Fighting the Tide

In a column I wrote for another venue (Buckeye Libertarian, LPO.org due in February), I used a beach/tide metaphor to describe the present political environment in the United States. Now that I have become fully infatuated with nautical metaphors, I want to develop another one to illustrate the differences between Republicans, Democrats and Libertarians. It’s not a perfect metaphor, but if it were perfect, then it wouldn’t be a metaphor, it would be what is. I once worked with a corporate training company that sought to teach supervisory personnel how to communicate using word pictures. The theory was that some people are visual learners and some retain information better from an auditory source, therefore word pictures should be an effective tool for both of them.


Imagine a small island. We’ll name it Freedom Island, and it sits in the bay a couple of miles from the mainland. It’s a tropical island that is rich in natural resources that are sufficient for everyone to survive and thrive. Some people might think of Freedom Island as utopian because of the bounty that’s available. Others aren’t so sure. They believe that because the residents of Freedom Island have to climb the trees to pick the fruit, to till the rich soil to raise the crops or to hunt and fish for meat, then the island lifestyle is unnecessarily demanding. They whine that not everyone is capable of climbing, farming or hunting with a high level of skill. They complain that some trees are more productive than others. They bemoan the fact that some residents awaken before others in order to acquire the best farmland or fishing hole. They call an island-wide meeting, and insist that all the crops, housing, water and meat be pooled and distributed equally. Fortunately for Freedom Island the true believers in redistribution were few, and their demands were defeated. In a huff, the Complainers decided to leave the island and go to the mainland. They hysterically demanded that “the island” provide them with a boat for the journey, and chose a 16 footer with the only two motors to make the trip. Seeing that they would be left behind without a boat with motors, and feeling some pity for the complainers, another group of residents asked for a boat to follow the Complainers to the mainland. We’ll name them the Followers. Those who remained on the island called themselves “The Doers,” and they wished the others good fortune as they cast off for the journey to the other side.

The Complainers revved the engines wide open as they streaked across the water to the promised land of equality and fairness. The Followers left shortly thereafter with all eight members rowing in unison as they trailed the speeding Complainers. It was an incoming tide to the mainland and both boats made remarkable progress. The Complainers arrived on the mainland and joyfully celebrated their escape from Freedom Island. The mainland was barren and harsh, but everyone there was equal. The Followers were rowing as diligently as they could, but their arms, backs and shoulders were aching. The tide stopped. The waters became calm, and the Followers could go no further. They were halfway between the island and the mainland, and they called for help. Meanwhile, their boat began to leak…slowly sinking into the water. Their cries were more frantic, but the Complainers couldn’t hear them because their joyous celebration drowned out the pleas for help. One Doer on the island shore heard the distant voices and sprang into action. He jumped into the only remaining boat and rowed toward the Followers. He noted as he rowed that the Followers boat continued to slowly drift toward the mainland, but he discerned that their craft would sink before they reached the shore. He rowed on without stopping.

Finally, the diligent Doer reached the Followers’ foundering boat. He helped them into his tiny watercraft. Because the boat would be overloaded, he had them discard their excess baggage. The only gear permitted on the little was the bare essentials. The Doer began to row back to the island as the Followers thankfully expressed their relief about returning to Freedom. It took a long time for the Doer to steer the tiny heavy craft across the bay to Freedom Island, but when they finally arrived, the Followers kissed the soil and exclaimed that they never really wanted to leave. The only reason for their abandoning Freedom Island, they claimed, was because so many other people wanted to go to the mainland. End of story.

Unless you are a complete dolt, you understand that the Complainers are Democrats/ Progressives, the Followers are Republicans/Conservatives and the Doers are Libertarians. Dump the excess baggage. Turn this boat around. Row against the tide for freedom. The left is racing toward a socialist/fascist state while the right is drifting just behind them. The Right doesn’t turn it around. It merely slows down the drift to tyranny. Only by supporting and electing someone whose principles are smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom can we turn the tide. I hope that we aren’t too late. I hope that the boat doesn’t sink before we can save the republic. It’s the principles that matter. The people are incidental.

Please comment or email: cnpearl@woh.rr.com