Welcome to Bizzaro – Land

Anthony J Oleck

Daily Local News

May 21, 2010

Do you remember the old Superman comic books? There was a distant land where everything was the opposite of Earth. Earth is round so Bizzaro-Land was square, up is down, evil is good and night is day in Bizzaro-Land.

 Today America resembles that far off planet from Superman lore. In the “new” America, the “changed” America, capitalism is bad, socialism is good…..deficit spending passes for fiscal responsibility…rescuing irresponsible governments and failed corporations is a noble cause…big Government is not bad, why it’s good. Building an entitlement society, well what could be better?

 In Bizzaro America elected officials make fun of their constituents, call them names, ignore their wishes….in the enlightened land of Bizzaro parents tell their kids it’s fool hearty to work hard, get an education, start a business…..that’s a short cut to higher taxes….the smart kids of Bizzaro-Land will learn to avail themselves of the many new Government entitlements….let someone else pay your way. Why work when the government is going to take most of it anyway, better to wait for your $7,000 electric car subsidy, or your $8,000 tax payer funded mortgage assistance, or your $4,000 cash for clunker check…..can’t pay your new taxpayer funded special mortgage? ….no problem, in Bizzaro-Land banks will reduce your principle and let someone else foot the bill. In Bizzaro-Land it’s considered good, even funny to heap unpaid bill after unpaid bill on your kids and grandkids….why should they live better than their parents, that notion was so 20th century. Best of all, in Bizzaro-Land, latter day Tea Partiers who share the ridiculous ideals of our unenlightened Founders are called bigots, racists and fools.

 Now I don’t pretend to be the brightest bulb on the tree, but isn’t it strange that just when the rest of the world is realizing that socialism does not work, that ALL the empirical evidence and ALL the history of any nation that ever embraced it says it doesn’t work…..well, America decides to follow Greece, Portugal and Spain over a cliff.

 America invented capitalism, capitalism has lifted America and along with it countless millions of people out of poverty. Isn’t it ironic that Rwanda , yes I said Rwanda , has turned to capitalism to lift its people out of poverty? The Rwandan President believes free markets and capitalism will free his people from the slavery of a socialist welfare state. Not only does he believe it…it’s working. Rwanda is producing a surplus of goods so it can now sell its wares to the highest bidder. Even Rwanda gets it…….but Bizzaro America does not.

 I admit I need some help with this….if socialist experiments all over the world are collapsing under their own weight….if former communist countries and even little East African Rwanda gets it…..why don’t we?

 Or is the answer as simple as America has become Bizzaro-Land. And we are destined to now do just the opposite of what once made us great?