First they came...

First they came for my alcohol and I thought, hey, it's bad for you so it is good.
Then they relented, of course...
Then they came for my drugs and I knew it was good. That stuff is bad for you.
Then they came for my cigarettes. OK, I know they'll kill a person so stop them from advertising, go after the companies, put skulls and crossbones on the packages, I don't care. I quit already.
Then they came for my hamburgers. Well, not mine, I'm a vegetarian, so I know that nasty meat should be regulated. I hope they go after chicken, too.
Then they came for my sodas. Who cares, I thought, I don't drink them anyway. They make me feel bloated. I like my water, preferably in a bottle so I can carry it around easily, of course.
Then they came for my sugar and I thought, what the heck, I know that stuff is bad for you, glad they're going after it finally. Toxic stuff, you know?
Then they came for my cereal and I said, WHAT? I like cereal. But, oh, it's bad for you, I didn't realize. I guess I can live with it since it's nasty. Guess I better stockpile the stuff though.
Then they came for my peanut butter. Too much sugar, and too high in sodium. Huh, I thought, I can agree with them, it's bad, our kids are getting fatter, I'll hang with them on that one (but I'll still buy it with the warning labels and lack of advertising).
Then they came for my salt shaker. I was already cutting back so it didn't matter that much.
Then they came for my bottled water. Plastic is bad for the environment, bad for me, too they say. Well, I guess I'll pick up some water filters and use my cups made from potatoes. How's that for being environmentally correct?
Then they came for my vitamins. Now they were getting a little bit too close for comfort. I was all for making those nasty meat eating, sugar dunkin', high blood pressure sodium eater types cut back, but take my vitamins?
Then they came for my caffeine. They wanted it out of all coffee, tea and sodas. Oh wait, they'd already come for the sodas, they're off the market, gone out of business.

I watched as they came after movies, television programs, light bulbs, put gauges on my electric system to ensure I didn't use to much. I noted as they killed the auto industry with requirements that were impossible in an effort to "save" the world by cutting back on gas emissions. I tried to ride the train to work, the one that increased my taxes substantially, but it took three times as long to get to work, it smelled and I didn't feel safe with all the out-of-work thugs hanging out riding all day. Then I got laid off so it didn't matter anyway.

I wasn't really shocked when Wall Street crashed for the umpteenth time, heck, the number of companies still making a profit in the government regulated world were few and who had money to invest anyway?

Of course, by the time the America that existed when I was a child was gone anyway. The advertisers went first. Nothing much to advertise since the government regulated all the products and only certain ones were allowed to sell. The TV stations were all government subsidized and regulated because they couldn't make any revenue from advertising. The only people with jobs were those who worked for the government subsidized companies and farms. With the food industry being hit so hard by all the regulations most people went to the black market for their food fixes. The only place to get decent food was from the so-called 'third-world countries" assuming you had the money to buy it or travel on government owned planes or trains.


It's a shame I wasn't able to look at the bigger picture way back when and realize that with every incremental step the government took to "help" me they were eroding my freedoms and moving us one step closer to the end of a free America.

When they came for my home and my children I stood up and yelled, but there was no one left to hear or help.