  

To me, communism is one of those activities that steals our ability to feel altruistic. With communism and socialism, when you see the person in need, you think the government will fix it and you can go on chasing your baubles.  

If the government didn’t fix it and you did, both you and the person in need will be in a better place. Altruism is one of the gifts I learned as a child. I think it is OK if I tell this story.  

One Sunday evening, I think it was late in the summer of 1965, the late Bob Armstrong’s parents’ barn was struck by lightning. In those days, there was no county water system or local fire department. The fire trucks came from Hillsboro, about 12 miles. The fire had a pretty good start by the time the fire department got there.  

We were attempting to pull machinery out and drive the cattle out of the barn. As long as the fire department had water, they were making progress. But they only had a tanker, and when it emptied they had to run down to Franklin Branch, about a mile down Route 506, to get more water. Long story short, nothing of the structure was saved, including the full hay mow.

My parents had not come to the fire. When I got home, Dad said, “There is a second cutting of hay in one of the 25-acre fields over on the McNary Farm (our other farm on McNary Road, north of Cynthiana). We don’t need it, we have enough for the winter.”  

We gave the hay to Bob and all of us went over there and helped cut it and bale it. Quite a crowd and lots of fellowship – and good food!

Neighbors helping neighbors. A lot different than government handouts. A lot different than socialism and communism.

Jim Thompson, formerly of Marshall, is a graduate of Hillsboro High School and the University of Cincinnati. He resides in Duluth, Ga. and is a columnist for The Highland County Press. 

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