How About Bob

"History records that the money changers have used every form of abuse, intrigue, deceit, and violent means possible to maintain their control over governments by controlling money and it's issuance" — James Madison

In 1957 the film The Bridge Over The River Kwai was a box office hit. Based on a book by the French author Pierre Boulle the film is a work of fiction but borrows the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–43 for its historical setting.

The main theme of the film is the resistance shown by the British POWs as they were forced to construct a bridge over the River Kwai so the railroad could be completed and the Japanese could move their troops and materials through to Burma. This resistance was not taken in the form of sabotage or other acts of violence, but it was demonstrated in the form of building a better bridge the Japanese engineers were able to build. In this was the British showed that their western culture was superior to that of the Japanese.

The Japanese were attempting to build a bridge using the wrong materials, in the wrong location, and with limited engineering skill. They had no real plan except to force the POWs to work under harsh conditions. In essence their plan was to get a bigger hammer.

On the other hand the Brits, skilled in military and civil engineering, built the bridge based on sound engineering principles. They tested the soil where the pilings would go, they measured the distance of the span, they made a blueprint and critiqued it, they created a list of materials needed, and the developed a sound work plan. In essence they constructed the bridge in their minds before ever picking up a shovel or a hammer. This is what their western education and culture had taught them. Ironically, after the war the Japanese went on to adopt western culture and become some of the best engineers in the world.

Israel is another example of the western culture. If you have ever been in Israel as I have so can see a dramatic example of this. If you fly over the border or stand on a hill you can see invisible political border. On the Arab side of the border you see an uncultivated desert and poverty. On the Israeli side you see orchards and fertile fields. It as if someone had taken a ruler and drew a line in the ground between the two cultures. Israel, while being made up of Jews from all over the world is still a western culture. On the other hand the Arabs see a desert as a desert and have neither the vision or will to change it.

Western success is broken down into five stages, the first being imagination or vision. Before one can have success he or she must have a vision of what that success will look like. They must be able to see themselves in that successful enterprise be it an orchard, an iPad or auto repair shop.

Second comes ambition, the burning desire to turn that vision into reality. Without ambition no vision will come to fruition.

Third comes skill. Without skill all the ambition in the world will not be enough. One needs the physical and mental skills to accomplish their dreams.

Fourth is work ethic. This is the willingness to do hours and hours, weeks and weeks or even years of work to accomplish their dream. They must do more than someone who merely drifts along with the current taking what is given and hoping to have a dream fulfilled.

Finally there is perseverance. This means that if your first attempt fails you regroup and try again. It is said that Edison attempted over one hundred variations of the simple light bulb before having success.

Now we come to the Occupy Wall Street crowd. While some of those folks, perhaps one percent, have legitimate gripes over the bank bailouts, big government and crony capitalism, as do I, but the other 99% with their death to capitalism, socialist slogans, drugs, rapes and general lawless behavior are not for me or most conservatives or independents.

Who created these spoiled college kids. We did. We allowed them to go to schools and colleges that filled their heads with indoctrination rather than critical thinking. We handed out trophies for participation and praised mediocrity. We scorned those who excelled as people who were not sharing their success with those who failed.

So how do the five steps to success pertain to the OWS crowd? Let’s begin with imagination and vision. Oh, they have imagination. They imagine themselves with a new car, a house, a high paying job, and all the things society offers. But they have no vision as to how to accomplish these things beyond having a job for someone who pays then well and allows them time for social networking.

On the other hand let’s look a Bob, a high school graduate, who works at a Jiffy Lube. Bob has a vision of owning his own auto repair shop. He sees himself repairing people’s cars and offering quality service. It’s not only a Bob, but it could be someone who wants to open a dry cleaning shop, a burger stand, or a consulting engineering firm. Bob, a high school graduate, has the kind of imagination these OWS college grads do not have.

I don’t see ambition in the OWS crowd. What I do see, however, is entitlement the polar opposite of ambition. Bob has more ambition than the entire OWS gang put together.

All a degree in peace studies, feminine studies, and African-American and Hispanic studies is good for is getting a job as a professor and ripping off the next generation of gullible youth. While Bob, he can fix your car and you are lost without your car. Bob, the high school grad, is useful he is offering a service the market is in need of.

Bob does more useful, grinding, dirty work than most of these OWS college kids have done in their lives. To them cramming for a test is a hard job. If they had a real work ethic they would not be camping out for weeks at end protesting and living like aborigines. I wonder how many engineering students are among the OWS crowd. I have never seen one interviewed.

Yes, they have perseverance. They spend days on end camped out in these Obamavilles painting their signs and mugging for the TV cameras. Ben Shapiro interviewed one of these OWS people and asked him what he wanted. His response was that he wanted to end capitalism and change the world. When Shapiro asked how do you change the world by sitting in a park all day he became outraged and said he had never worked so hard in his life. Give me a break! Sitting in a park holding a sign and smoking pot will change the world. Go invent something like an iPad, that will change the world.

Bob works hard every day and perhaps one day he will ask his uncle to loan him $25,000 to open his own auto repair shop. His uncle will go into his savings and loan Bob the money or guarantee loan from a bank with Bob’s house as collateral. Bob will pay the money back with interest and perhaps one day Bob will franchise his auto repair business and become one of those fat cats that the OWS crowd demonizes and wants to steal all of his hard earned cash so they can pay for their entitlements. All I can add is to wish Bob all the success in the world.