Reading time: 6:00
I happened upon this manifesto a couple of days ago. It was written by Jim Lee, a horseman from Missouri. I guess what got my attention was that Mr. Lee’s prayer to his own greatness was something of a masterpiece. I marveled at how he hit the preponderance of the talking points I have heard for decades: the rhetoric of the Great Man. Now, I do not know Jim Lee, horseman; all I have to go on is his treatise. However, this kind of Great Man thinking is sadly very attractive to this culture. Jim Lee, horseman, received 13,000 shares and many, many “Amen!”-type plaudits in the comments section of his essay. This is what concerns me.
I was going to include the original essay, but I quote just about every line from the Horseman’s meditation.
Jim Lee, horseman, is tired. He says so ten times (I counted) in his discourse. Jim Lee, horseman, is tired of the imaginary foes who are making him tired. Jim Lee, horseman, has worked hard. It’s important you know that; he says it a couple of times and reports all he’s sacrificed. And he has “friends of every walk of life.” So, Jim Lee, horseman, is very open minded—which, of course, he is not.
He says: “I’m tired of being told the government will take the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy to earn it themselves.”
They’re called taxes, Mr. Lee. So, anyone who is the beneficiary of tax spending is lazy? My tax money provides you military protection; you don’t hear me grumbling. Kids need to go to school. The old lady across the street needs food. Some people need assistance—for a long list of reasons. People need their roads plowed in winter. They need a fire department. I don’t think this automatically makes folks lazy. The government’s job is to provide services; the citizen’s job is to pay for them for the benefit of everyone. It’s called living in a country.
Jim Lee, horseman, then declares: “I'm really tired of being told I must lower my living standard to fight global warming, which, no one is allowed to debate.”
Lower your living standard? Does buying a more fuel-efficient vehicle, using fewer plastic forks, and recycling really impact your living standard? And what is there to debate? If you spent less time writing self-indulgent tracts on Facebook and educated yourself on the matter, you would know the causes and effects of global warming. Hardly debatable.
“I'm really tired of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers and politicians of all parties talk like their opinions matter to the common man. I’m tired of any of them even pretending they can relate to the life and bank account that I have.”
Well, I think Jim Lee, horseman, and I mostly agree here. However, just because someone is rich and famous does not make them wrong. Their particular arguments need to be attended to.
Jim Lee, horseman, then grouses: “I’m upset that I’m labeled as a racist because I am proud of my heritage. I never stole any ones land, the government did that.”
People label you a racist because the US government stole land from and committed genocide against the American Indians? Wow, you do indeed have “friends of every walk of life,” including the unhinged. Maybe the reason you’re labeled a racist, Mr. Lee, is because you are one. I don’t know you, so I couldn’t say.
“I’m tired of being told I need to accept the latest fad or politically correct stupidity or befriending a group that’s intent on killing me because I won’t convert to their point of view.”
People are intent on killing you for not “converting” to their point of view? The only people I can think of who are regularly getting gunned down for no rational reason are Black men and school kids. I highly doubt anyone is “intent on killing” Jim Lee, horseman, for not “converting to their point of view.” What points of view are these anyway?
Jim Lee, horseman, then asserts: “I'm really tired of people who don't take responsibility for their lives and actions. Especially the ones that want me to fund it. I'm tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination, or big-whatever for their problems.”
So, again, Jim Lee, horseman, is the victim of all those lazy people. And who is asking you to fund their laziness exactly? People in need of social services? Can we assume that anyone who does not enjoy your “living standard” has not worked as hard as the great Jim Lee, horseman? And what’s wrong with blaming government? I do it all the time. Am I asking you to fund me? So when people are being discriminated against, they should remain silent? You wrote a 500-word essay about imaginary aggressors, Mr Lee. What if you had real problems? What would you do then?
He continues: “Yes, I'm really tired. [We get it.] But, I'm also glad to be in the twilight of my life. Because mostly, I'm not going to have to see the retched, depressing world these young useless idiots are creating. And lastly, because even though I shouted from the rooftops, no one listened or seemed to give a damn.
The French is après moi, le déluge, meaning “after me, the deluge" (Louis XV). The thinking here is that when I’m gone, this world can rot. Great attitude. Jim Lee, horseman, then invokes the “wretched [he misspells wretched], depressing world these young useless idiots are creating.” You’re blaming the young? They just started voting, Mr. Lee. The problems in this country can be laid at the feet of the Baby Boomers and Generation X—not the young. On this he is completely wrong. And you should know Jim Lee, horseman, “shouted from the rooftops, no one listened.” Very sad. Jim Lee, horseman, tried to fix the world, but was thwarted by these no-good young people. This is at the exact same time hilarious and pitiful.
“You reap what you sow, and so do your children.”
No, Mr. Lee, children inherit the world you create. The world that is cooking presently—which you’re eager to debate.
The Horseman next avers: “No one is entitled to anything. You have a choice to work, a choice to stay off drugs, a choice to make something of yourself. I have nothing to do with your choice. That's all on you. You are entitled to what you earn.”
Wrong. People are entitled to a great many things. They are entitled to freedom and safety. Everyone is entitled to healthcare, which millions do not have because for decades your generation has been asleep at the wheel. Did you shout about that from the rooftops? And the food-insecure are entitled to something to eat. The rich get handouts, why shouldn’t we? (Do you count the mega-rich among the lazy?) You have a vicious, hostile view of people and the world, Mr. Lee. Some folks struggle with addiction. So if people have problems that you do not possess, they are inferior to the great Jim Lee, horseman? You have the privilege and ability to say things like “You are entitled to what you earn.” Why aren’t people earning more? Why is the middle class falling further behind? (And credit becomes magically and easily available.) Why are people working more and earning less? Did you by any chance shout that from the rooftops?
You could have written an essay about how the vulnerable can be helped. How those with less should not be forced to struggle. How people in pain—physical and financial—should be provided relief. You could have written an essay about the specific ways to make the country a better place—y’know, a piece based on understanding and sympathy. You chose to write about yourself.
