Concrete Evidence

The following is a political metaphor. The author takes no responsibility for how long and rambling it might be.



The concrete slab under my pool pump and filter was deteriorating badly. It was badly cracked, and had finally made it to the top of my "to do" list. I figured one of several things had occurred:

The slab was not thick enough to support the weight.

The concrete was mixed poorly.

The concrete hadn't cured properly.

However, to my surprise, as I removed the old slab (which may not have been thick enough), I saw what looked like a tree root along the crack line. It was the rusted bit of steel cable in the picture above. The slab was done in by the very thing that was meant to strengthen it. The twisted wires presented about half again the surface area of a 1/2" piece of rebar, to rust, and whoever did the job initially must have thought: "This is steel. This will make it stronger."

Actually, the rest of the slab, although thinner than I would have poured it, was in pretty good shape. Had it not been for the rust magnet contained within, that slab probably would have lasted many more years.

So, where's the political metaphor? "The slab was done in by the very thing that was meant to strengthen it." I think that characterizes much of modern liberalism. Many programs, like the Great Society may have sounded like a good idea to those who started them. "Give money to poor people! Money is good, (steel is strong)...what could possibly go wrong?" Early childhood education and tinkering with school lunches fall into this category as well.

Except the manner in which the money was given created a class of people dependent on government. Unwed mothers no longer had to depend on their families or get married to support themselves and their children, and illegitimacy skyrocketed in the inner city. Without a strong paternal role model in the home, illegitimate youths turned to gangs for encouragement and support.

And like the fellow who poured my concrete slab, he probably didn't think about that cable for one second after that. After all, he'd made his contribution, now he could go on and "fix" other things as well.

Today's liberal, it seems, very seldom looks to see what the results of their past actions were. If they do take note of the problems caused, they suggest other solutions: "Too much gang violence in the streets? We need more gun laws!" (And not more stable, two parent homes.)

America may never have the luxury of tearing out the old broken system and redoing it from the ground up, as I was able to do. We may be condemned to forever cutting off one head of the hydra only to watch two more take its place. But the problems will not be solved strictly by good intentions. That's what got us into this mess in the first place.

Cross posted at LCR, Political Clown Parade