America and the Family Business Rule – IOTW Report

America and the Family Business Rule

CFP:

There is an old saying in family businesses, “The first generation starts a business. The second generation runs it. The third generation ruins it.”

Metaphorically, our American family business is in the third generation.

Our Founding Fathers rejected monarchy, oligarchy, aristocracy, theocracy, and formed the United States of America as a Constitutional Republic – the greatest experiment in individual freedom and upward mobility anywhere in the world. What happened?

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To answer that question we must examine the historical context of the three generations.

Our Founding Fathers lived at a time in history when “We the people” had little value. Societies were structured along binary feudal lines and divided between the ruling elite and the enslaved population who served them. Slavery was a matter of degree – from physical chains and ownership of another human being, to caste systems that predetermined social position, to social structures where populations were subjects of ruling monarchs, oligarchs, or subjects of the tyranny of religious theocratic rule.

Our Founding Fathers had a different idea. They decided to build a more perfect union, a representative democracy that valued the people of society and entrusted them with the responsibility of elections to choose their own leaders. It was a radical experiment in social policy that reflected a seismic shift in social attitudes.

A government of the people, by the people, and for the people offered unparalleled opportunities for upward mobility and the freedom to pursue one’s dreams. Capitalism and the free market economy allowed workers to keep the fruits of their labor and created a thriving middle class. Public education that taught competency, literacy, and a patriotic regard for freedom and the American ideal was mandated. What was the catch?

The freedom and opportunity that defined the American ideal required its citizens to become responsible, self-sufficient adults. The early years of the American experiment were particularly harsh and difficult years but living free was worth the effort – individual freedom, religious freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of the press, and freedom to petition the government were rights that required adulthood.

Living free and dying free was something that was not taken for granted in the 18th century. The success of the American ideal depended upon the shared American spirit of commitment to personal freedom by both government and the governed. It was understood that the freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution and Bill of Rights were a promise of equal opportunity not a guarantee of equal outcome.  more here

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5 Comments on America and the Family Business Rule

  1. There is good news and bad news;

    The good news is that both the S&P 500 Index and the Nasdaq closed today at record levels. The Trump economy is firing on all cylinders, resulting in more families creating even greater amounts of wealth and prosperity. It is good to be an American.

    Now, the bad news. John Adams said ,“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people”. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

    Our unique democracy depends on well informed citizens who adhere to the moral precepts which our founders cherished. Those traditions and moral values today do not pass the “woke” test so they are being discarded.

    Adams also said ,“Democracy… while it lasts is more bloody than either aristocracy or monarchy. Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There is never a democracy that did not commit suicide.”

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  2. The Roman Empire fell in part because the common people had no way to access their history.
    The American experiment has no such excuse. Thus the rise of the Tea Party and Conservatism in general right now. We are fighting an angry, desperate mob of leftists who are losing power and lashing out, but I believe we will prevail.
    God has given us a unique opportunity with President Trump. We cannot now waste it, but instead make his time as our leader but a mere stepping stone to a renewed greatness.
    Pray for our President and our country. We need God’s help through these current trials.

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  3. Liberalism = First World Problems.

    When things are too easy, You have to invent problems…Most Normal

    Folk, don’t have the time to invent new problems…Life is in the way.

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