Jim Rohn is a well-known business philosopher. A headline on his web-site (http://www.jimrohn.com) caught my eye one day, entitled, “The Ant Philosophy.” The ant philosophy? I thought. That ought to be interesting. He posed two questions, complete with answers. He first asked, “When was the last time you saw ants bump up against an obstacle and give up with their heads down and head back to the ant hole to relax?” The answer? “Never. If they're headed somewhere and you try to stop them, they will look for another way. They'll climb over, they'll climb under, they'll go around — regardless of the effort involved.” The next question he asks is, “How much will an ant gather during the summer to prepare for winter?” And the answer to that? “All that it possibly can. Ants don't have quotas or "good enough" philosophies. They don't gather a certain amount and then head back to the hole to "hang out." If an ant can do more, it does.”

Finally, Mr. Rohn challenged his readers to “[i]magine what you could accomplish if you never quit and always did all that you could do.”

The interesting thing about all this is that nobody says that the ant who is trying to gather as much as possible is being greedy or materialistic. Instead, they say he is being industrious and responsible. Nobody suggests the ant should share with anyone who is not gathering anything for the winter. Every ant is responsible for himself. Nobody says the government should take care of the ant or bail him out if he’s irresponsible and collects nothing in preparation for winter.

So if we don’t say that about ants, why do we say that about people? Why is there this backlash against hard-working wealthy people who are good stewards of their money (I’m not talking here about greedy CEOs who bankrupt a company and then expect a very golden parachute)? Why do we say they are greedy and materialistic, rather than industrious and responsible? Why do we say they should be forced to help take care of people who refuse to be responsible for themselves?

Of course, humans are a bit more complex than ants; there are wealthy people who obtain their wealth through fraudulent means or cronyism, rather than through hard work and good stewardship. And there are people who cannot care for themselves, rather than those who will not. The ant world does not differentiate between cannot and will not – either way, those ants will likely die. In the human world, we often don’t differentiate between cannot and will not either; but in our world, those people do not die – they are supported by the government, i.e., taxpayers, whether they fall in the cannot or will not category. And I’m not saying we shouldn’t care for those who cannot take care of themselves – I’m not that heartless!

But what if we could get everyone to focus on Mr. Rohn’s last statement? What if everyone did all they could do (which, of course would be different for each person), and no one ever quit (and please don’t confuse quit with change in this example)? How much more successful would your business be? How many truly amazing things could you – and we - accomplish?

Since When

Since when is it bad to be rich? Isn't every good, whether it's your home, food and clothing, a church building, food for "starving children in (fill in the blank with the current Third World nation needing our help)," a result of money you have earned and spent? Is it not true that more good can be accomplished with money than without?

Since when did wealth start to symbolize greed, rather than achievement, hard work and ambition?

Since when did we stop believing that we had a responsibility to take care of ourselves and our families?


Since when did we decide that the government can do a better job taking care of us than we can?

Since when did we begin thinking that simply wanting something entitled us to it? And further, why do we think the government should be the one to give it to us?

Since when did we start believing that separation of church and state meant we gave up our right to free speech with regard to our religious beliefs?

Since when did we decide it was acceptable and even required under the First Amendment to allow people to spout off about hatred, violence and sexual crimes, but not about God, fearing we might offend someone by talking about the latter, but not the former?

Since when did we stop believing that we are a sovereign nation, and instead begin believing that we are a global "citizen," required to answer to those of other nations?

Since when did we stop thinking that it was important to have one language to unite our country, and instead begin believing it was acceptable to let everyone speak their own language, no matter how much chaos that created?

Since when did we stop thinking it was important for those who wanted to live in our country and take advantages of all the rights that come along with citizenship to actually become U.S. citizens, with all of the responsibilities that that entails?

Since when did we begin thinking it was acceptable to allow individuals to break our immigration laws, and then - to help them do it by providing sanctuary cities, refusing to allow our police to arrest them for breaking immigration laws, and then to provide them with free education, healthcare and welfare benefits?

Since when did we begin believing that simply being born in this country is enough to confer citizenship upon someone?

Since when is it the fault of the United States when attempts to enforce our immigration laws result in separating families? Didn't those parents know the risks that this could happen, and didn't they choose to take that risk?

Since when did we begin believing that it's possible to spend our way out of debt?

Since when did we decide it was acceptable to saddle our children and grandchildren with a huge debt obligation?

Since when did we give up our obligation to be informed about the issues affecting us?

Since when did we stop holding our elected officials accountable for their actions? And when did we decide that "accountable" simply meant voting against them when we didn't like what they were doing? When did we stop communicating our discontent (and anger) at the time they occur, rather than in the voting booth?

Since when did we begin believing that government should regulate everything from our light bulbs to our toilets, from whether business owners can allow smoking in their establishment to how many miles per gallon our cars have to get?

Since when did "social justice" stop being a means to an end (of worshiping and serving God), and instead become an end in and of itself?

Since when did we decide it's a good idea to teach our children that just showing up is good enough to get a trophy?

Since when did we lose faith in our own abilities?

Since when?