There is a flood in the middle of America. Our hearts have all gone out to the victims of the continued rains in the Midwest. All of us can sympathize with the pain and loss that the people in the heartland of America feel.
But the true disaster is yet to come. In situations like this, patriotism and ingenuity are what Americans have always relied upon. Our uncanny ability to rise to the challenge and independently decide our own fate is what has made this country great. The true disaster is sure to come if we do not continue to do so.
In this country's history, we have been taught to fight off the heavy hand of big government, and our nation is stronger as a result. My own people, African-Americans, have no doubt also risen as a result of this pioneering American spirit.
When African-American leaders sought continued government aid to help cure the ills brought about by more than 200 years of slavery, oppression, segregation and mistreatment, they were justly refused by the concerned men and women that make such decisions for us.
Why? Because continued dependence on government aid is the worst thing for the spirit of the African-American community Our leadership then lacked the foresight to see continued aid (welfare, affirmative action, etc.) would make us dependent upon the federal government and your hard-earned tax dollars.
Our leadership then lacked the foresight to see that the flood of problems plaguing the African-American community (drugs, crime, gangs, disintegration of family, poverty, segregation, ghettoization, gentrification, moral depravity, etc.) can only be solved by the African-American community.
We must pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps, and make the best of what we have. There is no government program to solve the flood of problems that plagues our community. It would be a slap in the face to the struggles of all freedom-seeking African-Americans throughout history if the federal government were to continue aiding us. Like Booker T. Washington, we all have a drive to make our own way in the world -- even "up from slavery."
Like African-Americans, there is not a government program that can solve the woes of the flood victims in Iowa, Missouri and the rest of the Midwest. In this situation, we should do what has always worked for Americans -- rely upon the ingenuity of private citizens. Necessity is the mother of invention and adversity builds character. Let's give these people the chance to show what they are made of.
It would be a disservice to the ideals that make this country great to arrogantly charge into the Midwest with more fancy programs and money, while in the process damaging the self-esteem and motivation of the flood victims -- no, survivors -- struggling to become true Americans, capable of determining their own destiny.
Iowans, like African-Americans, are a very proud people, quite capable of making their way through this flood. It would be an insult if we were to continue with these handouts -- if African-Americans can handle a little slavery and oppression, Iowans can handle a little rain.
Most of the victims of the flood in the Midwest did not have crop insurance (another type of unjustifiable farm subsidy), so the question arises -- What justification is there for more government money?
Not unlike African-Americans, the flood victims in the Midwest have no right to any government entitlements or special treatment. In fact, that type of special treatment empirically results in groups of welfare-dependent criminals who cannot think for themselves or take care of themselves. Just look at what has happened to African-Americans.
On the whole, African-Americans have benefited from the continued struggles resulting from more than 200 years of racism, slavery, ignorance and poverty. If this is so, and I contend that it is, then the true Americans in the Midwest cannot help but benefit from the extra rain. Who are we to snatch that opportunity from them?
This country was built upon the drive of individuals to solve their own problems and to succeed on their own terms. More government intervention (such as disaster aid from the overgrown bureaucracy known as F.E.M.A.) cannot help in the long run! The only thing that can truly help the victims of the flood in the Midwest is to spare them from the oppressive hand of the federal government. This country does not need another group of welfare dependent, eternally subsidized, passive victims.
We have recently developed a bad habit of throwing money at our problems. That is good for a liberal tax-and-spend administration, but more permanent solutions are needed. Solutions that truly address the problems at their core can only be developed by those who experience them. These solutions can only be carried out by those willing to use every opportunity to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps.
The same challenge African-Americans undertook in the 1980s goes out to the flood victims in the Midwest. Recall the legend of the great white phoenix. Out of the ashes and fire arose a beautiful, flaming, white-feathered bird that reigned over the Earth for a thousand years. Recall the proverb, "Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. But teach him to fish, and he will eat forever." Is America to go the way of the starving man, or the glorious white phoenix?